Hello friends,

Welcome once again to your regular healthy living bulletin. This week I want to talk about carbohydrates. While I am working in class and with my clients, I find that there is still a lot of confusion about Carbohydrates. I largely blame this on the Atkins frenzy, which although past its peak, has left many of us wary of this essential food group. We have been lead to view this important nutrient with caution, associating it with weight gain, wheat allergies and bloating. Billion-dollar industries propagated the myth that carbohydrates were bad and caused weight gain, and then sold us diets and foods, and meal-replacement bars etc. These diets and products have been endorsed by celebrities who have lost huge (and often unhealthy) amounts of weight QUICKLY. There are many bizarre products on offer which are low-carbohydrate versions of favorite foods, including low-carb pastas! Many of these are over-processed and crammed with all sorts of rubbish including Hydrogenated fats bulking agents and additives. They are never a healthy option and should be avoided. The main function of carbohydrate in the body is to provide our cells with energy. Carbohydrates fall into two groups; complex and simple. Complex carbohydrates are found in vegetables, beans, lentils, fruits, wholegrains (rye, wheat, oats, barley, wholemeal flour, pastas and noodles, brown and wild rice). Simple carbohydrates include honey, raw sugar, and refined foods, sugar, flour, pasta, white rice, and refined cereals. The refining process strips the foods of their original vitamin and mineral content, leaving them lower in nutrition.

Sugars are the simplest form of carbohydrates. They are an essential source of energy, and the simplest form is glucose. The body uses pure glucose, but our digestive system is designed to break down complex carbohydrates from plant materials in order to gain energy from glucose. This process takes time and releases the glucose sugars into our blood stream slowly. Obtaining sugars from grains, fruits and vegetables ensures that the body also receives high levels of vitamins, minerals, proteins and fibre, where as simple sugars provide- only sugar. This is known as