In a new section called “From the Forums”, we’ll highlight the questions, concerns, or success stories from the Podfitness Community Forum that we think will be helpful to anyone reading the Podfitness blog. (The Podfitness Forums are a great place to get advice from our experts, as well as to connect with and support other Podfitness members.)

This week’s post answers a burning question of many carb-conscious dieters this new year. Member jmarch asks,

Podfitness Experts,
With all the New Year dieters talking low-carb, I’ve been wondering if you can clear up something. Are there different types of carbs? I’ve heard that a baked potato is a lot healthier than a piece of white bread, though they are both full of carbohydrates. Can potatoes work in a low- or medium-carb diet?

Resident super-genius Bryan Haycock responds:

(Click “Continue Reading” for more…)

That’s a great question.

There are indeed different types of carbs and they all come in different packages. Both the type and the package effect how they will impact your metabolism. All carbohydrates are basically chains of sugar molecules. Individual links and very short chains are called “simple” or “sugar” while long chains are called “complex” or “starchy”. The shorter the chain, the sweeter it tastes.

Here is a short breakdown of the most common types of carbs and their packages:

Simple sugars
Glucose - granulated or syrup
Dextrose (short chain of corn sugar) - granulated or syrup
Maltodextrin (bigger chain of corn sugar) - granulated or syrup
Fructose (fruit sugar) - fruit or syrup.

Complex carbs
Starch (grain, potato, rice, pasta, etc) - whole grain/root or powder (i.e. flour)

What we like about simple sugars is their taste. What the food industry likes about them is cost and their compact package (syrup). It only takes a little bit of High Fructose Corn Syrup to sweeten the heck out of a can of soda.

What we DON’T like about simple sugars is their propensity to raise our insulin levels. If this becomes a chronic situation (a.k.a. lifestyle), we develop resistance to insulin (an inability to get the sugar out of our blood) and we become diabetic. Diabetes leads to heart disease, blindness, nerve damage, amputations of feet, etc, etc. High insulin also prevents our fat cells from releasing fat…over time, this make us obese…and diabetic. Yeah, it’s a vicious cycle.

Now, you might be thinking, “He didn’t mention starch in all that gloom and doom, that must mean starch is ok.” Well, any carb, including sugar, is ok in moderation. The problem is that when we eat processed starches, they act just like sugar in our bodies leading to all of the same problems. The right kind of starches have everything to do with the packages they come in. By “package” I mean, in what form is it? Is it processed? Straight out of the ground? Freeze dried dehydrated? Bleached? You see, the processing of the complex carbohydrate foods removes all of the fiber and other parts of the plant that prevent it from wreaking havoc on our insulin levels and metabolism.

The best forms of carbohydrates are the complex carbs with as little processing as possible. So, look for “whole grain”, “brown rice”, fresh potatoes baked, as well as sweet potatoes and yams. If you are going to eat fruit, eat it fresh or frozen. Avoid juice and candy that claims any percentage of fruit juice. Avoid foods that are 100% sugar like soda. Eat sweets, candy and other processed carbohydrates in moderation.

Well, this is getting a bit long winded. I hope this helps.

-bryan

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