Are all carbohydrates the same?
No, because carbohydrates are divided into three groups depending on the number of their sugar components. These include:
- Monosaccharides (simple sugars): These include grape sugar (glucose) and fruit sugar (fructose).
- Disaccharides (double sugar): The most important representatives are simple table sugar (sucrose) as well as milk and malt sugar. Both single and double sugars are found in foods that taste sweet - and do not contain vitamins or minerals, such as sweets. The only exception: fruit. Disaccharides cause blood sugar levels to skyrocket quickly.
- Polysaccharides (multiple sugars): This mainly refers to starch and cellulose. And these are particularly found in cereals, whole grain products, legumes, and potatoes. Multiple sugars cause the blood sugar level to rise slowly, as it has to be broken down before being absorbed into the blood.
If you want to lose weight, you should only integrate the latter into your diet plan - and take an additional look at a calorie table that provides information about the nutritional values of a food per 100 g. Glucose and fructose should be avoided as far as possible. Raw vegetables, on the other hand, can be nibbled en masse as a snack.
Bottom line: not all carbohydrates are bad. It is worth taking a closer look and making targeted choices.
Do Carbohydrates Really Make You Fat?
No, as long as the daily calorie balance is good. But: bread, pasta, and cakes made from white flour do not keep you full, so you tend to snack on something in between meals. This is how one calorie comes to the next kcal. And not only that: fat burning works better if you take at least four hours of eating break between meals. Those who only eat very few high-carbohydrate foods because they are concerned about extra pounds often turn to fatty, low-carbohydrate foods such as sausage and cheese to compensate. But fat contains twice as many calories as carbohydrates.
In liquid form, carbohydrates can actually make you fat. Fruit juices and sweetened soft drinks are not as filling as solid foods, we easily drink them away by the liter. And they provide a lot of calories, quickly raise the blood sugar level, and so the fat-storage hormone insulin comes into action more. Studies show that people who regularly indulge in larger quantities of juices and lemonades increase their risk of diabetes. So: Better pay attention to the kcal in the calorie table.
Conclusion: If you want to lose weight, you need a negative energy balance to be able to burn more fat. This works best if you slow down on carbohydrates - especially white flour products, sugar, and sweets. Which have a high energy density, do not last long enough, and have pun c not much to offer to vitamins and minerals. It is difficult to keep up with practically no carbohydrates because the menu becomes one-sided and boring - and it is not necessary at all. Whole grain products, for example, are absolutely desirable because they have significantly more minerals and, above all, the fiber in their luggage. In our calorie table, you see the nutritional values for more than 500 (low carbohydrate and high carbohydrate) foods. You can also find a lot of low-carb foods here.
Do without bread, pasta, and potatoes in the evening?
Normally, the body burns all nutrients around the clock, regardless of whether it is fat, protein, or carbohydrates. There is one special feature of carbohydrates: as soon as we eat them, insulin is released into the blood and the burning of fat is temporarily slowed down. The more carbohydrates we consume, the longer the fat-burning brakes stay on. This can be unfavorable, especially in the evening, when we come to rest and hardly move. Only active muscles will consume a lot of carbohydrates, and nothing will stand in the way of burning fat. But in the end, the whole thing is a question of the quantities. If we only eat small amounts of carbohydrates (100g) in the evening, we will not gain any weight.
Conclusion: We gain weight when we consistently eat more than we consume - and not because the 100g spaghetti was served in the evening and not for lunch.
What if you cut out carbohydrates completely?
Bread, potatoes, pasta, rice & Co. are part of a balanced diet. The body can use the carbohydrates in them quickly and smoothly to provide the brain and muscles with energy quickly. If we were to forego carbohydrates entirely, as in the Atkins diet, the body would have to assemble the glucose it needs from protein - this is time-consuming and robs it of energy. We also need carbohydrates for the formation of serotonin in the brain, the messenger substance for a good mood. That is why we should cover about half of our energy needs with carbohydrates, recommends the German Nutrition Society (DGE). Keeping a food diary can help determine the correct daily amounts of protein, carbs, and fats.
Conclusion: Carbohydrates are brain food and muscle fuel and the fastest available energy source for the body. Also, bread and pasta made from whole grains and potatoes are good sources of minerals.
Better to eat protein and carbohydrates separately?
Separating the two nutrients on the plate makes sense in food combining diets. Proponents of food combining assert that when meat and potatoes are digested, for example, dangerous toxins are formed which over-acidify the whole body, make it sick and fat. But that's nonsense. Protein and carbohydrates can very well be digested together. Nevertheless, people who eat food combining diets lose weight - because they do without "strongly acidic" products (and fattening foods) such as sausage, sweets, white flour biscuits, and alcohol.