Carbohydrates

Never before have so many women been obsessed with carbohydrates. The popularity of low carb diets such as the Atkins have millions of us avoiding rice, bread and past like the plague. But is this sensible? Are carbohydrates. that bad? And what is a carbohydrate anyway? Hopefully, by the end of this article you'll have a better idea.

What is a Carbohydrate?
A carbohydrate is a chemical compound that the human body as it's main source of energy. Although they are a fundamental part of our diets they are not an essential element to human nutrition.

Our bodies can convert protein to carbohydrate to some degree and indeed there any tribes in South America who survive on a diet with practically no carbs. However, in terms of producing efficient energy carbohydrates are irreplaceable.

Do carbs make you fat?
The simple answer to this question is no. Carbohydrates don't make you fat anymore than protein does.

However, like all major food groups if you eat too many of them you will put on weight. For example ten bowls of pasta a day will lead to weight gain but so will ten packets of cheese.

The only reason we put on weight, besides medical conditions, is if we are consuming more food and more calories than you are burning off. Anything else is complete rubbish.

What are good carbs and bad carbs?
The so called good carbs are not processed and generally contain a sizeable amount of fiber. The most common of these are fruits, vegetables, legumes and whole grain breads and cereals.The bad carbs are those which have been processed or refined. The most common of there are white pasta, white bread and anything with high levels of sugar.

However, the actual goodness and badness of carbohydrates is debatable. Although, some carbs are better for you than others they are all just broken down into sugar or glucose by the body. The only difference is the carbs without any fibre in them are broken down quicker.

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