We have come a long way from when we used to ask: “Shall I eat carbohydrates?” Carbohydrates, the staple food of the majority of diets, are not all bad or all good.

Certain types of carbohydrates promote health, others increase the risk for diabetes as well as coronary heart disease. The key is in eating the right quantity of good carbs.

The popularity of the South Beach, Atkins and other low-carbohydrate diets have resulted in many dieters considering carbohydrates as “bad”, considering flab to be unsightly as well as a cause of the obesity epidemic. Carbohydrates which have been easily digested from white rice, white bread, pastries, sugary sodas as well as other highly processed foods can, of course, contribute to putting weight on as well as interfere with weight loss.

Whole grains, fruit, beans, vegetables, as well as other sources of intact carbohydrates act in the opposite way by promoting good health. They also provide the body with important minerals, fibre and lots of essential nutrients.

Potatoes apart, carbohydrates start life as grain, including rye, barley, wheat or rye. Grains, pasta and potatoes are extremely healthy and filling to eat. Choose unrefined carbohydrates is a healthier option.

If you decide to increase the amount of fibre you consume, ensure you drink more water. Our bodies are not able to digest fibre easily so drinking water with increased fibre is necessary.

The refined carbohydrate group refer to foods from which high fibre (germ and bran) has been removed from the grain by use of machinery. White bread, white rice, sweet cereals, noodles and pasta made from white flour are all refined carbohydrates.

Unrefined carbohydrates comprise the whole grain, that is, the germ and the bran. Hence, they are higher in fibre and enable you to feel fuller for a greater length of time. Unrefined carbohydrates are great should you be attempting to lose weight and do not like feeling hungry. Wholegrain rice, wholemeal bread, wholewheat pasta and porridge are unrefined carbohydrates.

Should you be interested in consuming more fibre, you can try the swaps below:

Complex and Simple Carbohydrates

Simple and complex carbohydrates purely relate to the chemical composition of a carbohydrate in terms of whether it is wholegrain or not. Complex carbohydrates are more common. There are three types of complex carbohydrates:

Glycogen is the body’s main fuel source, more commonly known as blood sugar. It is made up from glucose, found in many foods, and converts into energy.

Starch is purely found in plants. It is not fattening, despite what many believe. It is the calorific sauces, oils and fats added to pasta and rice in particular that give starches a bad name!

Fibre is in unrefined carbohydrates, vegetables and fruit. It is crucial for the body as it assists in processing waste properly and keeps you feeling full for a longer period of time.

How Many Carbohydrates are Enough?

The cereal, bread and potato group ought to comprise approximately half of your food intake. It is recommended to eat 18g of fibre per day.

A simple way to do this is to ensure that a food from this group is included in each meal, especially fibre-rich unrefined carbohydrates, for example, porridge oats, nuts and raisins for breakfast; wholemeal bread or jacket potato with cheese for lunch; pasta with brown rice for dinner.