Carbohydrate Cravings

Some carbohydrates support a strong, healthy, slender, energetic body (we will call these "good carbohydrate"), while other carbohydrates actually increase your overall risk of heart disease, diabetes and other degenerative diseases (these are "bad Carbohydrates "). The daily nutrition carbohydrates food list should include 45% to 65% good Carbohydrates and 0% Bad Carbohydrates.

Good carbohydrates are digested more slowly. This keeps your blood sugar and insulin levels from rising and falling too quickly, helping individuals get full quicker and feel fuller longer. Good sources of include whole grains, beans, fruits, and vegetables, which also offer lots of additional health benefits, including heart disease and cancer prevention.

Bad carbohydrates are foods that have been "stripped" of all bran, fiber, and nutrients. They have been processed in order to make cooking fast and easy. They digest so quickly that they cause dramatic elevations in blood sugar, which over time can lead to weight gain, hypoglycemia or even diabetes. When carbohydrates are refined, nearly all of the vitamins, minerals and fibers are removed, leaving only calories. Examples are white flour, refined sugar, and white rice. Certain products like flour and sugars are refined and then "enriched" meaning that only certain nutrients removed in the refining process are added back into the product. In white flour, the kernel of the grain is processed to remove the germ portion. This removes about 33 nutrients. “Enriching” adds 4-6 nutrients back into the product. This creates the nutritive deficit. White flour is literally a sugar in itself, and where it is mixed with fats in processed foods, the fats are commonly hydrogenated and rancid, increasing your susceptibility to a number of disease processes.

Cravings mean that the body has its signals mixed up. When individual are tired or sad, they will have low blood sugar and/or low serotonin (a “feel-good” brain neurotransmitter). Hormonal imbalance or weak digestion can lead to low serotonin. Low blood sugar or low serotonin sends a signal to the brain that it needs a pick-me-up. It is this signal — which individual do not consciously control — that causes a craving for sugar or carbohydrates.

Sugar or simple carbohydrates help release a burst of serotonin, so individuals feel good for a little while. But almost as quickly, they “crash” and return to their low-serotonin state, and the cycle starts all over again. Ironically, the more sugar individual eats, the more they crave it because over-consumption of sugar can lead to insulin resistance. It’s a downward spiral that dieting will make even worse.

Uploaded by TheLiveFoodist on Feb 6, 2009

NEW EBOOK! The Live Foodist – E-book is now available. It is a comprehensive guide to preparing and transitioning to Raw Food. Get it here http://www.PreparetobeRaw.com Discusses the difference between simple and complex carbohydrates and explains how to give your body what it really is craving.

Food composed of some combination of starches, sugar and fiber -provide the body with fuel it needs for physical activity by breaking down into glucose, a type of sugar our cells use as a universal energy source.

This article was written by: Michelle at Peoples Natural Living