Carbohydrates have a bad reputation in the diet world. People constantly cut them out with the goal of losing weight, or ‘being good’. They are deemed generally bad for you by the public. Furthermore, some marketing companies encourage this.

However, I have news for you. Carbohydrates are actually an important nutrient that we use for fuel. They are part of a healthy, balanced diet and carbohydrates provide us with energy, vitamins, minerals, fibre and some protein; which are important for health.

There are 3 main categories of carbohydrates:

• Complex starchy carbohydrates. These carbohydrates breakdown slowly in the body. This is the group I’m going to concentrate on.

• Foods containing natural sugars. Such as fruit, milk or yogurt.

• Free sugars. This includes sugar, sweets, honey, and fruit juices.

Examples of Starchy Carbohydrates

Starchy carbohydrates include the following:

• Bread

• Potatoes

• Pasta

• Cous cous

• Rice

• Oats

• Cereals

High fibre or wholegrain carbohydrates

Evidence suggests that wholegrain carbohydrates or high fibre carbohydrates are the key to a healthy body weight.

This is because the fibre in wholegrain (or high fibre) carbohydrates means the carbohydrate digests slowly and keeps you fuller for longer. It also means the carbohydrates are broken down, and released more slowly into the blood. This makes them a low glycaemic index (GI) food. Which helps maintain your appetite, and helps control snacking and cravings.

Wholegrains have also been linked to reduced risk of heart disease, stroke and T2DM by up to 30%, and reduced risk of digestive cancers.

Wholegrains (or high fibre) carbohydrates contain the following nutrients:

• B Vitamins and folic acid

• Omega-3 fats

• Protein

• Antioxidants including vitamin E and selenium

• Micronutrients such as copper and magnesium

• Phytochemicals

In fact, they contain up to 75% more nutrients than their refined equivalent.

Refined carbohydrates

Examples of refined carbohydrates include:

• White bread

• White rice

• White pasta

• White flour

• Cakes

• Pastry

• Sweet deserts

• Many breakfast cereals

Processed or refined carbohydrates provide energy or calories, but often don’t have other nutrients. To make these grains ‘white’, they’re processed and a lot of the grain (the brain and the germ) is removed.

The removed grain contains fibre, and many other nutrients that is important for health.

Refined carbohydrates are then digested more quickly than wholegrain. This leads to spikes in your blood sugar. This makes them a high Glycaemic Index (GI) food.

High GI foods are linked to overeating and increased risk of comorbidities.

Low carbohydrate diets for weight loss

Any dietary restriction can lead to weight loss. A diet low in carbohydrates could lower your overall food volume, plus it may be that you’re cutting out more unhealthy foods you usually consume. Such as pastries, cakes and sweet deserts. Some people find adjusting their carbohydrates an effective way to maintain weight.

However, starting a low carbohydrate diet without adequate planning or support could affect your gut health, and lead to constipation or other complications. Some people also find that restricting carbohydrates worsens cravings and is unsustainable in the long run.

Restricting one food group is not recommended. Carbohydrates contain energy, and are a key food group for health. It might be a better idea to adjust your choice of carbohydrate, rather than restricting the whole group.

Recommended daily amounts of carbohydrates

There is no clear answer here. Which is why it can be confusing. Low carbohydrate diets are not recommended. However, over the past 40 years our general portions have increased, and refined carbohydrates are more available and more highly consumed.

Therefore, It’s been suggested we should be more ‘carbohydrate aware’. This means to focus on the following:

• Have the appropriate portion size of starchy carbohydrate. A portion is generally the size of your fist.

• Choose wholegrain or high fibre options. Such as wholegrain bread, oats, wholegrain rice, wholegrain pasta, potatoes with the skin on.

• Reduce your refined, high sugar carbohydrates

I hope you’ve found this blog post helpful!

Choosing wholegrain or high fibre carbohydrates are better for our health, especially when compared to refined, high sugar carbohydrates.

Aim for appropriate portions of carbohydrates with each meal. However, this could be adaptable depending on how active you are.

If you’re thinking of adjusting your carbohydrate amounts in your diet, consult a dietitian to plan your diet properly and to lower your chances of physiological and psychological consequences.

Do you want to include more wholegrains in your diet, or do you want to adjust your carbohydrates amounts?

Contact me and we’ll work together to see what your next steps are.

I’m a Manchester and Cheshire based private dietitian who specialises in vegan, sustainable diets.

Thank you for reading!