Carbs Aren't Bad For You!

Current diet trends continue to focus on eating fewer or totally eliminating carbohydrates, especially grain foods, but are these diets simply one more fad diet?

As celebrities and athletes talk about their new attempts are going "carb free" or choosing the "keto" diet it can make these new diets tempting options but if you look at what you need for health, you might want to look at the reality of why we eat carbohydrates. Carbohydrates, which are found in grains, fruit, vegetables, dairy foods, beans, nuts, seeds and sugary foods are all built around molecules of glucose. Some carbohydrates are very short chains of glucose molecules so they provide fast, short-term energy - fruits, dairy and sugary foods are in this category. While others provide much longer chains and therefore energy that lasts longer - grains, vegetables, beans, nuts and seeds are in this category.

Glucose is the fuel that propels the body, allows you to participate in physical activities and it keeps your brain thinking. Glucose is needed for a healthy body! If you consume the amount of energy from carbohydrates that your body needs, All of that energy will be used and None will be stored as body fat. Carbohydrates only become a problem when we eat more than we burn.

Improve your health by trying the following:

* Choose whole grains all the time or most of the time

* Limit your intake of sugary foods

* Consume the amount of fruit and vegetable you need each day

* Learn about proper portion sizes 

Visit http://www.choosemyplate.gov/ to learn more about carbohydrates, proper portions and exactly how much you need each day.

Connie Diekman, M.Ed., RD, CSSD, LD

Nutrition Communications Consultant