Carbs & Carbs

Just like there are calories and calories and people and people, there are carbs and carbs. They are not all created equal. Some are healthier and some less healthy. The quality of the carbohydrate is key. Some carbohydrates are more nutritious than others. Highly processed and refined foods are often referred to as empty because most of the nutrition has been removed. They include refined sugar, white rice, and white flour products, along with other highly processed foods and alcohol—all of which can contribute to weight gain. The problem arises with using too many simple carbs in proportion to other foods you are eating: primarily fruits or too many refined processed foods in your menu. And sugars such as those found in candy, sodas, many pastries and desserts. Along with highly refined foods like pastas and white breads, these types of foods add calories but minimal nutrition. Consequently, it is wise to choose complex carbs in as natural a form as possible.

Soluble & Insoluble Fiber

Soluble fiber absorbs liquid, forming a gel, which can help resolve diarrhea by removing excess fluid from the bowel. It can help lower blood cholesterol and glucose levels, too. Soluble fiber-rich foods include strawberries, blueberries, apples, avocado, dried figs and prunes, oranges, and mangos; veggies such as asparagus, edamame, broccoli, green beans and peas, carrots, plus legumes, oats, barley, psyllium, and peanuts, which contain the highest soluble fiber per serving of all nuts. Almonds, Brazil nuts, sesame and sunflower seeds are good sources, as well. Insoluble fiber passes through the intestines largely intact. It increases stool bulk, which can help resolve constipation. Ancient whole grains top the list of insoluble fiber-rich foods, along with air-popped popcorn, zucchini, broccoli, cabbage, leafy greens, and root vegetables. It is also contained in legumes, most beans, raspberries, unpeeled apples and grapes, walnuts, almonds, and sunflower seeds. Some foods give you a two-for-one, because they contain both types of fiber. For example, oats, legumes, mangoes, almonds, avocados, cucumber, celery, and carrots. Generally, you need to eat some of each type of fiber.

Carbs – 3 Main Categories

Simple carbs contain one or two sugars. They are found in dairy products as galactose, as fructose in fruit (that also contain many valuable micronutrients); in high-fructose corn syrup, white flours, white rice, and in many refined and processed products. Double sugars such as maltose are in some vegetables, lactose in dairy, and sucrose in refined table sugar, syrups, and honey.

Complex carbs contain three or more sugars. Many vegetables are considered complex: beans, split peas, and lentils; mushrooms, spinach, onions, broccoli, peppers, and starchy vegetables; along with whole grains, including oatmeal, quinoa, barley, and brown rice. Complex carbohydrates provide calories as well as vitamins, minerals, enzymes, and other micronutrients.

Fiber (soluble and insoluble) that refers to carbohydrates the body cannot digest. Fiber is the indigestible portion of plants that pass through the intestinal tract intact and help to move waste out of the body. Fiber is not absorbed into the bloodstream and provides no calories. Legumes, nuts, seeds, the fibers in some fruits and vegetables, and ancient whole grains are rich sources of this type of carbohydrate.

Carbs to Glucose

The body turns healthy carbs into glucose, which provides fuel for all body tissues. Without glucose, your blood oxygen levels suffer, your energy levels fall, and your risk of brain fog can increase. Eating too many carbs can lead to obesity. Not getting enough can result in malnutrition or in an excessive intake of fats to make up the calories. In Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2010, 7th Ed, the USDA recommends that 45-65% of your daily calories are best derived from carbs. That’s because carbohydrates:

• Are the body’s main source of fuel, can be used easily for energy by all tissues and cells, and can be stored in the muscles and liver for later use.
• Are needed for the brain, central nervous system, kidneys, and muscles (including those of the heart) to function properly.
• Important for gastrointestinal health and the timely and appropriate elimination of waste.
• ·Supply energy (glucose), especially for the brain, central nervous system, and muscles
• Prevent the breakdown of proteins (amino acids) as a source of energy and minimize ketosis from breakdown of fatty acids
• Assist with cellular and protein recognition and provide soluble and insoluble dietary fiber

Carbs – Main Nutrient

According to Donald Layman PhD, professor of human nutrition at the University of Illinois, carbohydrates are the only nutrients that exist solely to fuel the brain and the body. I like metaphors and I like musicals—which have principal actors and supporting players. Think of macronutrients (carbohydrates being one of the three main types) as principal actors. They are vital nutrients that provide calories, which the brain and body use in relatively large amounts. On the other hand, think of micronutrients, including vitamins, minerals, and enzymes, as the supporting players. These substances are also important to both brain and body but are needed in smaller amounts. For example, the enzyme amylase helps break down carbohydrates into glucose—the main circulating sugar or glucose in human blood and the principal source of energy for cells that make up the human brain and body. For most living things, actually. 

To Carb or Not to Carb

Many questions I receive have to do with confusion about carbohydrates, what they are, whether you really need any, and their contribution to brain-body health. Often these questioners have been lobbied by well-meaning individuals whose apparent goal was to convince the world that embracing a diet free from all carbohydrates or carbs was the preferred way to go. Such recommendations seem to ‘throw the baby out with the bathwater,’ to use that familiar saying, and their proponents urge avoiding carbs like the proverbial plague. What really are carbohydrates? They are one of the three general categories of macronutrients, the other two being fats and proteins. Are there good and bad carbs? Definitely, just as there are good and bad behaviors (or behaviors that results in either negative or positive outcomes, as I prefer to state it). Can avoiding undesirable carbs help you manage your weight and prevent some disease? That appears to be the case. Can avoiding even good carbs injure your health and sabotage brain function and fitness goals? This, too, appears to be the case. More tomorrow.

BPD vs APD

Recently several young people came up to me and asked about the difference between BPD and APD. With all the acronyms floating around these days I thought it prudent to ask what those two represented in their vocabularies. They laughed and said that a classmate had been diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder and they wanted to know how that differed from Antisocial Personality Disorder. Interestingly enough, I had just spent some time with a cousin who is a psychiatrist. In the conversation he mentioned that his view was the BPD is diagnosed much more commonly in females and that likely APD is the male equivalent, it being diagnosed much more commonly in males. I did some blogs on this topic last August and you may want to access those if you missed them.