What is the healthiest carb to eat?

Whole carbs (carbs from unprocessed or minimally processed foods) and complex carbs (fibre and starch) are some of the healthiest carbohydrates that you can eat. Including more unprocessed sources of carbohydrates in your diet like whole grains (brown rice, whole wheat, oats, millets, etc.), vegetables, beans, legumes, lean meats, nuts, and seeds can help you better manage your sugar levels.

What carbs reduce belly fat?

No one particular type of food or carbohydrate can help you lose belly fat. A balanced diet and exercise can help you burn more fat and contribute to weight loss. Since consuming refined carbs and simple carbs can make you gain weight, including more complex carbs and whole carbs in your diet can help you maintain or lose weight.

What carbs don’t spike blood sugar?

Carbs like fibre and resistant starch, which have a low glycaemic index (GI) score and take longer to digest, are much less likely to spike your blood sugar levels, as they release glucose into your bloodstream at a much slower and stable rate. Some examples include leafy green and non-starchy vegetables, whole grains, low GI fruits like apples, oranges, berries, nuts and seeds, dairy products like cheese and yoghurt, popcorn, lean meat like fish and chicken, etc.

Which carbs should I avoid?

You should avoid carbs that have a high glycaemic index (GI) score, have no fibre content (refined carbs), and carbs that are completely made up of simple sugars like glucose, fructose or sucrose. Some examples of unhealthy carbs include candy, cakes, chocolates, fast food, chips, deep-fried food, sugary cereal, refined flour and foods made from it like white bread, pasta, pizza, etc.

What carbs are not good for diabetes?

Any carbs that are overly processed, made up of simple sugars and have no fibre content should be avoided by diabetics, as they can spike your blood sugar levels. Examples include starchy vegetables like potatoes, high GI fruits like watermelon, junk food, fried food, refined flour, store-bought juices, sodas, foods with added sugars, etc.

What are good carbs and bad carbs?

Complex carbs like fibre and starch that do not digest quickly, do not spike your blood sugar, and keep you feeling full for longer are known as “good” carbs. Simple carbohydrates like sugar that are digested and absorbed into your blood quickly and raise and drop your blood sugar suddenly are known as “bad” carbs.

Good Carbs and Bad Carbs: How Do They Affect Diabetics?

For years now, changing food trends have been alternatively vilifying and glorifying carbs and their role in the diabetic diet. There’ve been numerous articles over the years claiming carbs are both helpful and harmful for diabetics.

So what’s correct? Is there such a thing as good carbs and bad carbs? Can diabetics safely eat carbohydrates without worrying about spiking their blood sugar levels? Let’s find out.

Carbs 101: What Exactly are Carbohydrates?

Carbohydrates, or ‘carbs’ for short, are one of three macronutrients, which are foods your body needs in larger amounts to produce energy. The other two macronutrients are protein and fats.

Carbohydrates are basically made up of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen, and are found in most of the foods you eat.

For most people, carbohydrates are the major source of energy. This is because the end product of carbohydrate digestion, glucose (sugar), can be easily utilised by your cells. Though some people can function on a low-carb diet, the nutritional requirements of each body may differ.

Before understanding how to differentiate between good carbs and bad carbs, let’s first get to know the different types of carbs.

Fibre

Derived from plant-based sources like fruits, vegetables, beans, legumes, whole grains, etc., fibre is a type of carbohydrate that does not get completely digested in your gut. As such, it releases a smaller amount of glucose into your bloodstream, and at a more slow and more stable pace.

Fibre also takes longer to digest, and can absorb water to swell up. This makes you feel full for a longer period of time, which prevents overeating.

Starch

Starches are long-chain compounds that are made up of several smaller sugar molecules. They are the most common carb found in your food. Starch is quite similar to fibre in function, i.e. it takes longer to digest.

Examples of starchy foods include vegetables like plantains, peas, corn and potatoes, rice, legumes, beans, bananas, and dried fruits like figs, peaches, apricots, etc.

Sugar

Sugars like glucose, fructose, sucrose, lactose, dextrose, etc., are the simplest form of carbohydrates that are found in food. They get digested easily and quickly, which leads to increased absorption from your gut and results in a sharp and sudden rise in your blood sugar levels.

Sources of natural and added sugars include table sugar, honey, jaggery, fruits, milk, and processed foods like candy, chocolates, baked goods, juices, sodas, etc.

So Which Carbs are Good and Which are Bad?

Now that we’ve gained a basic understanding of carbs and their types, let’s try and figure out which carbs are beneficial for your health and which aren’t.

Good Carbs AKA Complex Carbs

Complex carbs are foods that are made up of longer chains of carbohydrates and take longer to digest. They include fibre and starch which raise your blood sugar levels gradually. Complex carbohydrates are also more nutrient-rich and filling. This makes them good for diabetics.

Bad Carbs AKA Simple Carbs

Simple carbs are made up of sugars, which as we previously saw, are smaller compounds that are easily digested. They are not as rich in fibre or nutrients as complex carbohydrates, and can cause drastic spikes and dips in your blood sugar levels. This can make you feel hungrier much sooner, and even lead to sugar cravings, which can further increase your calorie intake. For this reason, simple carbs can be termed as bad for diabetics.

Food Group	Good Carbs Examples	Bad Carbs Examples
Vegetables	Cooked vegetables Raw vegetables	Fried vegetables Canned vegetables
Fruits	Fresh fruits	Candied fruits Fruit juices, sodas
Grains & starches	Whole grains like brown rice, whole wheat, millets Oatmeal Beans, legumes, pulses Whole wheat bread and pasta	Refined grains like white rice, wheat, refined flour Processed cereal Baked goods and fried food White bread and white pasta
Dairy	Low-fat milk Low or non-fat yoghurt Low-fat cheese	Butter Ghee Ice cream

Good Carbs vs Bad Carbs Chart

Are Carbs a No-No for Diabetics?

Not really. Since carbohydrates are a major food group that are an important source of energy, it can be impractical and not quite possible to completely avoid them without making drastic changes to your diet.

Instead of completely cutting out carbs from your diet, you can increase the amount of other macronutrients like protein and healthy fats in your diet, while including more of the ‘good carbs’ in your daily meals and limiting the amount of ‘bad carbs’ you are consuming.

How to Pick the Right Carbs for Managing Your Blood Sugar?

Now that we’ve understood what makes some carbs good and others bad, let’s see how you can make healthier food choices.

Quality of Carbs

As already mentioned, including more unprocessed, whole, and complex sources of carbohydrates in your diet can help control your blood sugar, manage your weight, and improve your general health. These carbs are a more complete source of nutrition and are unlikely to have other unhealthy additions like saturated or trans fats.

Another way to ensure the quality of carbs you are consuming is by checking the glycaemic index (GI) score of that particular food. The GI score of a food is a number assigned to it based on how much it raises your blood sugar levels two hours after eating. The lower the GI score of a food, the smaller blood sugar spike it causes, and the better it is for diabetics.

Quantity of Carbs

Most doctors and nutritionists recommend that diabetics stick to consuming 45 to 60 g of carbohydrates for breakfast, lunch and dinner, and have one snack with about 15 g of carbs between meals. This quantity may vary slightly from person to person, but it is thought to be the ideal amount of carbs for a diabetic adult on a 2000-calorie diet.

You can determine the amount of carbs you are consuming by reading the labels and measuring your portion sizes. Also known as carb counting, this practice can make managing your blood sugar levels much simpler. Carb counting is very important for diabetics that have been prescribed insulin, as it helps them calculate the dosage of insulin to be taken.