Do Carb's Make You Fat

If you asked a nutritionist, "Do carbs make you fat," they'd have a complex answer but it all boils down to the type of carb and the amount of carbs you eat. Carbs can be anything from fruits and vegetables to candy and pasta. Of course, eating an apple is far better for your diet than munching on a candy bar, so it only makes sense that the type of carb you consume makes a huge difference.

You need carbs in your diet as a source of energy. Carbs help you maintain your energy and are necessary fuels for the functioning of your brain and muscles. You need carbs to think and function throughout the day. However, there are thousands of carbohydrates from which to select and some are better for you than others are.

There are simple and complex carbohydrates. The simple carbs don't require a lot of processing to provide energy. They break down rapidly. That's why you often get a sugar rush when you eat a candy bar. However, it doesn't take long before the sugar high drops to the depths and you feel exhausted again. That's because your body increases the output of insulin to handle the sugar. Once all the insulin interacts with the sugar, you again feel tired because you now have a sudden drop in your sugar level.  You also begin to crave sweets and succumbing to those cravings can make you overeat, resulting in a weight gain.

Complex carbs are primarily starches. They don't turn into sugars immediately and they don't spike your glucose levels either. However, if you eat too many of these types of carbs, your body still turns them into sugars and then eventually stores them as fat. The key is to have some carbohydrates in your diet but to use foods that contain other important nutrients that help you maintain a strong healthy body.

Fruits and vegetables are carbohydrate foods but if you ate only fruits and vegetables, it would be difficult for you to consume the volume necessary for weight gain. Of course, everyone knows a vegan that has extra weight, but often it's the way they serve their fruits and vegetables or the addition of raw sugar to their diet that adds the extra pounds.

Even though you can divide carbohydrates into simple and complex carbs, it doesn't give you all the answers for weight loss. French fries and white bread, complex carbs, convert to blood sugar almost as rapidly as pure glucose. Fruit sugar, however, which is a simple carb, doesn't affect the blood immediately.  When you use the glycemic index as a method of sorting the good carbs from the bad, you can identify those that will put on weight more rapidly. Whole oats are carbs but they have a low score on the glycemic index since they don't change your blood sugar much and digest more slowly. Compared to carbs high on the glycemic index that can increase risks of overweight, heart disease, diabetes and other diseases, foods low on the glycemic index do the opposite and can actually increase weight loss. Fruits, vegetables, whole grains and beans are all low on the glycemic index.

You need carbs in your diet. They're essential to your health and important to your energy level. The type of carbs you select makes all the difference in whether you'll gain weight or lose it.  The overwhelming evidence answering the question, "Do carbs make you fat?" is a resounding no.