Carbohydrates are not bad for you, it’s important that we get that idea out of the way first. Many people incorrectly believe that all carbs are bad and they have become something of scapegoats in the world of nutrition. That is to say that just as people once blamed fats for just about everything, they now blame carbs for everything.
Carbs are (apparently) partly responsible for any weight gain you might be experiencing. That’s because they can cause a spike in blood sugar, followed by a surge of insulin. The result is that the fats are stored because the body doesn’t have any use to burn them.
This spike and then trough can also be bad for your mood, causing a kind of hyper period followed by a period of feeling low, lethargic and tired. Worse, we are told that the sugar found in carbohydrates is actually harmful to us and can cause nerve damage and brain fog, not to mention leading to diabetes and insulin insensitivity.
We used to think that fat was the enemy because it was the most calorific but now we know that it’s not the number of calories that matters but rather where they came from.
Okay, let’s rewind a moment. All that makes some sense in principle, but it is a mistake to think that this means all carbs are bad. In fact, every food group plays important roles in our diet and if you completely eliminate any one, then you are asking for trouble. We know for instance that going completely low carb can actually lead to very low testosterone. We also need carbohydrates for that instant surge of sugar they provide – it can help us to perform our best, improve our mood and prevent us from flagging as the day starts to drag on.
And there are many carbs that are also highly nutritious and good for us in other ways too. Of course one of the biggest examples of this comes in the form of fruits and smoothies which are packed with goodness to support our immune system, brain function and much more.
The problem is not with carbs per say but with our modern diets and the way we eat carbs. For many of us, our diet is far too reliant on carbs. Worse, is that we tend to gravitate toward the ‘bad kind’ of carb: the processed simple carb that provides you with lots of sugar but very little in the way of usable nutrients or sustenance.
With all that in mind, consider this article to be a lesson in mindfulness. Here, you will discover that some of the foods in your diet might just be much larger ‘carb dumps’ than you realize. We’ll be going over 28 foods that are higher in carbohydrates than you might have thought and we’ll also be assessing each one on the basis of its other strengths and weaknesses. So without further ado…
1. Your Morning Coffee
Many of us will rely on a morning coffee to get up and get going in the morning. Hey, I’m not judging! I too am more than slightly partial to my morning mug if I’m going to behave anything like a human being.
And actually caffeine itself has many good qualities. Not only has it been proven consistently to boost mental performance in the short term, but it also appears to be very effective when it comes to reducing the signs of age-related cognitive decline in the long term.
The problem is that your morning coffee may well also come with a massive helping of sugar. This is certainly the case if you have a cappuccino with chocolate sprinkles, or even a chai latte. For these reasons, you may want to reconsider!
