I find that many people are following poor advice from their doctor, gym instructor or dare I say it nutritionist, as it seems their agenda is to push the “Carbohydrates are really bad for you” view. One thing that I tell people often is that not all carbs are the same. This is where the problem lies… not all carbohydrates are bad for you, but refined carbohydrates are bad for you.

Everyone needs a certain amount of carbohydrates in order to live a healthy life with a well functioning body. Many whole foods that are high in carbohydrates are very healthy indeed. Whereas refined carbohydrates have had most of the nutrients and fibre taken out.

Eating refined carbohydrates is linked to an increase risk of getting diseases such as Type 2 diabetes, obesity and heart disease. Every real nutritional expert will agree that refined carbohydrates should be limited/ eliminated. Unfortunately they are still the main source of dietary carbohydrates in many countries.

Below I will explain what refined carbs are, and why they are so bad for you health.

What Are Refined Carbs?

Refined carbs are known as simple carbs aka processed carbs. There are two main types below…

Refined grains: are grains that have had all the nutritious parts taken out. The biggest source is white flour made from refined wheat.

Sugars: Refined and processed sugars, such as sucrose (Table sugar) and high fructose corn syrup.
Note: Refined carbs include mostly sugars and processed grains. That means they are empty calories and lead to rapid spikes in blood sugar and insulin levels.

So Why Are Refined Carbs Bad For Me?

Refined carbs when eaten; it’s as if it’s playing a trick on you. What I mean by that is you are given an instant burst of energy and that’s it. Not that long after eating, you will start to feel hungry again. In fact if it had any use at all it would would be for an instant burst of energy when doing physical activity.

Let’s say a pro athlete would most likely do this… but for everyone else, it makes more sense to consume complex carbohydrates that will actually keep you fuller for longer and get enough nutrients, fibre and energy that your body needs.

The reason for this is because complex carbs take longer to digest. Your fruits and vegetables and whole-wheat cereals are excellent choices of complex carbohydrates.

Other reasons why refined carbs are bad for you is that they have a direct link to obesity because they don’t keep you full for long periods. The result from this is that you tend to eat bigger meals or snack and snack and snack after your main meals. For me, this “refined carbohydrates consumption” is a big reason why people fall for such myths as “ Don’t eat after 6pm” or “Eating after dark causes weight gain” I mean LOL, REALLY!?

The truth is if you eat healthy and remove refined carbs from your diet, it will not cause you to gain weight in fact your more likely to lose. On the other hand refined carbs are bad for you because not only does it cause weight gain there is a bigger risk of you getting type 2 diabetes (which affects about 300 million people world wide) .

What Should I Be Eating Instead?

Your fruits and vegetables are very healthy sources of carbohydrates, for one. Any whole foods that contain carbs tend to be incredibly healthy.

This includes: Legumes and whole grains along with, as it says above, fruit and vegetables.
Note: If you like to discover more on what you should be eating, then click on all three of these below and implement ASAP!

ONE   TWO   THREE 

Conclusion
To get optimal health and weight, you must absolutely get most if not all of your carbs from whole, single ingredient foods.
If the food you are buying comes with a long list of ingredients, it’s more than likely not a healthy carb source.

That’s a wrap!
I hope you guys have enjoyed my comeback blog post, as of late I’ve been doing a lot of videos.
I would love to hear from you guys, please do let me know what you think.. and if you have any questions as always I will get back to you.

Until next time ciao 🙂