Healthy Eating...

Refined Carbs and Sugar: The Diet Saboteurs

Bad or simple carbs are the comfort foods we often crave: pasta, fries, pizza, white bread, and sugary treats. Choosing good carbs instead can improve your health, mood and waistline.

What are refined, simple or "bad" carbs?

Bad or simple carbohydrates include sugars and refined grains that have been stripped of all bran, fiber and nutrients such as white bread, pizza dough, pasta, pastries, white flour, white rice, sweet desserts and many breakfast cereals. They digest quickly and their high glycemic index causes unhealthy spikes in blood sugar levels. They can also cause fluctuations in mood and energy and a build-up of fat, especially around your waistline.

When you eat refined or simple carbs, your bloodstream is flooded with sugar which triggers a surge of insulin to clear the sugar from your blood. All this insulin can leave you feeling hungry soon after a meal, often craving more sugary carbs. This can cause you to overeat, put on weight, and over time lead to insulin resistance and type-2 diabetes.Diets high in refined carbs and sugar have also been linked to high blood pressure, obesity, hyperactivity, mood disorders and even suicide in teenagers.