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Are Carbs Good or Bad?

By Diane Hanson

I have many friends who followed the highly popular low-carb Atkins diet and had lost tremendous amount of weight in a relatively short period of time. That leads me to wonder if carbohydrates has a detrimental effect on weight loss. Is carbohydrates a blessing or a curse? To unravel the mystery, we need to understand what are carbohydrates and what do they do in our bodies.

Carbohydrates or carbs are sugars and starches, which provide your body energy especially the brain and the nervous system. Your body can break carbohydrates down quickly and efficiently. Carbohydrates contain about 4 calories per gram. There are two types of carbohydrates – simple (monosaccharides) or complex (polysaccharides) carbohydrates.

Simple carbohydrates are found in table sugar (sucrose), fruits (fructose) and dairy products (lactose) are more easily digested by the body. They are also often found in highly processed, refined foods such as cookies, ice cream, candies, white rice and white bread.

Simple carbohydrates are great sources of quick energy and are typically high on the glycemic index, so they tend to cause a rapid rise in blood sugar.

Although ideal for energy, simple carbohydrates are not so good for appetite and blood glucose control. These type of carbs cause weight gain.

Complex carbohydrates, on the other hand, take longer for the body to digest, so your body needs more time to release these carbohydrates into your blood as glucose. This means complex carbohydrates raise blood glucose levels more slowly.

Complex carbohydrates are most commonly found in vegetables (cellulose), whole grains, nuts, seeds and legumes.

So, does dropping carbs in your diet help you lose more fats?

To cut the whole biochemistry story short and sweet, let's put it this way – eating less carbs forces your body to burn fat for fuel instead of sugar.

Reducing carbs and increasing protein accelerates fat loss by controlling your insulin and blood sugar more effectively. The high protein intake also speeds up your metabolism because of the “thermic effect” of protein food. This “thermic effect” is the major reason why low-carb diets produce amazing short term weight loss results.

Besides, metabolizing proteins requires a lot more water than fats or carbohydrate. That means proteins help eliminate water retention, thus giving you the “dry” and “lean” appearance.

Sounds great? Think again.

Most health professionals do not recommend a long term low-carb diet. Excessive protein consumption, particularly animal protein, raises the levels of uric acid and urea in the blood.

These are toxic by-products of protein breakdown and metabolism. The body eliminates this uric acid and urea by pumping lots of water into the kidneys and urinary tract to help it flush out.

However, a detrimental side effect of this diuretic response is the loss of essential minerals from the body, including calcium.

The high intake of protein leaches calcium from the bones, which leads to osteoporosis. In addition, an increase protein consumption can result in heart disease, stroke, and kidney stones.

Don’t exclude carbs entirely just to lose weight. The trick is eat more complex carbohydrates and limit the consumption of simple carbohydrates. Moreover, foods that are high in complex carbohydrates are often lower in calories. Calorie for calorie, complex carbohydrates are more satisfying and the calories add up more slowly when compared to simple carbs.

Increasing your complex carbohydrate food intake always means an associated rise in fiber intake. Don’t forget, fiber helps you feel fuller for longer, meaning you’ll feel the need to eat less often and therefore, able to efficiently control the amount of calories you eat.

In addition, complex carbohydrates such as vegetables contain a slew of Vitamins, minerals, phytochemicals and many other health-enhancing nutrients that are rarely found in simple-sugar refined foods.

The winning formula for sustainable weight loss is actually quite simple. Eat fewer calories, and only consume nutritionally balanced, low-fat unrefined foods. Most importantly, exercise on a regular basis to boost your metabolism and burn off those excess stubborn pounds.

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