The Benefits Of Carbohydrates

Though there are many benefits of carbohydrates you need to make sure you're eating them in moderation. A carbohydrate-intensive diet can cause high blood sugar and unwanted weight gain. But it's important that you eat an appropriate amount of healthy carbohydrates in order to meet your body's nutritional needs and maintain a healthy weight.

What are carbohydrates?

Carbohydrates are one of three macronutrients - along with proteins and fats - that your body requires daily. There are three main types of carbohydrates: starches fiber and sugars. Starches are often referred to as complex carbohydrates. They are found in grains legumes and starchy vegetables like potatoes and corn. Sugars are known as simple carbohydrates. There are natural sugars in vegetables fruits milk and honey. Added sugars are found in processed foods syrups sugary drinks and sweets.

Why do you need carbohydrates?

Carbohydrates are your body's main source of energy: They help fuel your brain kidneys heart muscles and central nervous system. For instance fiber is a carbohydrate that aids in digestion helps you feel full and keeps blood cholesterol levels in check. Your body can store extra carbohydrates in your muscles and liver for use when you're not getting enough carbohydrates in your diet. A carbohydrate-deficient diet may cause headaches fatigue weakness difficulty concentrating nausea constipation bad breath and vitamin and mineral deficiencies.

What are some healthy sources of carbohydrates?

To reap the benefits of carbohydrates you should choose carbohydrates that are loaded with nutrients. Christie Ferriell a registered dietitian and nutrition manager at Reid Health recommends that you get at least half of your carbohydrates from whole grains. Ferriell notes that "whole grains provide fiber that helps you feel full and satisfied with smaller portions." Ferriell recommends that you try making quinoa pilaf with tofu and vegetables a heart-healthy recipe containing fiber- and protein-rich quinoa from Reid's I Heart Cooking program.

Healthy carbohydrate-rich foods (containing 12 grams of carbohydrates or more per serving) include

• Whole grains: quinoa, amaranth, barley, brown rice, oatmeal, whole-grain pasta and whole-grain breakfast cereals
• Fruits: berries, citrus fruits, melons, apples, pears, bananas and kiwifruit
• Starchy vegetables: sweet potatoes, yams, corn. peas and carrots
• Legumes: lentils, black beans, pinto beans, navy beans, chick peas and soybeans
• Milk products: low-fat milk, plain yogurt and soy yogurt

Healthy foods lower in carbohydrates (less than 10 grams per serving) include

• Nonstarchy vegetables: leafy greens, spinach, cabbage, asparagus, tomatoes, broccoli, cauliflower, green beans, cucumbers, peppers, zucchini and mushrooms
• Nuts and seeds: pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, almonds, cashews, walnuts, peanuts and pistachios
• Soy milk and tofu

How many grams of carbohydrates do you need?

The Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2010 suggest that most adults get 45 to 65 percent of their calories from carbohydrates. Since carbohydrates contain four calories per gram you should consume 225 to 325 grams of carbohydrates on a daily basis if you're following a 2000-calorie diet.

According to the United States Department of Agriculture you should consume at the very least the recommended dietary allowance (RDA) of carbohydrates which is 130 grams for adults 175 grams for women who are pregnant and 210 grams for women who are breastfeeding. According to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2010 women should consume 25 grams of fiber on a daily basis while men should consume 38 grams of fiber on a daily basis.

What if I have diabetes?

If you have diabetes you should see a doctor or dietitian who can help you plan meals to control your blood sugar. Though your daily carbohydrate requirements are the same as those for someone without diabetes it's important to avoid eating too many carbohydrates in one sitting. The American Diabetes Association suggests that you should limit your intake to about 45 to 60 grams of carbohydrates at each meal.

3 REASONS WHY CARBS ARE IMPORTANT

Carbohydrates achieve staple status in our diet because they supply a magical thing called glucose, a sugar. (OK, it’s not magic, just science.) If you weren’t automatically transported back to biology, let me explain.

1. CARBOHYDRATES ARE AN EFFICIENT FUEL SOURCE

Our body runs on calories, and it gets those calories by metabolizing carbohydrates, fat and protein from our food. Since our body smartly spares protein for rebuilding and repairing tissue, carbohydrates and fat are by far the fuel of choice. While every cell is capable of burning glucose  for energy, the same is not true for fat.

2. CERTAIN ORGANS AND TISSUES REQUIRE GLUCOSE

Our brain and red blood cells rely on the plentiful glucose in carbohydrates. Through gradual adaptation, the brain can learn to use fat in the form of ketone bodies, but our blood cells will always rely on glucose. In fact, our body fights really hard to keep our blood glucose levels within a narrow window. Once you dip below the minimum threshold of 20mg glucose/dL of blood you risk slipping into coma or having a seizure. This biological fact is partly what drives the daily recommendations for carbohydrates by major health organizations (see below).

---

GENERAL CARBOHYDRATE RECOMMENDATIONS

• The National Academy of Medicine sets the recommended dietary allowance  at 130 grams per day. This is the minimum amount of carbohydrates needed to provide enough glucose for the brain and red blood cells from carbohydrates.
• The 2015 Dietary Guidelines for Americans set the acceptable macronutrient distribution for carbohydrates at 45–65% of total daily calories. For someone who eats a typical 2,000-calorie diet, this is 225–325 grams of carbs per day — well above the RDA.
• The World Health Organization and Food and Agriculture Organization recommend that 55% of total calories come from carbohydrates per day.

---

3. CARBOHYDRATES ARE EVERYWHERE

Carbs make up a large percentage of the U.S. food supply, contributing anywhere from 50–60% of calories since 1910. This makes sense given that the world’s staple crops are carb-heavy. These include cassava, corn, plantain, potato, rice, sorghum, soybean, sweet potato, wheat and yam. Fruits and vegetables, the foundation of a well-balanced diet, also contain carbohydrates. Even dairy contains milk sugar, which is a carb. Most modern societies base their diets on carbohydrate-rich foods.

3 REASONS WHY CARBS ARE NOT ESSENTIAL

Here’s where the argument that carbohydrates are essential starts to crumble:

1. PROTEIN AND FAT CAN PROVIDE GLUCOSE

The healthy human body is fully capable of reforming the amino acids from protein into glucose. Even the breakdown of fat for energy yields the tiniest bit of glucose. If an individual is eating enough calories, even if those calories are mostly from fat or protein, that person can still satisfy the glucose needs of their brain and blood cells and maintain their blood glucose at a normal level.

2. CARBOHYDRATE DEFICIENCY DOESN’T RESULT IN ILLNESS

Nutrition science defines a nutrient as “essential” if we must get it from the diet because our body can’t make enough of it to meet our needs. Deficiencies in protein, essential fats (linolenic and linoleic), vitamins and minerals all match up to an impairment or disease. This same phenomenon doesn’t exist with carbohydrates.

3. IT’S POSSIBLE TO SURVIVE ON VERY LITTLE CARBOHYDRATES

Reach outside the literature, and it’s easy to obtain anecdotal evidence of people who survive on very low-carbohydrate diets. (Note that we’re not taking into account sustainability or personal happiness when subsisting on these diets.

• The Atkins diet advocates followers eat as little as 20 grams of carbohydrates per day! To give you an idea of what this means: 20 grams is the amount of carbs in 1 small (6-inch) banana.
• The classic ketogenic diet is 80–90% fat. It was originally used as a therapy for epilepsy but is now gaining popularity for use in weight loss.
• The traditional Inuit diet, which is what the natives of northern Canada subsisted on for many years, is empty of refined sugar and grains. Instead, there’s plenty of fresh seal, walrus and other marine life on the menu. A 1980s study of that diet found that it contained, on average, 23% calories from protein, 39% calories from fat and 38% calories from carbohydrates.