Good Carbs vs Bad Carbs Guide: Get to Know Carbs
Good Carbs vs Bad Carbs – How Can We Know The Difference?
I’ve always struggled with this one. I grew up in an Italian family, where carbs were our main source of food (pasta + bread especially). I didn’t know what a “carb” was back then, I didn’t even really care to be honest.
Now I am all about being healthy. I have also slowly learned how to gauge how my body feels when I eat one thing vs when I eat another, and I now know what foods are technically bad for me! I can just feel it. If I feel bad/sick/bloated, I know it’s my fault from what I decided to eat that day. If I feel good/energetic/light I know that I am eating right!
Once YOU learn about the different types of carbs and what is good for you, and what is bad for you – you’ll be well on your way to good health and weight loss. It’s a learning process, but don’t worry, you’ll get the hang of it.
Good Carbs vs Bad Carbs Guide
While some people advocate that you should avoid carbs at all costs because they can lead to type 2 diabetes and obesity, others state that at least part of your calories should be from carbs. So, where do you stand? Which position is the right one?
Both sides present good arguments and the truth is, it depends on you. However, it’s important to note that there are different types of carbs and we’re here to guide you through good carbs vs bad carbs to help you understand the difference and help you make good eating choices throughout your life.
{{Reading food labels can be daunting, let us help you – read out guide to nutrition labels.}}
What are carbohydrates?
Simply put, carbs are one of the 3 macronutrients required in a healthy diet, besides fats and proteins.
Carbs can be divided into 3 main categories: sugars, starches, and fiber. And as you can imagine, not all carbs are the same. You can have whole or refined carbs. Just take a look at the following example and you’ll easily understand the difference:
When someone speaks about having a healthy clean eating diet, this usually includes fruits and vegetables, which are whole carbs that include fiber. They are not processed in any way, so they are healthy carbs. These are good carbs for weight loss. On the other hand, you have fruit juices, for example. Despite the fact that the juice contains fruit, your carbs source isn’t natural because the fruit was processed. So, this is considered a refined carb.
Refined Carbs vs Whole Carbs and Your Health
There are many different studies that continuously show that the consumption of refined carbs can be associated with different health problems like type 2 diabetes and obesity. And this is simply because they usually cause the blood sugar to increase drastically. And when the blood sugar numbers come down, it usually triggers hunger for more high-carb foods.
On the other hand, other studies prove that whole carbs are good for your health and they are usually tied to a lower risk of disease as well as to an improved metabolic health.
One of the myths that have been around for many years is stating that carbs are the cause of obesity. However, they can actually reverse obesity, at least partly. And this is why we started by establishing a clear difference between good carbs vs bad carbs, between the whole carbs vs refined carbs.
Good Carbs vs Bad Carbs Grocery List
When it’s time to make your choices, just take the following lists to the grocery store with you. This will make sure that you only get the good carbs and not the bad carbs. Below the image is a list of good carbs and a list of bad carbs.
Feel free to use this infographic on your site, but please give Healthy Happy Smart credit since we designed this personally and own the image. Thank you.
Good Carbs:
- Fruits and Vegetables
- Legumes like peas, lentils, kidney beans, etc.
- Whole Grains like brown rice, quinoa, pure oats, etc.
- Seeds like pumpkin or chia seeds
- Tubers like sweet potatoes, potatoes, etc.
- Nuts like walnuts, peanuts, almonds, macadamia nuts, hazelnuts, etc.
Bad Carbs:
- Fruit Juices
- Sugary Drinks like Pepsi or other soda or pop, Vitamin water, Coca-Cola, etc.
- Cookies, pastries, and cakes
- White bread or white crackers
- Regular pasta
- Chocolates and any other candy
- Ice cream, frozen yogurt, or any other frozen sweet treat
- Potato chips and French fries.
Keep in mind that everyone is different. What works for one person might not work for another. This post is for educational purposes only, seek the advice of your doctor or healthcare professional if you’re concerned about obesity or diabetes. The amount of carbs that your body needs simply depend on many factors like your age, gender, physical activity, personal preference, metabolic health, and food culture.
Comments 19
Leave a Reply
This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
What jind of pasta should you eat
Hi Jack. There are great pasta choices out there like quinoa pasta, rice pasta, whole grain pasta, whole wheat pasta, or you could always use noodles you make from veggies like zucchini, carrots, sweet potatoes, etc using a spiralizer or even just a peeler. Spaghetti squash is also a healthy “pasta” choice.
hi I drink alot of smoothies for breakfast and I use a mixture of frozen fruit and fresh if that good for me
Hi there. I think that’s great. I have a smoothie practically every morning. Fruit is a healthy carb. Fresh and frozen are fine – but make sure the frozen fruit doesn’t have added sugar. Just plain fruit is best. Also, you could add some veggies to your smoothies like cucumber, spinach, carrots, beets, etc.
Sounds good..I’m going to start making smoothies…and suggestions on kinds?
Hi Kt. I make smoothies on a daily basis. I sort of wing it usually with what I have in my house. But we’ve got a couple recipes on this site. See below.
Green Smoothie with fruit
Afternoon Energy Smoothie (banana date smoothie)
We also have this 200+ Smoothies app for iPhone/iPad
Have fun with making your smoothies!
Only veggie noodles are good. All pasta noodles are loaded with carbs ?
They both might contain carbs (depending on which you choose) but the key is the kind of carb you’re consuming. Veggie noodles are definitely healthier and won’t increase your blood sugar like regular old pasta noodles would.
ALL carbs convert to glucose!!! I repeat, all carbs convert to glucose. Different carbs convert at different rates, but ultimately the calorie yield is 4 per gram. The only carb that doesn’t convert to glucose is fiber.
But there are no “bad carbs”. It’s science.
Hi Amy, I understand what you’re saying. Scientifically, I agree. This article is merely pointing out that nutritionally there are better options when it comes to carbohydrates than breads, cookies, pasta, etc. But thank you for your input! It’s definitely important to point out!
We eat zoodles – which are zuchinni noodles we make at home with a spiral veggie machine – awesome alternative!
I love zoodles too!
It’s wonderful! Articles, Amazing!
i thought potatoes were not good to have
This list is a list of healthy carbs vs unhealthy carbs. Potatoes are healthy carbs because they come from a plant, they are not a highly processed piece of bread or donut (those would be unhealthy carbs).
People have labelled carbs in general as “bad” – but that’s just not always true in the big scope of things, and depends on the food that the carbs are coming from.
HOWEVER – If you’re following a low carb diet like Keto then of course, skip the potatoes!
Are pistacios good carbs or bad carbs
I would say they are good because they are a natural, not processed food.
I think the main point is that bad carbohydrates are generally simple sugars (sucrose, glucose, frutose) that come with little or no fiber. Fiber and complex carbs allows the body to slowly break down complex carbs and absorb slowly into the body or blood stream. Like it was stated already they’re (i.e., carbs) are broken down eventually to glucose. A well balanced diet will have a good mix of proteins, good carbs, and good fats.
Many people with health issues should really consult with their Doctors before a KETO diet. Many people have died with heart problems, diabetes, with high cholesterol issues, liver problems, arteries problems . The blue zones where people live the longest, copy what they eat. there are not into any of this shit. They eat wholefoods. (not the store) fish, meats, Rice, beans, eggs from the backyard, avocadoes, fruits, vegetables. (they hardly eat any junk food since a lot of times they don’t have junk food around them) my grandparents are from Costa Rica one of the blue zones and they are still around. 100 years old, 97 years old. 104 and 108 years old. What do they eat? rice, beans, homemade tortillas, meat (nothing package) chicken, lots of seafood, coffee, homemade frescos made from oranges, guanabana, lemons, etc. follow the old folks from the blue zones and you will live a healthy life.