Are Carbs Bad For You?

Well, most of the people believe in following a keto diet to lose weight where people are dependent on consuming protein and fat sources only and not carbs. 

First of all, diets like these are not sustainable as we all love carbs, carbs are found in almost all sources from cereals grains to lentils to beans legumes to dairy to fruits & vegetables most of the people can't follow this diet for a lifetime and when they switch back to their former unbalanced diet, they are on the same weight again. 

Secondly, carbs are the primary source of energy! Usually, our diet should be 60% of carbs only 20% protein and 20% fats. 

If we avoid carbs, simply protein will provide us energy instead & won't be able to play it's own role of muscle cell tissue repair. And that's how we end up losing muscle mass while following keto which is bad for our health! 

Thirdly, carbs provide us a feeling of fullness, satiety & carbs taste good.

And last but not the least, carbs provide us with fiber which is useful for our gut bacteria to promote good digestion, maintaining sugar levels, reducing bad cholesterol & helps in weight loss.. 

What you need to know : 

Consume carbs without worrying, but focus on consuming the good ones! Two kinds of carbs are Simple and Complex ! Simple ones are processed & refined like refined wheat flour, refined sugar, bakery products, packaged foods like cold drinks, chips, biscuits, instant noodles etc. 

And complex ones are whole grains, pulses legumes, fruits, vegetables, (fructose (fruit sugar) is simple) but fruits have fiber. 

There is a thing called Glycemic Index (GI) is a number from 0-100 given to a carb source which tells us according to the size of number how rapidly it rises our sugar levels. The faster sugar level rises, more it disturbs insulin levels, leads to insulin spike, puts blood sugar down rapidly and leads to fat deposition due to extra eating & rapid hunger.

Complex carbs are into low having enough fiber (0-55) & medium (55-69) GI where as Simple are in higher with no fiber (70-100) ! So now you know, which is better for us and also for diabetics. 

So yes, you can have a banana, rice & chapatis while being on a weight loss journey without fearing such foods which fall under the category of low & medium GI.

Also, when you are having high GI foods like white rice, refined flour etc. Balance these foods with low GI foods like by adding more vegetables to it & combining them with pulse, beans, legumes etc. to reduce high GI effect on blood sugar.

Center your meals around protein + low GI carbs mostly & good fats.

Always control on portion size. Never binge eat. And carbs are not your enemy if you eat anything in excess, it can turn into fat. :)