These five reasons why carbs are essential for your health prove that cutting them out entirely doesn’t help. In fact, it can end up making things worse.
When one starts a new diet, they tend to reduce or flat-out eliminate any carbohydrate from their meals. However, that strategy isn’t feasible for long-term success. These reasons why carbs are essential for your health will help you understand your body better and realize why carbohydrates need to be part of your food intake.
They’re Natural Mood-Boosters
The consumption of carbohydrates stimulates the brain and releases serotonin. People who follow low-carb diets might feel less energetic and more anxious. Therefore, limiting your carb intake may improve your physical well-being, but it could damage your mental health. At a minimum, unless a doctor tells you otherwise, try to consume 40 grams of carbs daily.
They Help You Maintain a Healthy Weight
Completely cutting carbs from your diet may yield short-term results. However, you’re depriving your body of valuable nutrients. For example, healthy carbs such as brown rice and whole grains are high in fiber. Typically, greater fiber consumption leads to healthy weight loss. Fiber helps people stay full for longer periods, curbing their appetite for unhealthy snacks full of empty calories. That’s why thinking carbs are always wrong is one of the more dangerous food myths that many people believe.
They Make Your Heart Happy
Consuming healthy carbs with soluble fiber may lower your LDL (bad) cholesterol by 5 percent. Additionally, for people who stay with their balanced diets of whole grains and fiber, their HDL (good) cholesterol will improve. Your heart will thank you for following a balanced diet.
They Improve Memory
In general terms, carbohydrates provide your body and brain with energy to thrive. A low-carb diet will have you feeling like you’re running on fumes, ruining your memory. Listen to your body if you’re tired and dreary, and provide it with the fuel it needs to fire on all cylinders.
They Help Metabolism
Since complex carbs such as oatmeal and bran cereal are “slow-release” carbs, they don’t cause a surge in blood sugar like simple, refined carbs do. In other words, when you consume whole grains, your insulin levels don’t surge. Because insulin plays a role in telling the body to store fat, lower levels of insulin may aid in fat loss.
Additionally, as whole grains pass through your digestive system, it releases fatty acids that promote fat loss, particularly in the abdomen. These fatty acids can aid in the preservation of lean muscle by speeding up your metabolism, which can help in weight loss.
These reasons why carbs are essential for your health illustrate why cutting them out of your diet completely isn’t in your best interests. As long as you balance them correctly, carbs can help you on the road to recovery and make a better version of yourself.
