What's with the Carbs?

Carbohydrates are a very hot topic in our world today, it seems like around every corner there is another person looking to talk about their carb intake or lack thereof. Carbohydrates are a very important molecule in the human body, their main function is to provide us with energy for use. Starch, Sugar and Fiber are all considered carbohydrates. Listed below are some examples of each type:

Starch

• Canned Beans

• Potatoes

• Whole Grains

Sugar - simple carbohydrates

• Milk

• Fruits

*Added Sugar-

Sweeteners added during the manufacturing process.

Fiber

• Whole Grains

• Vegetables

• Nuts & Seeds

Carbohydrates while important to the human diet also have many health benefits. My favorite health benefit that carbohydrates bring is that eating fiber can aid your body in digestion. A study in 2020 showed that the carbohydrates used in this study were able to slow gastric emptying as well as reduce glycemic responses in our blood. Here is a link to the study. Another health benefit of carbohydrates is having the ability to increase our time spent sleeping in a REM state. A systematic review in 2021 focused on using carbohydrates to see how they affected sleeping patterns. Results of the study concluded that diets higher in carbohydrates are associated with longer REM cycles in sleep studies. Another strong health benefit of eating carbohydrates is supplying your brain with energy. Carbohydrates are used by the body as a source of energy and use our central nervous system to send energy directly to fuel our brain.

While there are many positive benefits to using carbohydrates in your diet, there are also moments where carbohydrates can be detrimental. Increasing your intake of carbohydrates can place a strain on your body's metabolic load. When our metabolic processes are overloaded with the overconsumption of carbohydrates our blood sugar rises. With high blood sugar levels our risk of heart disease also increases. Refined sugars are a major player involved in the over consumption of carbohydrates. Over consumption of carbohydrates is also associated with regular weight gain. This weight gain is due to the excess carbohydrates being stored in our fat stores.

References:

Clemente-Suárez VJ, Mielgo-Ayuso J, Martín-Rodríguez A, Ramos-Campo DJ, Redondo-Flórez L, Tornero-Aguilera JF. The Burden of Carbohydrates in Health and Disease. Nutrients. 2022;14(18):3809. Published 2022 Sep 15. doi:10.3390/nu14183809

Hasek LY, Phillips RJ, Hayes AMR, et al. Carbohydrates designed with different digestion rates modulate gastric emptying response in rats. Int J Food Sci Nutr. 2020;71(7):839-844. doi:10.1080/09637486.2020.1738355

Vlahoyiannis A, Giannaki CD, Sakkas GK, Aphamis G, Andreou E. A Systematic Review, Meta-Analysis and Meta-Regression on the Effects of Carbohydrates on Sleep. Nutrients. 2021;13(4):1283. Published 2021 Apr 14. doi:10.3390/nu13041283