Carbs make up such a large part of the British diet that it’s no wonder our weight wellness is, well, less than ideal. We crave carbs at mealtimes, in snacks; in fact, 50% of your daily diet is crammed with carbs, so let’s take a look at how they affect your weight, and your well-being.
Your body breaks carbohydrates down into glucose, which your cells then convert into energy – this is why you often get athletes carbo-loading before a big event. There are simple carbs/simple sugars, which your body breaks down and absorbs into the bloodstream very quickly. These are found in table sugar, sugary snacks (cakes, biscuits, sweets), sweetened drinks, milk and fruit, and although they produce energy very speedily, this energy is used up swiftly and is gone. Then you have complex carbs, which are found in grains, such as wheat, oats and rice, as well as vegetables and pulses. When these carbs haven’t been refined or processed, they provide slow-burning energy over a sustained period of time.
So that’s carbs, but how are they related to wellness matters, such as insulin production? The hormone insulin regulates the amount of sugar/glucose in your blood, which, in turn, helps maintain a healthy metabolism. Even though most foods make your blood sugar levels rise, eating carbohydrates makes them absolutely soar! When you eat simple carbs or white bread or pasta, your body produces lots of insulin and floods your bloodstream with it. This gives you a major, but short-lived, energy boost which is followed by a huge energy slump unless you pump more carbs into your system.
Not only does the insulin affect up your sugar cravings – and so your weight gain – but it can also cause you to experience fatigue, low mood and irritability. However, it’s not just the sugar cravings that make you gain weight; insulin is known as the fattening hormone because it turns all those unnecessary carbs you eat into fat and deposits them in your fat stores. So, if you want to still keep carbs, but watch your weight (and your well-being), then stick to complex carbs. Using your plate as a guide, fill half of the plate with vegetable/pulse carbs, a quarter with starchy complex carbs (unrefined wheat/rice etc.), and fill the rest with protein.
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