{"id":4,"date":"2019-09-02T12:46:19","date_gmt":"2019-09-02T03:16:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.flinders.edu.au\/eating-well\/?p=4"},"modified":"2019-10-23T14:45:35","modified_gmt":"2019-10-23T04:15:35","slug":"am-i-healthier-without-carbs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.flinders.edu.au\/eating-well\/2019\/09\/02\/am-i-healthier-without-carbs\/","title":{"rendered":"Am I healthier without eating carbs?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>By Aleksandra Savic: final year Nutrition and Dietetic student<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Reviewed by Rebecca Greco, Accredited Practising Dietitian, MND, B.HlthSci (1A)<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s hard to keep track of the popular opinion about carbohydrates these days, with so many different voices in the media telling us the \u2018best\u2019 amount of carbs for our bodies. Some celebrities and bloggers promote diets containing low or almost no carbs claiming that is it good for health and\/ or weight loss. However, this practice doesn\u2019t add up with the Australian Dietary Guidelines (ADG). The ADG are a set of evidence based dietary recommendations that promote eating a wide variety of nutritious foods for good health.<\/p>\n<p>Below is some basic information about carbs to help you understand the role they play in our body.<\/p>\n<p><strong><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-7\" src=\"http:\/\/blogs.flinders.edu.au\/eating-well\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/93\/2019\/09\/bread-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.flinders.edu.au\/eating-well\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/93\/2019\/09\/bread-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/blogs.flinders.edu.au\/eating-well\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/93\/2019\/09\/bread-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/blogs.flinders.edu.au\/eating-well\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/93\/2019\/09\/bread-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/blogs.flinders.edu.au\/eating-well\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/93\/2019\/09\/bread.jpg 1125w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/strong><\/p>\n<h2>What are carbohydrates?<\/h2>\n<p>Carbohydrates is not just found in bread or pasta! They can be found in many foods, including:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Cereals<\/li>\n<li>Rice<\/li>\n<li>Pasta<\/li>\n<li>Grains (e.g. barley, couscous)<\/li>\n<li>Fruit<\/li>\n<li>Legumes<\/li>\n<li>Bread<\/li>\n<li>Vegetables such as sweet potato and corn.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Carbohydrates are a macronutrient that provide our bodies with energy and are split into three main categories: <strong>sugars, starches and fibres.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Sugars <\/strong>are found naturally in fruits and milk products, but they can also be added to sweeten foods during processing.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Starches<\/strong> are made of many sugar units linked together, which are then broken down by digestive enzymes. Starches are found in foods such as vegetables, legumes and grains.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Fibres<\/strong> are also made of many sugar units linked together, however they cannot be broken down by our digestive enzymes.<sup>3<\/sup> While fibre is not mainly used by our bodies for energy, it is important for maintaining good gut health, reducing the risk of chronic diseases and helps with weight control.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-13\" src=\"http:\/\/blogs.flinders.edu.au\/eating-well\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/93\/2019\/09\/carb-300x169.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"169\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.flinders.edu.au\/eating-well\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/93\/2019\/09\/carb-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/blogs.flinders.edu.au\/eating-well\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/93\/2019\/09\/carb-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/blogs.flinders.edu.au\/eating-well\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/93\/2019\/09\/carb.jpg 800w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/p>\n<h2>Are low-carb diets a healthy option?<\/h2>\n<p>Some popular versions of low carbohydrate diets you may have heard of are the ketogenic (keto) diet, the Atkins diet or the Low-Carb, High Fat (LCHF) diet. So why would people want to cut down their intake of our most important energy source?<\/p>\n<p>The theory behind a low-carb diet is that with the reduction of the amount of sugar and starch in the diet, there is also a reduction in insulin secretion (a hormone produced by the pancreas) and the body switches to burning fat. This is called \u2018nutritional ketosis\u2019, as fatty acids are converted to ketone bodies to provide the body with energy. It is important to note that the claims for the low-carb diet are therefore mainly related to weight loss, rather than being something that that the general public should adopt as a lifestyle.<\/p>\n<p>While there are studies showing that low-carb diets can be effective for weight loss under the supervision of an Accredited Practicing Dietitian, there are also some concerns to consider. Starting a low-carb diet will often come along with muscle cramps, loss of energy, bowel changes and bad breath. Another major concern with a low-carb diet is that vegetables, fruit and grain intake is reduced, only to be replaced by an increase in foods that are high in fat . Long-term, this could \u00a0promote weight gain, while there are also studies that suggest there may be an increase in LDL or \u2018bad\u2019 cholesterol levels which overtime is not good for our heart health.<\/p>\n<p>A recent systematic review suggests that low-carb diets are not any not more \u00a0effective at reducing weight than a balanced weight loss diet (a diet that restricts total energy while keeping a balance of food groups). Another review found weight loss in low carb diets was \u00a0as a result of a decreased calorie intake and longer diet duration, rather than \u00a0a reduction of \u00a0total carb content. The low-carb diet is also really difficult to sustain, with very limited evidence about the diet for use over a long period of time.<\/p>\n<p>Overall, there isn\u2019t enough evidence out there to suggest that low-carb diets should be widely recommended as a safe way to lose weight. While there may be some individuals who benefit from this diet, the risks should also be considered. Advice can be sought from an Accredited Practicing Dietitian for an individualised and sustainable way to lose weight. If you\u2019re not trying to lose weight but have the opinion that \u2018carbs are bad\u2019, don\u2019t forget that they are an important energy source! Getting rid of carbs is also likely to reduce your intake of many foods that contain important vitamins, minerals and fibre which are important for overall health.<\/p>\n<h2>Healthy carb eating<\/h2>\n<p>Here are three key tips that can help you to have a healthy relationship with carbs:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Choose wholegrain varieties (e.g. wholegrain bread, \u2013 They contain more fibre, vitamins and minerals.<\/li>\n<li>Limit the intake of foods containing added sugars \u2013 Foods with added sugars increase the energy content while diluting the nutrient intake.<\/li>\n<li>Choose high fibre options \u2013 Where possible, choose food products that contain <strong>3g or more<\/strong> of fibre per serve<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-14\" src=\"http:\/\/blogs.flinders.edu.au\/eating-well\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/93\/2019\/09\/AGHE-213x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"213\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.flinders.edu.au\/eating-well\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/93\/2019\/09\/AGHE-213x300.jpg 213w, https:\/\/blogs.flinders.edu.au\/eating-well\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/93\/2019\/09\/AGHE-728x1024.jpg 728w, https:\/\/blogs.flinders.edu.au\/eating-well\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/93\/2019\/09\/AGHE.jpg 746w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 213px) 100vw, 213px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Links for more information:<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.eatforhealth.gov.au\/guidelines\/australian-dietary-guidelines-1-5\">Australian Dietary Guidelines<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/daa.asn.au\/smart-eating-for-you\/smart-eating-fast-facts\/nourishing-nutrients\/carbohydrates-what-you-need-to-know\/\">Carbohydrates. What you need to know.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Aleksandra Savic: final year Nutrition and Dietetic student Reviewed by Rebecca Greco, Accredited Practising Dietitian, MND, B.HlthSci (1A) It\u2019s hard to keep track of the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":464,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[49],"tags":[46],"class_list":["post-4","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-healthy-eating-information","tag-nutrition-healthyeating"],"post_mailing_queue_ids":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.flinders.edu.au\/eating-well\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.flinders.edu.au\/eating-well\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.flinders.edu.au\/eating-well\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.flinders.edu.au\/eating-well\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/464"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.flinders.edu.au\/eating-well\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.flinders.edu.au\/eating-well\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.flinders.edu.au\/eating-well\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.flinders.edu.au\/eating-well\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.flinders.edu.au\/eating-well\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}