Trading Carbs

I'm sure I am not alone when I say I have tried the "no-carb" get-thin diets.  Sure you lose a few pounds-mostly water-and your pants fit better for a few days-or weeks...as long as you can hold out on eating anything your sure has a hint of carbohydrate in it, but is it really healthy?

The answer, my friends-of course not!  The reason it is not healthy-
NOT ALL CARBS ARE CREATED EQUAL!! (sorry to shout, but I am SOO over the atkins-mentality that carbs are bad!)

Natural Carbohydrates are good and should be eaten---daily!!

Natural Carbohydrates include whole grains such as brown rice and whole wheat.  Enriched (*key word-look for it when you read the list of ingredients TO AVOID on your carbs products)-or "refined" grains are processed which means nutrients are added (of course, after the natural nutrients have already been stripped from the grains).  They also add lots of other unwanted ingredients like sodium, sugar, partially hydrogenated oils, nitrites, MSG and sulfer to enriched carbs.

Now, if Atkins had specified "refined" carbs in their list of "BAD" foods, it would have been a little more fair to all the natural carbohydrates out there.  By eating at least 25 grams of fiber (recommended by the Food and Drug Administration), you are helping to control your weight, maintain regularity, avoid colon cancer, reduce cholesterol and provide a steady stream of energy throughout the day!

To put it another way-you are adding weight to your body by eating calories void of nutrients and shortening you energy level by eating refined carbs that go directly into your bloodstream causing an immediate sugar high and shortly after a deep low which will then lead to overeating!!

So, I believe I have made my case-SWITCH TO WHOLE GRAINS whenever possible, read labels before buying (the list of ingredients, not the marketing on the front) and make a conscious choice for the healthy carbs when out to eat.

Make the switch from:
Instant Oats to Steal Cut Oats
High Sugar Cereal  to High Fiber Cereal
Sugared or Dried Fruits to Fresh Fruit
White Breads to Whole Wheat or Whole Grain
White Rice to Brown Rice or Barely or other whole grain
White Pasta to Whole Wheat, Brown Rice or Artichoke Pasta
Refined Sugars (White Sugar) to Molasses, Maple Syrup or Honey


Good Luck!