Lately, carbs have gotten a very bad reputation.
Many diets and dietary recommendations advise low carb diet.
So are carbs really bad for us?
Let's try to solve this mystery.
The first step in solving this mystery is to understand what are carbohydrates and what is their main function in our body.
Carbohydrates, as the name implies, are basically fusion products of Carbon dioxide ( CO2) and Water ( H2O).
More than 90% of carbohydrates are derived from plants photosynthesis.
This nature's mechanism, plant photosynthesis, is the ultimate evidence of our symbiotic relationship with mother nature.
Humans generate carbon dioxide ( CO2) as by product of their metabolism. And CO2 is expelled into the atmosphere through exhalation.
This CO2 is picked up by plants and is combined with water (H2O) in the presence of sunlight and chlorophyll. The end product is Carbohydrate ( sugar) and Oxygen.
Why is this so much important to our survival?
Because there are mainly two chemicals in our body that are so critical that we cannot survive without them even for a few minutes-Sugar and Oxygen.
If our blood sugar becomes critically low or if we are deprived of oxygen for just a few minutes we can potentially die. No other chemicals are as critical to our survival as blood sugar ( essentially glucose/carbs in our blood) and oxygen. We can survive,at least for a few days or weeks, with a low amount of fat or protein in our blood but not with a low blood sugar or oxygen.
And both of these chemicals are mainly provided to us by nature by utilizing waste product of our metabolism ( CO2 and Water ).
Doesn't this blow your mind! Yes, Mother Nature is looking out for us!
And mother nature is also very smart. She knows the best way to bundle these carbs for our benefits. She bundles these carbs with fibers and lots of vitamins and minerals.
Fruits, veggies, whole grains- all nature derived carbs- are bundled with fibers, vitamins, and minerals. The fibers ensure a steady supply of sugar to our blood. While vitamins and minerals are essential micronutrients for proper utilization of carbs and their assimilation in our muscles and tissues for future energy supply.
Another fact to consider is that we
have been eating carbs for thousands of years- even if we trace our evolution to our primates- we were first fructivorous before we became omnivores.
If carbs were so bad our species would not have survived or thrived.
Carbohydrates have given us the survival advantage too. Carbs are the main source of energy that our body goes for instant energy needs. Eg. running for our life when faced with danger.
Also, our brain depends solely on carbs ( blood sugar) for its energy need.
In fact carbs are so important for our body that in dietary deficiency of carbs body usually breaks down protein to make carbs.
So why have carbs gotten so much bad reputation?
The problem with carbs started when we started manipulating this energy powerhouse into something easily digestible and pleasurable food. Food industry started refining carbs by removing fibers and germ center ( which contains most of the vitamins and minerals in the whole grain).
What is left in refined carbs is mostly a plain sugar. The same applies to fruits juices. Fruits are rich in fibers while most of the fruit juices are nothing but fructose water.
While nature derived carbs bundled with fibers, vitamins and minerals is like nectar for our body; refined carbs have proven to be poisonous.
The reason being refined carbs ( the one stripped off of fibers, vitamins, and minerals) instead of giving a steady supply of sugar causes spikes and dips in our blood sugar.
This if keeps happening frequently on long term basis gives rise to hormonal and metabolic dysfunction which ultimately leads to weight gain as well as many chronic medical problems.
So no wonder carbs have gotten a bad reputation as more than 90% of carbs in our diet consists of refined carbs- white rice, enriched flour products, breads, pizza, pasta, sugar sweetened beverages, cookies, candies, baked products... the list goes on.
The key to optimum health lies not in avoiding carbs but replacing refined carbs with healthy nature derived carbs.
What does the medical research say about this?
Harvard food pyramid
Many strong medical studies about diet and health have shown that diet rich in healthy carbs ( fruits, veggies and whole grain) significantly decreases the risk of heart disease and many other chronic medical conditions.
A meta-analysis of more than 1.5 million healthy adults has shown that a Mediterranean diet is associated with a reduced risk of heart disease, cancer, and Parkinson's and Alzheimer's diseases.
