Why You Need Carbs and Its Health benefits

Some weight loss diets will tell you to stay away from carbs and scare you of its hazards, especially how it stores belly fat in you faster than a speeding bullet. Yup, I agree but not totally--because our bodies need everything, including carbohydrates, to function well. God did not design any natural food to be eliminated from our diets. That's what I believe. They all have a purpose. 

Photo above by Sam Moqadam on Unsplash.

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For starters, a "carbohydrate-deficient diet may cause headaches, fatigue, weakness, difficulty concentrating, nausea, constipation, bad breath and vitamin and mineral deficiencies," says an article on Reidhealth.Org. Bad breath? I wouldn't take risk getting that if I were you. So eat carb-rich foods. And constipation does not really help to lower body weight. I mean, keeping all that trash stored in your belly?

And the best here is carbs from dietary fibers which often comes from fiber-rich vegetables, like leafy greens. These carbs help clean our gut system and prevent constipation. Plus, they help the body absorb nutrients well. See why carbs are important? And under this category also belong root crops, colorful vegetable crops like red and green peppers, and even healthy rice.

Broken down into glucose, carbs becomes a vital energy source for your brain and muscles. If you want your brain working more, or if you need your muscles exerting more, you need carbs. Actually, the big three nutrients (macronutrients) together play vital roles in our health--fats, protein and carbs. You cannot separate them or pit one against the other. That's not God's design for them. He designed them to work together for good. 

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So, no one of them should have more attention than the other in the course of eating. We should get sufficient amounts of all of them. Balanced. At night, especially, we need carbs to prepare the muscles for energy the next day. So it's not totally true that we don't need carbs at night because we'd just sleep the rest of the 8 hours anyway. An article on Blog.VitaminWorld.Com says: "Your muscles are actually better at shuttling glucose into your muscles at night for energy versus the morning."

Furthermore, carbs regulates leptin levels. Leptin is a hunger hormone and carbs help give it a feeling of satisfaction when it increases its levels--like you had enough food the last time you ate and you're still full. So, if you ate carbs the night before, you won't feel starved the next day in the morning. See what carbs does for weight loss?

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After a heavy workout your muscles will feel tired and worn out. But with enough carbs in your system, recovery time for your exhausted muscles would be speeded up. You won't feel dead tired doing your usual routine, like going to work after a workout in the morning. If you eat all-protein and zero carbs--and especially if you are to do heavy work after your workout (or preparing for strenuous activity), your muscles won't get enough energy for the heavy action. All protein will slow down your digestion and lessen carbs available for your muscles to perform well. 

See the vital partnership of protein and carbs?

But stay away from unnatural carbs derived from refined flour or processed food. Pastries and cakes are carbohydrates but they are synthetic, made from processed flour made white, the process of which gets rid of the nutrition of grain. You get unhealthy carbs that make you fat. The same with carbs rich in refined sugar. 

The thing is to always apply wisdom. Do not eat too much (or too less) of anything that will upset the balance in your body systems. Eat everything in right proportions. As simple as that. If you have nothing much to do during the day, then lessen your carbs intake and add a bit to your protein. But if you anticipate a big, physically vigorous day ahead (or tomorrow), then eat enough carbs and protein. 

I note how world top boxer, Manny Pacquiao, eats well (fats, protein and carbs) an hour before a fight, and eat the same way after being well rested after a fight. Before a fight, the carbs prepare the muscles for energy. After the fight, carbs provide recovery.

Article from Blog.VitaminWorld.Com