Carbs Uncovered – Separating Fact from Fiction for Healthier Choices

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In part two about Blood  sugar we look and uncover the truth about carbohydrates with  and learn why they are not the diet villains they're often made out to be. We're peeling back the layers of misunderstanding to reveal the essential roles that carbs play in fueling every tissue in our body - from our brains to our muscles. Tune in as we differentiate between simple and complex carbohydrates, and discuss the importance of whole grains, fruits, and legumes in our diets. You'll discover that carbs are indispensable to your brain, kidney, muscles, and heart, and that cutting them out isn't the panacea for health that many claim.

Get ready to challenge the common misconceptions about 'good' versus 'bad' carbs as we navigate through the murky waters of refined carbohydrates and their impact on nutritional value.  join chef for a informative session that promises to equip you with the knowledge to make smarter, more informed decisions about the carbohydrates you consume. By the end of this episode, you'll be empowered to embrace a balanced, healthful approach to carbs and appreciate their critical role in a healthy lifestyle.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
Hello my peeps, and welcome to another health and
wellness episode.
So our last health and wellnessepisode we discussed the use of
herbs as it relates toregulating your blood sugar, and
coming out of that, I got ahost of questions for people

(00:22):
asking me about carbs and allthe things that they think about
, you know, blood sugar, etc.
So I decided this episode.
I am going to discuss carbswith you.
I am going to discuss carbs.
What are carbs?

(00:44):
What is the rule of the carb,understanding carbs, what are
the different types of carbs,distinguishing between carbs,
and basically just a discussionabout are carbs bad or are they?
You know, no, all carbs are notbad, so let's get into it.

(01:06):
So, until first and foremost,what are carbs?
Well, your carbs are.
How do I put this?

(01:29):
I need to think about itbecause there is some confusion
about carbs.
So let's just look at the facts.
The scientific facts.
Carbs are one of threemacronutrients found in food,
but you know we use like anumbrella term to.

(01:52):
That means foods that are richin carbohydrates, but the
literal definition of the wordrefers to the carbohydrate
molecule itself.
Thus, grains are notcarbohydrates.

(02:13):
Grain is a food source ofcarbohydrates.
Yeah, I know, I know, wait,wait, wait, wait.
Let's get into it.
And I know my mind was blowntoo when I was, when I was
studying, and came across this afew years ago as a my fact.
It was the topic of an entirelecture.

(02:36):
An entire lecture was dedicatedto this.
So one thing you need tounderstand with carbs,
carbohydrates are chemicallybroken down and used by your
body as the main energy source.
They can't they're used by allbody tissues.

(03:01):
For example, your digestivesystem converts carbs into
simple sugar like glucose, whichis your blood sugar and that is
used to power the brain andother organs.
Well, while using your carbsfor energy, the body can use

(03:23):
other macronutrients for otherjob, such as protein for tissue
growth and repair.
So they all work together.
Your brain, your kidney, yourmuscles and your heart functions
.
They depend primarily oncertain types of carbs, and

(03:46):
we'll get into that.
So this eliminating carbs fromyour diet it's not always a good
thing.
The energy produced by carbs is4 calories per gram.
Ironically, protein is the same4 calories per gram and fat is

(04:13):
5 calories per gram.
You have your indigestible carbs, which come in the form of
fiber.
Those are necessary forintestinal health and a lot of
your health promoting functionsin your body.
So what are common food sourcesfor carbohydrates?

(04:37):
Your fruits, your vegetables,your nuts, your grains, your
milk seeds and, of course, yourlegumes.
But there are three types ofcarbs Sugar, starch and fiber.
They are desert, they are, andwe usually break them down in

(05:03):
simple or complex carbs,depending on the chemical
structure.
I'm trying to keep it simple,which is why I'm choosing my
words.
I wish I'd written it downfirst.
So you've also probably heardthe term refining carbohydrate,

(05:26):
and that refers to carbohydraterich foods like whole grains
that have been processed toremove the starch and fiber,
thus reducing the nutritionalvalue and concentrating the
calories.
So you notice, I said before,the three main types of
carbohydrates are sugar, starchand fiber.

(05:47):
So when you get your wholegrains, they already contain all
three types of carbohydrates.
When they refined it, what theydo is they remove most of the
starch and the fiber and leavethe sugar, and that's when your
refined carbs become dangerous.

(06:08):
These refined foods are oftencombined with additional fats.
That changes them substantiallyfrom anything found in nature.
Hence what your doughnuts, yourcakes, need.
I go on.
Yeah, so that's what happens.

(06:29):
When you say when all carbs,but your concept of being all
carbs.
You're not having your wholegrains.
That's good for you needed.
You need it for brain andkidney and muscle and heart
functions.
You need your carbs.
So what do I go into next?

(06:55):
Ok, let's discuss some more oncarbs.
This concept that carbs arethere are some you know their
whole food contains, so good orbad, that we add a pursue or we

(07:18):
just avoid it altogether, isquite unhelpful to tour bodies.
What I tend to promote is aholistic perspective, which, ok,
let's discuss Low carb diets.

(07:41):
So low carb diets suggestlimited carbohydrate intake in
general.
What we need to remember isthat there are critical
differences betweencarbohydrate-rich refined foods
and carbohydrate-richwhole-plant foods.
Evidence, scientific evidencestudies made have shown and

(08:04):
supports the health benefits ofsimple and complex carbohydrates
consumed in whole-plant foods.
Refined carbohydrates areassociated with a variety of
health problems, includingweight gain.
So it's not that you can't havecarbs, it's just you have to

(08:29):
look at it in a realistic way asto how it depends on your body
needs.
Low carb diets are usually highprotein diets and they are
largely premised on theassumption that all carbs induce
weight gain.

(08:49):
But studies have shown and tella difference and these are
actual studies that you can doyour research yourself, so I
only refer to those kind ofstudies.
One such population-based studytook place in China, japan and
the United Kingdom and theUnited States, and it was

(09:12):
conducted by Dr Linda Van Hornof Northwestern University.
What they found?
That, without any exception, ahigh complex carbohydrate, high
vegetable protein diet isassociated with low body mass,

(09:32):
and high protein diets wereassociated with a higher body
weight, whereas refinedcarbohydrates, which foods do,
raise the insulin levels and canpromote obesity when combined
with fat, as often.
You know, if we're on thewestern side of the globe,

(09:55):
that's usually a problem, andcarbohydrates in whole foods
tend to have the opposite effect.
What you'll find is, in a lotof less developed countries, the
access to refined carbohydratesis low, hence they tend to have

(10:23):
the opposite effect whilethey're having this high carb
diet.
So bottom line is carbs are notthe problem.
Processed food is the problem.
Attacking all carbohydrate-richfoods ignores the natural

(10:45):
function of the nutrient, andthat's what we need to remember.
Ultimately, the bottom line iswe need to eat more of some
carbohydrate-rich foods, that is, whole-plant foods, like your
whole fruits, your brown rice orbulgur, for example, and less
of others, which is like fruitssuch as fruit flavor candy I'm

(11:10):
laughing because those are myweakness.
That's my weakness, anyway.
White rice and white flour.
I know white rice and whiteflour, but from a holistic
perspective, equating aessential nutrient, which is
carbohydrate, and the whole foodthat contains them, with highly

(11:30):
processed, refined foods,confirms the issue, confuses
everyone, so that's why wedecided to discuss it today.
One of the dangers we find isand dangerous is low carb diets

(11:54):
limit consumption of plants, thehealthy foods that are
consistently linked with lowdisease rates.
Meanwhile, these low carb dietsencourage excess consumption of
protein and fat, and thatcreates a dietary imbalance

(12:14):
consistently associated withhigh rates of chronic disease.
I've always told my clients,when you have a blood sugar
issue, the first thing you needto look at is your fat intake,
because your fat levels actuallycompounds the stress on your

(12:41):
body that then promote yourdiabetic state and your diabetic
reactions and your diabeticdiagnosis.
One of the big tools inattacking or counteracting
diabetes is lowering has beenproven that lowering your fat

(13:02):
intake actually helps yourdiabetic state.
So, to repeat, the three maintypes of carbs are sugar, starch
and fiber, and we do need themin a balanced state, and they
are broken down as simple orcomplex, depending on their

(13:27):
chemical structure.
So let us look at the simpleand the complex.
What are the examples of those?
We're not going to get too deeptoday.
We can have a third episode.
Okay, or simple carbs, simplesugar, your glucose, your fruit

(13:54):
and your galactose.
Or your sucrose, your lactoseand your maltose.
These two, how do they affectthe body?
When you get these by eatingwhole foods like your brown rice

(14:20):
, etc.
They produce a natural sourceof quick energy.
However, if you get any ofthese from processed foods, they
cause a rapid rise in bloodsugar.
So the carb, basically the carbyou get from the donut, is

(14:40):
different from the carb you getin your brown rice, your quinoa.
And when you get your carbsfrom these whole foods, you have
to remember, in whole foods,these they occur naturally, they

(15:06):
combine fiber and othernutrients.
When you get your carbs fromprocessed food, they are
concentrated and these are yourtable sugar, your fruit juice,
your corn syrup, because thefiber and the water and other

(15:30):
nutrients are removed during theprocessing, during the process
of refining this carb.
So it's always best to eat anorange instead of drinking
orange juice.
It's always best to eat anapple rather than have apple
juice.
You're getting there,understanding you.

(15:52):
So when I see people that go Idon't eat a lot of fruit.
Doesn't fruit have sugar?
Yeah, but it's not the badsugar.
If you're in a chronic diabeticstate, yes, any sugar is going
to attack your body, but if youare in the preventative state,
if you're not a chronic diabeticpatient, eating an orange,

(16:13):
eating an apple, is 10 times andalways best because it contains
all the naturally recurringcarbs that you need.
Okay, let us look at or orsimple, complex, simple carbs,
sorry.
These complex carbs usuallycompose of three or more sugar

(16:40):
molecules and complex carbs tendto be bigger and therefore your
body breaks in more down, moreslowly than the simple carbs.
Flooded stature, correctcombino naturally complement

(17:06):
other important nutrientsComplex carbs.
They provide longer lastingenergy and it helps you to feel
full.
See, you know I have anappetite.
If at night, if I feel a hunk,hungry, the first thing I do is
grab an apple.
It gives you that feeling offullness after you eat it and

(17:31):
it's fibrous, so overnight itdoes nothing but be good to your
body.
And I can tell you you haveeczema.
People wonder why I eat so manyapples.
It's because of my eczema, andwhen you look at me you don't
think I have eczema, but I'vedeveloped a pattern of eating.
I started very young in eatingfor my skin because I'm vain.

(17:55):
I would have fucked it.
I just like make my parents tobe attractive and not blotchy.
And yeah, your complex carbsprovide longer lasting energy
and they provide a fiber, andthe fiber is also integral to

(18:19):
the smooth working of theintestinal tract and the
elimination of toxins andcholesterol.
Who would have thought that?
Did you hear that Complex carbscontain fiber and you need the
fiber to move things along inthe intestinal tract and it

(18:44):
helps to eliminate the toxinsand the cholesterol.
Boom, boom, boom.
So what are the?
What are complex carbs?
Your vegetables, your legumes,your unrefined grains, your
quinoa, etc.
And your whole fruits.
Eat your apples.
Eat your fruit.

(19:05):
Eat your oranges.
Eat your fruit.
What else can I tell you inthis short time?
I'm definitely gonna have tofind do a third episode, but I

(19:36):
think we can end there.
It's a continuation.
We discussed carbs.
I let you digest some of thethings I just said.
I knew your brain is probablyexploding if you bought into low
carb, low carb, low carb diets.
But what I try to do with myclients who are intent on having

(19:59):
no carbs is.
I can assure you they get theirveggies in tons.
They get their veggies.
They do get their whole grains,like my, I tell lunch I use
cornmeal and fruit, no addedsugar.

(20:23):
Cornmeal fruit make thesesimple cornbreads and they think
it's nice of, it's a fun littleyou know tiny bite of dessert,
but it's rich in cornmeal andfruit or some kind of fruit,
itself unrefined, unbooked andall, and it helps.

(20:45):
So we're going to end it therefor today.
I've been rambling for 20minutes.
I hope I did provide someinformation and we will continue
the series.
We've spoken about regulatingour more blood sugar with herbs
and know I have discussed theuse of carbs and what carbs are,

(21:09):
etc.
Etc.
So I'm going to end it fortoday and I'll see you next time
.
Bye.