Confused about Carbs? Good or Bad

Brief Intro

There are generally 2 types of carbs that we eat: simple carbs or sugars (fast absorbing) and complex carbs (slow absorbing).  There is a time and place where you should have each but in general you should be eating more of the complex carbs (slow releasing type).

It’s worth mentioning that in general, the more active and more lean muscle you have, the more your body will demand carbohydrates as fuel (compared with fats).

Good Carbs VS Bad Carbs

I do not want to place any morals on foods by labelling them as ‘good’ or ‘bad’ + I also feel that most people (including myself) would prefer to still be able to eat a bit of ‘naughty’ foods once in a while and still get results. That’s what my philosophy is all about. However, for the sake of simplicity I will use these terms while breaking things down for y’all.

Most people tend to organise good carbs and bad carbs based on how fast they spike insulin which is a fair point and I also do the same. However, I also like to take into account whether the form of carb, or food you eat in general, occurs in nature like that, or have there been multiple man made processes to get the food to look how it does when you purchase it from a supermarket.

Good Carbs

For me good carbs are as close to how they are found in nature as possible (minimal processing) and are relatively low in sugar per gram.

Examples: Potato, Sweet Potato, Butternut Squash, Vegetables, Fruits, Rice, Oats (the last 2 have some processes but still they’re pretty clean)

Notice that I do make an exception for fruits here even though they can be relatively high in sugar. Here I go into my thoughts on fruit.

You get my point? Not all sugar affects the body in the same way. And generally (not always) if we stick to foods as they are found in nature vs man made variations we will never have to worry about having too much sugar in one sitting.

Bad Carbs

For me bad carbs are processed/altered from natural form and high in sugar per gram.

Examples: Donuts, Pastries, Sweets, cakes (have fats too), biscuits, granola, surgery drinks.

I recommend that the majority of the carbs you consume in your diet should be ‘Good Carbs’ while still keeping a bit of room for some naughty ones 🙂 and feel free to hit me up with any questions.

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