The C-word

Last weekend I attended the wedding of an old friend. Er, old as in she's plenty youthful, but we've been friends for a long time. NEITHER OF US HAVE WRINKLES, ok?

Mid-30s are hard.

Anyway, at the wedding I was seated next to a guy that I actually went to college with but didn't really know at the time. It was nice to connect and chat about our post college ventures. I love talking nutrition with people! At one point in our conversation, he asked a question that I get a lot:

So, are carbs really that bad for you?

Dude, I'm glad you asked! The answer is YES, and NO. Come again?

Carbs, aka carbohydrates, are an incredibly broad category. I hate to use the terms "good" and "bad" when talking foods so with patients I tend to use high-nutrient and low-nutrient. A low nutrient carbohydrate example would be a cookie. Even if it's a 100-calorie cookie, it's going to be primarily sugar and refined flour (ya grind up wheat, remove all the fiber and nutrients, then bleach it). No fiber, no vitamins, no minerals. Compare that with a high nutrient carbohydrate, such as an apple. Same 100-ish calories, but you get fiber, vitamin C, pectin, water, and yes, some naturally occurring carbohydrates in the form of fructose (fruit sugar). Eat too many cookies OR too many apples and your body will store those extra calories in the form of fat.

That being said, in my ten years in weight management, I've never encountered the person who overeats apples.

Carbohydrates are broken down into glucose. Your brain's primary source, and preferred source of fuel is glucose. Keto diet have you not feeling very sharp? It's the lack of carbs!

Current recommendations are for half of your calories consist of high nutrient carbohydrates. This certainly doesn't mean that I recommend everyone start counting calories and do extensive math on a daily basis (or if you're a MyFitnessPal-er, tracking your macros).

It is painfully cliche to say, but moderate everything. A huge plate full of white pasta? Not a great choice. A mindful size plate of whole grain pasta topped with lean chicken and a handful of spinach? Better!

Here's an idea- would it be helpful if I composed a list of what I consider to be high nutrient vs low nutrient foods? Let me know!