The holidays are right around the corner. This is the time of year when people who are trying to watch their weight start obsessing over carbs. I think it is time to present the truth on carbs once and for all. First you must realize it’s more about controlling your blood sugar. When your blood sugar levels spike the body produces a hormone called insulin. Insulin’s job is to regulate your blood sugar. Insulin is a fat storing hormone. The good news is insulin will regulate your blood sugar levels, the bad news is insulin will store fat, increase blood pressure and bad cholesterol (LDL). The body can get to a point in which it cannot produce insulin at a significant level, this can lead to diabetes.
When you see or read some crazy advertisement telling you you’ll lose weight and feel great, on a no carb diet don’t fall for the propaganda. If you don’t eat carbs, yes you can lose weight, you can also lose conscious when you have zero energy. You’ll gain the weight right back and the cycle begins again. The sad part is so many people are okay with that. Those people are just playing you. Do you think they don’t know you’ll gain the weight right back? Then you can buy the next book or next weight loss fad. All you need to focus on is regulating your blood sugar.
Now let’s get back to the carbs. This part is easy. Good carbs reduce blood sugar levels reducing insulin levels which help to increase metabolism and burn fat. Bad carbs increase insulin levels and fat storage which can also lead to the previous mentioned chronic issues. The next question is what are the good carbs and what are the bad carbs? Unrefined carbs are good carbs, carbs that come from nature (fruits and vegetables). Bad carbs are refined carbs which are processed foods (white rice, white bread, pasta, juices, snack food etc).
Today I hope I cleared up all the confusion on carbs. The next time you see a woman with a perfect body saying see used a no carb diet to get that body, most likely she is lying. Don’t let your emotions overtake logical thinking. You know the facts stick with your guns and lead a healthy life.
Originally posted at Elev8.com October 18, 2009 by By Ken Coward
