Overdo of high carb foods spikes up the blood sugar levels resulting in making more insulin in the body. This excessive insulin triggers your cells to save the extra glucose as fat. This deposit of extra fats can be unhealthy if you’re already carrying extra weight. These conditions lead to diabetes and other related health issues.
Nutrition Is A Basic Prerequisite To Sustain Life.
Variety in food is the essence of nutrition and health. A diet consisting of foods from several food groups provides all the required nutrients in proper amounts. Cereals, millets and pulses are major sources of most nutrients. Milk which provides good quality proteins and calcium must be an essential item of the diet, particularly for infants, children and women. Oils and nuts are calorie-rich foods, and are useful for increasing the energy density and quality of food. Inclusion of eggs, flesh foods and fish enhances the quality of diet. However, vegetarians can derive almost all the nutrients from diets consisting of cereals, pulses, vegetables, fruits and milk-based diets. Vegetables and fruits provide protective substances such as vitamins/ minerals/ phytonutrients. Diversified diets with a judicious choice from a variety of food groups provide the necessary nutrients.
> Plant Based Diet is a Holistic Lifestyle
High Carb Foods and How it Affects Us
Carbohydrates are not a culprit, but excessive refined carbs are very harmful for our body. There are Good carbs and Bad carbs. What we are talking about is bad carbs. Whole carbs are minimally processed and contain the fiber found naturally in the food, while refined carbs have been processed more and have had the natural fiber removed or changed.
Carbohydrates that come from white bread, white rice, pastry, sugary sodas and other highly processed foods make you fat, create inflammation in the body and eating excess of these so-called bad carbs increases your risk for disease.
Nutrition balance of food is very important for us to stay healthy. Excessive refined carbohydrates has a high glycemic index and that can increase the risk of certain health conditions, including obesity, type 2 diabetes and heart disease.
How many carbs should I eat?
There’s no “one size fits all” answer—everyone is different because everyone’s body is different. The amount you can eat and stay in your target blood sugar range depends on your age, weight, activity level, and other factors.
On average, people with diabetes should aim to get about half of their calories from carbs. That means if you normally eat about 1,800 calories a day to maintain a healthy weight, about 800 to 900 calories can come from carbs. But these carbs should be complex carbs sources and not refined carbs.
Complex carbohydrates are better for you because they take longer for your body to digest. They give you steady energy and fiber. What to Know About Simple vs Complex Carbohydrates
If Your Diet Majorly Consists Of Refined Carbs, then it’s time to make changes.
The main dietary sources of refined carbs are white flour, white bread, white rice, pastries, sodas, snacks, pasta, sweets, breakfast cereals and added sugars. They are also added to all sorts of processed foods. Bottom Line: Refined carbs include mostly sugars and processed grains.
How do you avoid High Carb Foods or Bad Carbs?
The best way to avoid refined carbs is to completely discard all processed and packaged food from your diet. Switch to a healthy and sustainable diet that includes whole grains, fresh fruits and vegetables, and unprocessed foods.
> Whole Grain Plant Based Diet: A Beginner’s Guide
Bad Carb Foods to Avoid
A low-carb balanced diet can help you lose weight and control diabetes and other health conditions.
List of foods to avoid or limit on a low-carb diet.
- Bread in various forms, including loaves, rolls, bagels, and flatbreads, such as tortillas. Switch to whole grains, millets like ragi, bajra, jowar etc.
Learn about 10 Different Types of Millets To Add To A Routine Diet - Fruit Jams, Preserves, Juices. Switch to fresh seasonal fruits as they are lower in sugar and higher in fiber.
- Both regular and whole-wheat pasta are high in carbs. Instead, spiralized vegetables or shirataki / zucchini noodles that offer healthy low-carb alternatives.
Learn how to make zucchini noodles - All kinds of sugary breakfast cereals with all marketing gimmicks contain a lot of carbs. Include oats, dalia, quinoa, poha and ragi idli.
Check: instant raagi idli recipe - Alcohol can be enjoyed in moderation. In fact, dry wine has very few carbs and hard liquor none. Don’t mix with any juices, sugar syrups.
- Sweetened yogurt, Srikhand, Misti Doi, Dried Berries, Ice cream to be avoided. Switch to natural options like dates, jaggery, kishmish, amras and fresh berries.
- If you’re on a low-carb diet, avoid sugar, honey, maple syrup, and other forms of sugar, which are high in carbs but low in nutrients.
- Avoid eating chips, crackers, and other processed, grain-based snack foods. Eat popcorns, peanuts, makhana but not packaged ones.
- Gluten-free breads and muffins can be as high in carbs as traditional baked goods. They’re also often made with carb sources that raise blood sugar quickly.
Eating Fibre to Lose Weight with Plant Diet
It’s important to mindfully choose foods that are highly nutritious but low in carbs.All foods offered by nature are good to be included in your daily diet. You must limit your packed and frozen foods in your diet. You can’t change your habits in one day. So make small changes in your daily lifestyle aiming for a holistic goal to achieve eating healthy wholesome and nutritious food to stay healthy.
