It’s high time we stop vilifying this word and start thinking differently. Not all carbohydrates are created equal. Why all the fuss? If you are overweight, don’t blame it on carbohydratess. Carb is not a dirty word and didn’t cause your problem. It is the junk you chose to eat that caused the problem. Carbohydrates are simply the form that junk food tends to appear on the supermarket shelf.
Even though carbohydrates have been demonized, much is misunderstood about this basic nutrient. Along with water, protein, and fats, it is a basic building block of a proper nutrition plan (notice I didn’t use the word DIET…more on that on subsequent postings).
Carbs have a required place at the dinner table, if only we knew which ones?
It’s simple. Take your thoughts back to the definition of God Food versus Man Food. Unfortunately, a great deal of Man Food is comprised of carbohydrates, thus giving the word a bad name! However, what if carbs were found in God Food? Would you still consider them to be in the axis of evil? No way! In spite of all the fuss about a “no carb diet,” a “low carb diet” and all the other nutty weight loss methods, keep this in mind:
Carbohydrates are found almost exclusively in plant foods, such as fruits, vegetables, peas, and beans. Milk (and milk products) is the only food derived from animals that contain a significant amount of carbohydrates.
Here’s the rub about this topic. Man Food (i.e. Junk that we eat) is predominantly composed of carbohydrates. Those foods are not bad just because they are laced with carbs, they are bad because they contain lots of calories with no nutritional value. To the contrary, an apple or orange contains calories that are loaded with carbohydrates as well…the difference is they transport necessary vitamins and minerals needed to sustain good health. Junk food delivers none of that. That does not mean you can eat an unlimited supply of fruit simply because it comes from God. A quick lesson:
Carbohydrates are divided into two groups – simple and complex. Simple, sometimes called simple sugars, include fructose (fruit sugar), sucrose (table sugar) and lactose (milk sugar) as well as several other forms of sugar. Fruits are loaded with simple sugars. Complex, on the other hand, include fiber and starches (think oatmeal and whole grain bread). Stay tuned for a future posting that explains why we should not eat an unlimited supply of carbs.
When choosing carbohydrates-rich food, stay away from the refined carbs that constitute junk that has been processed such as soda, candy, etc. We are not designed to ingest junk. Instead, if you think of eating only carbs that come from the Earth (fruit, vegetables, beans) you will come to understand that CARB is not a 4 letter word.
Stay focused on God Food. Stay off the junk. Your health will improve dramatically not with the elimination of CARBS, but with the elimination of JUNK.
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