Since this blog is called "low-carb", what exactly does that mean? "Carb" is short for carbohydrates. They were previously divided into "good" and "bad" carbs, but now we are using much more sophisticated methods for measuring their goodness, such as GI and GL. See my previous post for an explanation.
But for those who may not be so familiar with the concept, here is Carbs 101:
- the worst possible carb is white sugar. It is the grand-Daddy of them all, the evil carb. It raises your insulin levels through the roof - and that is what makes us gain weight: high insulin levels. Obviously anything containing white sugar is also bad for you - and that includes almost any sweet baked goods, any dessert, many ready-made foods, fast foods and sauces. The only way to know if something has sugar in it is to read the label. Or, if you are in a restaurant, to ask (lie and tell them you are a diabetic if you must! ;-)). Sugar is also very bad for your health, and may be the cause of many diseases.
- but there are also many other "sugars" besides regular white sugar (sucrose). Brown sugar is also bad, as is fructose, lactose (found in most milk/dairy products). All the sugars end in -ose so that is your warning sign. Corn syrup is also very bad. It is found e.g. in soft drinks (Coke, Fanta, Sprite, 7UP, etc). If you drink soft drinks, always drink the "diet" or "light" or "zero" version (although keep in mind that they are not good for you at all). By the way, honey is also off limits, although it's a healthier option than sugar because at least it contains a lot of nutrients. But from a dieter's point-of-view, it's almost as bad as sugar.
- almost as bad as the various sugars is white wheat flour and all products made from it such as bread, pastries, cookies, pasta. All these should be eliminated completely from your diet. If you wish to continue to eat grain products, make sure that they are made from whole grains: whole grain pasta, dark, whole grain rice, whole grain bread. However, if you really want to lose weight quickly, you should eliminate these completely and eat more leafy greens.
- almost as bad as sugar and white flour are potatoes, especially french fries. They really raise your insulin level, which is one reason they are so addictive. Potato chips (crisps) are just as bad. In fact, you should really try to avoid potatoes (and everything made from them) altogether. Sweet potatoes are much better if you're on a diet, but green vegetables are an even better option.
- pulses (beans, peas, lentils, chick peas) can be eaten in moderation. They contain both a lot of protein and a lot of carbs.
- fruit juices of all kinds (even freshly squeezed) are - from a dieter's point of view - almost as bad as soft drinks that contain sugar. Because they are in liquid format, the carbs are absorbed nearly instantly. So try to stick to no-carb drinks (see below). If you want to eat fruit, it's better to eat the whole thing rather than to drink its juice - the fibre content means that it is absorbed more slowly.
- fruit is of course really good for you because if contains lots of vitamins and fibre and, because of the fibre content, it's absorbed more slowly (thus raising insulin levels less). However, if you wish to follow a low-carb diet, you should keep fruit to a minimum. Berries are the best fruits - they are acidic, which lowers their GI.
- vegetables are the really good carbs and you can eat as many green, leafy vegetables as you want. Especially spinach is really good for you. Corn is starchy so, like the potato, off limits. The carbs in carrots are absorbed quite quickly, so it's not the best possible kind of vegetable. Tomatoes are actually fruit (biologically), so they should be eaten in moderation.
- Avocado is excellent, because is containts a lot of protein and fat, which means that it's absorbed slowly.
- Nuts are also great, because they contain both a lot of protein and a lot of fat, but they also contain carbs, so eat them moderately (max. a handful per day - or less, if you're not losing weight).
The following products contain no carbs at all:
- all meat, fowl (birds), fish and seafood in their natural state (in the case of processed meats such as sausages, they often contain also e.g. flour, so do check the labels to make sure you only eat 100 meat or as close to it as possible). On a low-carb diet, you can eat as much from this category as you wish - it's the best kind of food to eat.
- Eggs are also in the same category - eat as many as you wish. And yes, it's also OK to eat the yolk, in fact it's better for you (I'll explain more about cholesterol later - there are a lot of myths surrounding this issue).
- Hard, aged cheeses have zero carbs. However, it seems that dairy products may still raise insulin levels (according to Timothy Ferriss in The 4-Hour Body), so do try to eat them fairly moderately.
- Water has zero carbs. Drink 1,5 to 3 litres per day. All water is OK, i.e. still or sparkling. However, take care with "flavoured" waters because they could have carbs added in the form of fruit juice, sweeteners, etc.
- Coffee and tea have zero carbs. However, coffee of course has caffeine and caffeine has been shown to elevate our levels of insulin - so it is therefore fattening and not very good for you. So keep your consumption of caffeine to a minimum. Say max 3 cups of coffee (or less) per day. If you wish to add a sweetener, use the artificial kind. And cream is better than milk because of the fat content. But it's best to drink your coffee black - or to cut out coffee altogether.
- Of course Cola-Cola and other cola drinks also contain caffeine, as do "energy" drinks such as Red Bull, Ed, Battery, etc. Try to avoid them. There are other sodas that do not contain caffeine (Fanta, Jaffa, 7UP, Sprite, etc.) and in some countries you can find de-caf Coke. That is much better. Note that also tea and chocolate contain some caffeine. Green tea has a lot of health benefits.
Things that slow down the absorption of carbs:
- Oils and fats: so go ahead and drizzle large quantities of extra virgin olive oil on your salads.
- Anything acidic: so balsamic (or any) vinegar is also great on your salad.
- Fibre: which is why whole grains are better than white and why eating the whole fruit is better than drinking its juice. And if you are going to eat bread, it's best to put butter on it - the fat in it slows down the absorption of the carbs (see above).
So that was a very short summary of what it means to eat low-carb. If you want to read more, the best books I've found on the subject are Timothy Ferriss' The 4-Hour Body and Gary Taubes' Why we get fat and what to do about it. Happy dieting! And by the way, eating the low carb way is also very good for your health!
