An Introduction to Carbs.

Go figure.
I set a new goal for myself, I'm counting my calories, being a good girl.
Bam.
Stomach bug. Forced fasting. No good.
But I am back on track and counting. It has been fun keeping up with all the nutritional facts on the labels and trying to accommodate myself in all my cooking. My Menu planner has changed so much because now I am taking notes on recipe and tweaking each one to give me more of what I am looking for.

I wanted to talk today about Carbohydrates.

A carbohydrate, refereed to as a carb for the remaining of this post,is one of three types of calorie. Your body uses carbs for make glucose, which is what the body uses for energy to keep you going. Depending on how active you are your body will choose to use that energy or glucose immediately or store it in your hips and gut... I mean liver and muscles for a later use.  You can find carbs in your fruits and vegetables, breads and grains, cereals and milk products, and food that contain added sugar. Healthy food that is high in carbs will have whole grain, fiber, and no added sugar.

So what is the difference with a "good" carb and a "bad" carb?
Glad you asked.
A "bad" carb is referred to items with refined flour and sugar, cakes, cookies, white bread.
A "good" carb is referred to items that have a higher fiber and are considered complex carbohydrates. Think vegetables, fruit, whole grains, beans.

What is all this talk about complexity?
Good question.
I didn't know at first, but my reading has lead me to answer the question with: there are two types of carbs. Simple and complex. Starch and fiber are the only two types of complex carbs there is. You can find these complex carbs in different vegetable, like corn, beans, potatoes, and peas. The fiber is in the fruit, vegetables, and whole grains.

But wait there is also two types of fiber.
A double whammie.
Soluble fiber or insoluble fiber.

Soluble fiber is found in the following:

• Oatmeal
• Oat bran
• Nuts and seeds
• Most fruits (e.g., strawberries, blueberries, pears, and apples)
• Dry beans and peas

Insoluble fiber found in the following:

• Whole wheat bread
• Barley
• Brown rice
• Couscous
• Bulgur or whole grain cereals
• Wheat bran
• Seeds
• Most vegetables
• Fruits

Which one is better for you? Each of them has important health benefits and are equally important. It is suggested that each person gets 14grams of fiber to 1,000 calories.

I found an excellant reasource to choose my plate.gov. It shows the recommended calories for each age group and offers worksheets for those of us who are OCD and like such things.
Find it here at http://www.choosemyplate.gov/supertracker-tools/daily-food-plans.html.

 Well, that is all I have time for tonight. More fun eating information soon to come. And hopefully pictures. I'm still earning this blog thing. :)