Carbohydrates serve as an essential energy source, but processed versions can lead to inflammation and weight gain. Understanding the difference between complex carbs like oatmeal and simple sugars is key to metabolic health.
Foods that are low in carbohydrates aren't necessarily low in calories as well, but understanding which foods from different food groups fit best into both categories may make it a bit easier to lose weight.
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When you're looking for something to cure a sweet craving, fruit is a much better alternative than sugar-packed cookies, pastries and candy. Raspberries and blackberries offer numerous health benefits in addition to being low in calories.
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White flour gives a lighter texture to muffins, cakes and cookies and a flakier crust to pies and pastries, but it's not particularly healthy. Also called refined flour, white flour has had many of its nutrients and most of its fiber removed during processing.
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Gestational diabetes only occurs during pregnancy and can cause health problems for the baby if the mother is not treated. According to the MayoClinic website, gestational diabetes can be controlled by diet, exercise and medication, in some cases.
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The nutrients in the food you eat serve as fuel for your body. Sugar absorbed into the blood acts as a source of fuel for tissues in your body, including your brain, while other nutrients like proteins are recycled to help form the human proteins found in each of your cells.
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Carbohydrates, one of the four macromolecules of life, can make up a large part of your diet on any given day. Carbohydrates are made up of linked sugar molecules.
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D-ribose, more commonly referred to as ribose, is a type of simple sugar. It's a key component of some genetic material, and it makes up part of riboflavin, or vitamin B-2, which your body uses to make energy.
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Snacks can help suppress hunger when you are on a low-carbohydrate diet to lose weight; however, keep in mind that snacks themselves are often high in carbohydrates. Pretzels, cookies, fruit, French fries and granola bars can easily have in excess of 15 to 50 grams of carbohydrates per serving.
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Starch, one of the three types of carbohydrates, is made of a string of sugar molecules joined together. Although mainly found in grains, some other foods -- including legumes and other starchy vegetables -- also provide starch in the diet.
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Eating a lot of fast carbs, or carbohydrates that digest quickly, may increase your risk for heart disease and diabetes, according to a July 2002 "American Journal of Clinical Nutrition" article. These foods have a high score on the glycemic index, which measures the effect of foods on your blood sugar levels.
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Starch is a complex carbohydrate, and sources include bread, pasta, rice and other grains. Sugars are simple carbohydrates, and they include sucrose, or table sugar; fructose, also known as fruit sugar; and lactose, which is found naturally in milk.
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Starches are complex carbohydrates that can be excellent sources of energy for your body, but many foods with starches are unhealthy. They can be low in essential nutrients or high in calories, fat and sugars.
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Your body requires a steady supply of nutrients to function normally. Macronutrients are substances your body needs in large amounts, including carbohydrates, lipids and protein. Carbohydrates and lipids, or fats, serve as the primary fuels and energy storage chemicals of your body.
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Sugar may seem like a straight-forward topic requiring little explanation, yet all sugars are not quite the same. Dextrose and sucrose do share a lot in common, including their ability to give you a quick shot of energy, but they’re also different in some important ways.
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Sure, you already know that breakfast is important -- but that doesn't mean it's always easy to make time for it during busy mornings. And if you're going low-carb, many breakfast staples -- like traditional cereal, muffins and English muffins -- are off-limits, so it's harder to grab breakfast on the go.
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Your body weight can fluctuate by a great degree on a day to day basis -- in some cases up to a few pounds. This is often caused by a change in your body's level of stored carbohydrate, known as glycogen.
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The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics defines resistant starch as a starch that escapes digestion in the small intestine and enters the colon unaltered. This is what makes resistant starch beneficial to your health.
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With all the information about low-carbohydrate diets, it can be tough to determine which carbohydrates and how much of them are healthy to eat. According to the Institute of Medicine, 45 percent to 65 percent of your total calorie intake should come from carbohydrates.
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If you love cinnamon bread, you’ll be glad to know that it’s possible to make or buy a low-carb version. But be prepared to adjust your expectations. Low-carb cinnamon bread is yummy, but most products have a flavor different from classic cinnamon-swirl bread due to the ingredients used to replace flour.
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If you're trying to reduce your intake of carbs and think this eliminates yummy snacks, you may be wrong. Many zero-carb foods make good snacks, giving your body a boost when you're feeling hungry and helping you maintain a healthy diet while feeling satisfied between meals.
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