Carbohydrates have been getting a lot of bad press for quite a while now.
And still, everybody loves them and it seems that everybody cannot resist the guilty pleasure of enjoying them even if they know that they should not.
Why?
It’s rather simple, actually. Carbohydrates are the cleanest and best fuel for humans.
The problem is what most of us think carbs are.
Carbs do not need to taste sweet
Carbs are sweet, right? Or they are some kind of flour product, such as bread?
Most of the time, people do not think of beans as carbs, even though carbohydrate makes up about 70 percent of their calories!
They are not sweet but have a rather meaty texture to them.
Yet, beans are probably one of the best foods you can eat.
That is because they contain complex carbohydrates that are slower to digest and keep you full for longer.
Whole wheat flour is a real step up from white, because it keeps the fiber, vitamins and minerals. Just don’t expect it to digest much more slowly: whole wheat and white bread have almost the same glycemic index, 74 and 75. Intact grains and beans are the slow ones.
That white bagel we all love, it can be made with whole wheat. Not 10% whole wheat, 100% whole wheat flour.
You probably won’t like it as much but it will be way healthier for you.
Why?
Because all those carbs that are popularly unhealthy are processed carbs.
Sugars that have been artificially refined and engineered to be irresistible. Irresistible and truly unhealthy.
Why do we love carbs, though?
Humans run on carbohydrates.
This is our primary fuel and we are made by nature to seek it.
That is why we love those sweet tasting foods so much. That is why we love fruits.
How many ripe, super sweet fruits have you found while walking in nature, though?
Probably not that many?
Fruits are a treasure that we are designed to seek and cherish.
Fruits also have fiber, and vitamins, and micronutrients and they are a lot less sweet than any of the refined junk that is usually referred to as carbs.
Eating, not cutting the carbs
So, we should eat those fruits and cherish them as the treasure they are.
We should eat those beans, corn, brown rice, whole grains and potatoes.
We need to fill up on those carbs to the brim.
Forget about all the processed and tortured junk that many think of as carbohydrate.
Eat foods in their whole natural form and carb-up!
Read next
- What carbs are and why you need them: start here if you want the biology before the argument.
- The potato guide: one food makes this case better than any argument does.
- Why keto works but you should not do it: and the counter-argument, taken seriously.
