Do you Eat Carbs?
What are carbs
Did you know that carbohydrates are the body’s primary energy source? Carbohydrates are essentially a combination of starches and sugars. Along with protein and fats, carbohydrates are one of the 3 main macronutrients for humans. Most foods contain these 3 nutrients in large and may even act as an alternative energy source when required.
Now let’s look at the different form of carbohydrates. We have simple carbohydrates which contains more available sugar e.g. glucose, and complex carbohydrates contain more fibre e.g brown rice. There are over 100 different types of fibres out there and the ideal way to get them into our diet is by including wholegrains, fruits and vegetables.
Adequate fibre intake can aid in bowel movements, regulate blood sugar levels, lower cholesterol levels, and even reduce risk of cancers such as colon and breast. Hence, we Nutritionist always recommend including at least 2 serving of high fibre carbohydrates such as wholegrain into your daily diet.
Here are some ways you can incorporate fibre into your diet:
- 2 slices wholemeal toast with unsweetened peanut butter for breakfast
- overnight oats (try out our recipe below)
- Mixing 50% wholemeal flour with plain flour for baking
You may have also heard about glycemic index (GI) – it is a system of assigning a number to carbohydrate-containing foods based on how quickly the food can raise your blood glucose levels. High GI foods cause a spike in blood glucose levels and low GI food gradually increase blood glucose levels – creating stability.
Who needs more carbs (sports, children etc)
General recommendations
- Per meal, fill a quarter of your plate with wholegrain (e.g. brown rice, wholemeal
- bread, rolled oats, corn).
- Per day, have 5-7 servings of brown rice and wholemeal bread
- 1 serving is ½ bowl of cooked brown rice or noodles, 2 slice wholemeal bread
- Recommended fibre intake is 20g for women and 26g for men. This equates to two
servings of fruit and two servings of vegetables per day.
- Including whole grains in your diet can boost fiber intake as well
Special populations
- People who are physically active – athletes
- Especially so for endurance sports such as marathons/triathlons
- Without an adequate intake of carbohydrates, the body will opt for alternative pathways to get sufficient energy to power through the workout sessions. These alternative pathways include breaking down fat and protein in the body. This is not ideal and works against the person if they are looking to gain or maintain muscle mass! It may also affect overall sport performance.
- The timing of carbohydrate intake matters for athletes going for events. Complex carbohydrates some time before the event to ‘stock up’ glycogen stores before. Simple carbohydrates at least 1 hour before event & during event as needed as it is fast digesting. Simple carbohydrates right after an event can replenish glycogen stores faster than complex carbohydrates. The amount is determined by individual needs and event intensity/duration.
