How many times did you hear that somebody is avoiding carbohydrates such as potatoes, rice, pasta, fruit…because CARBS aren’t healthy and they make you gain weight in just one second?
I also used to avoid CARBS, actually not really 😀 … I was just trying to… but never succeeded; it was nearly impossible for me to avoid carbohydrates. Is this familiar to you too, right? Here is my answer: You are not broken or weird. It’s normal for our bodies to crave CARBS… because CARBS are our main fuel, or should be our main fuel. This is the food that nature intended for us as a species…we all crave for it, we all find satisfaction when we eat CARBS and we all feel… complete when we eat mainly carbohydrates.
What are CARBS? They have a pretty fancy name so let’s see what we are talking about. According to Wikipedia, a carbohydrate is a molecule consisting of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen, usually with a hydrogen-oxygen atom ratio of 2:1, as in water.
In my opinion, that’s all we need to know 😀 and the fact that CARBS are not only essential to the human body, we actually cannot live without them. Maybe in the future we will create an article that will clear up for us the exact role of CARBS in a living organism.
Our bodies are designed to handle carbohydrates in a very efficient way. It all starts in the mouth. This is the 1st step of digestion; our salivary glands excrete amylase, a substance that starts to break down the carbohydrates from the food you eat. Once the food enters the stomach, the hydrochloric acid continues to break down the food, including the CARBS contained by that specific food, preparing them for the next step in their digestive “adventure”. The partially digested CARBS enter the small intestine for the key step of their digestion. Here, under the influence of pancreatic amylase (made by the King Pancreas) and another enzyme called maltase (comes from Small Intestine), the CARBS are reduced into much simpler structures, structures that our bodies can use for energy, such as fructose and glucose. These 2 babies can now be absorbed into the bloodstream and sent to all the tissues in the body, giving them proper nutrition and a big hug. 😀 ….we are designed for CARBS, don’t neglect them!
Now don’t get me wrong… not all carbohydrates are healthy or intended for us and I am pretty sure that you all know what I am talking about… the donuts, the pancakes, the fries… and so on and so forth. All the carbohydrates that come directly from nature are the best. Here is a list with my favorite ones:
FRUITS (apples, melons, nectarines, tomatoes, strawberries, blueberries, grapes, citrus fruit, papaya, raspberries, peaches, coconuts, pineapples, mangos, cherries, apricots, plums, kiwi, pears, etc)- VEGETABLES (peas, mushrooms, asparagus, peppers, celery, eggplant, cabbage, broccoli, radish, garlic, zucchini, summer squash, pumpkin, sweet potatoes, root vegetables, winter squash, dark leafy greens, onions, potatoes, etc)
- GRAINS (brown rice, oats, quinoa, millet, amaranth, corn, buckwheat, etc)
- LEGUMES (all type of beans such as kidney beans or pinto beans, chickpeas, peas, peanuts, etc)
There are also some refined carbohydrates that deserve our attention, because they are not that bad and we can consume them without any problem, but in much smaller quantities than the ones I mentioned above, such as: dried fruits, homemade fruit and veggie juice, white rice, whole grain pasta, couscous and the list can go on. 😀
Can you imagine how many perfect recipes you can make with fruits, vegetables, grains and legumes? Ok… you can add some nuts and seeds in there also 😀 … but not too much.
If you want to digest correctly the CARBS, don’t fry the food, don’t over process it and don’t mix the food that contains a lot of CARBS with the food that is loaded with fat or protein. When you add oils to your food… the digestive system finds it very hard to digest properly any kind of food… and that’s when you gain weight!!!
Use fats from whole foods, such as avocado. 😀 … we all love avocado.
If you consume fruits, vegetables, grains, nuts and seeds you will give your body the perfect nutrition possible and how many times did you hear that somebody is avoiding carbohydrates such as potatoes, rice, pasta, fruit… because CARBS aren’t healthy and they make you gain weight in just one second?
Make your bulk from fruits and vegetables… and the CARBS will make your life a whole lot better! 😀
“I love carbs, but denial is good training for the mind”
Jason Momoa