Carbohydrates – a good thing or a bad thing?



Carbohydrates get a bad press of these days for a variety of different reasons but a number of widely held beliefs do bear closer examination. 

Weight loss

We are often told that cutting carbohydrates will lead to weight loss and thousands, if not millions, of diet books have been sold explaining why.

 

However, not all research backs this up and whilst it may be true that some studies have found low-carb diets to be more effective for weight loss than low-fat diets in the short-term, in the longer term both approaches produce modest weight loss at best.

 

A 2015 review of the research on different types of diet found that low carb diets marginally outperformed the low-fat diet. However the difference in weight loss on the groups of dieters was tiny with the low-carb dieters losing about one girl kilogram more after 12 months.

One expert advised that the best way of losing weight was simply to eat less of everything in a way that can form a habit and be maintained over a long period. That sounds less complicated to us!

A low-carb diet is healthier?

This is what we are led to believe but as carbohydrates come from plants i.e. greens, fruit and vegetables, if we make the decision to restrict this type of food in our diet our overall health is likely to suffer. Many plant foods are rich in the vitamins, minerals and fibre that we need to stay healthy.

 

However, there is a big difference between unrefined and refined plant foods.

A diet high in unrefined whole grains protects against cardiovascular disease and Type II diabetes, but swap these for refined grains like white flour, white bread, sugar and white rice and your risk of poor health will increase.

 

Wholegrains and carbohydrate rich foods such as legumes also encourage a healthy diversity of gut bacteria, something that is linked to reduced inflammation, better immunity and improved mental health.

One recent study found that switching to a high-fat, no carb diet lowered the number of beneficial bacteria residing in the gut.

Avoid fruit – really?

Fruit contains sugar so some people believe that fruit can be bad for you but this simply isn’t true. The sugars in fruit are absorbed slowly and steadily so making fruit your go to snack will mean that you will get essential nutrients fibre and antioxidants all wrapped up in a low kilojoule package.

Where fruit can be a problem however is when it’s juiced. Drinking fruit as juice makes it easier to ingest more kilojoules and also releases the fruit sugar (fructose) faster into your bloodstream. You will also reduce some of the benefits of the fibre by pulverising fruit so finely that it changes the physical structure. Some commercial juices will even remove the fibre altogether. On balance it is best to stick to whole fruit.

 

We hope that this clarifies some of the myths surrounding low-carb diets.

 

Mayfair, we care.