Carbohydrates serve as important energy suppliers for our bodies. Nevertheless, they are considered in various diets as supposed thickeners. Whether you can eat them in good conscience or not mainly depends on the nature of this energy supplier, with which you cover your daily needs.
While some serve as an energy source for vital body functions , and can even support you in losing weight, others mainly drive your blood sugar levels crazy. The result is food cravings.
To start the day with a lot of energy, we rely on full-fat carbohydrates for our cereals, which keep you full for a long time.
You will now learn what these are, how many your body needs, and which of them are good for you.
What are they?
In addition to fat and protein, carbohydrates are among the basic building blocks (or macronutrients) of our food. They and fats are considered to be the most important energy suppliers. By the way, we use most of the energy absorbed through carbohydrates for basic body functions. These include, for example, breathing, heartbeat, brain activity, or the regulation of body temperature .
However, carbohydrates are not all the same. They are divided into three different groups:
- Simple sugars (monosaccharides): These include glucose and fructose. Since this is the smallest possible form, they are no longer split in the digestive tract. This is the fastest way to get them into the blood.
- Double sugars (disaccharides): Double sugar or table sugar includes malt sugar, lactose, or granulated sugar. They are water-soluble and are mainly found in sweets. These foods hardly provide vitamins or minerals. Instead, they are pure energy carriers that cause blood sugar levels to rise quickly.
- Multiple sugars (polysaccharides): They are mainly present in cereals, potatoes, vegetables, and legumes in the form of starch, and are also often referred to as complex carbohydrates. In contrast to double sugars, they taste neutral and are difficult to dissolve in water.
How many carbohydrates do I need?
According to the Austrian Society for Nutrition, the daily requirement is 50% of your energy intake. For women, this is about 240 grams, while for men, the daily requirement is 300 grams. In addition, it is recommended to consume about 30% of your food from fat and about 20% from proteins.
It is best to cover your daily requirements with complex carbohydrates. Why are they the better choice? This can be explained using simple chemistry: in the digestive process, carbohydrates are broken down into individual sugar molecules. The more sugar molecules combine, the more complex the carbohydrates become. Consequently, it also takes longer to break them down into their individual components. Therefore, polysaccharides are released into the blood more slowly, and the blood sugar level rises only slowly. This means that you stay full longer and also have more energy. Plus, your performance doesn't drop as quickly.
On the other hand, the digestion process is faster with refined carbohydrates (single and double sugars). As a result, your blood sugar level rises and falls faster and you quickly feel hungry again. You'll also get cravings for sweets – the infamous cravings attack kicks in.
Glycemic index – what is it?
You may have heard the term glycemic index in the context of carbohydrates. In short, it measures how carbohydrate-containing foods affect blood sugar levels .
For example, foods from the single and double sugar group have a high glycemic index . They have a strong effect on your blood sugar level. On the other hand, foods from the group of multiple sugars have a low glycemic index . This means that they don't make your blood sugar levels rise and fall as quickly.
Does low-carb make sense for losing weight?
In theory, we don't need any carbohydrates to survive. Because if the body's own store is empty, our body uses the fat store. In addition, it can convert protein into glucose, i.e., into individual sugar molecules, and thus produce carbohydrates itself. That said, low-carb diets can actually work . It is important that you feel comfortable with it.
However, low-carb is not recommended as a long-term diet, because extreme diets are difficult to sustain . Although this is a short-term success , it is easy to fall back into old patterns in the long term. Instead, try to cut out bad carbs from your diet step by step and replace them with good ones. This way, you will feel comfortable in your body in the long term and do not need a diet for it.
Good vs. bad carbs
In order for your body to be optimally supplied with energy and perform at its best every day, the majority of your daily needs should be covered with good carbohydrates. That's why we've collected some foods for you in the table below, which you can often incorporate into your meal plan. Additionally, here you will find everything you should avoid as much as possible:
| Very good carbohydrates | Good Carbohydrates | Bad Carbohydrates |
| Muesli (sugar-free) & porridge | Wholemeal wheat bread | White bread, bread rolls |
| Wholemeal bread | Whole-grain and basmati rice | Long-grain rice |
| Whole grain pasta | Pasta | Powdered mashed potatoes |
| Bulgur | Couscous, millet | French fries |
| Legumes (lentils, chickpeas, peas) | Potatoes, sweet potatoes | Highly sweetened cereals |
| Milk/Soy Milk | Fruit yogurt | Gummy Bears |
| Salads and vegetables | Dried fruits | Soft drinks such as lemonade or iced tea |
| Fruits such as apples, pears, berries, oranges, kiwis, grapes, apricots | Fruits such as bananas, pineapples, papayas, mangoes, melons | Chocolate Bars |
| Crispbread | Corn and rice waffles | Grape sugar |
| Nuts and seeds | Apple and orange juice | Ice cream |
So the goal should be to cover most of your daily needs with very good carbohydrates. Finally, the higher saturation value of complex carbohydrates prevents excessive energy intake. In short: you automatically eat less and can thus more easily maintain or achieve a healthy body weight.
Our tips for more good carbohydrates
As a delicious breakfast full of good carbohydrates , we recommend our varied mueslis and porridges. For example, add fresh fruit and some milk or soy drink and start your day with a good energy boost. This not only boosts your brain power, but also keeps you full for a long time.
For lunch and dinner, consider pasta dishes with whole-grain pasta, fresh bulgur salad with crunchy vegetables of your choice, or you can try this delicious Buddha Bowl with chickpeas and our organic pumpkin tomato porridge.
And if you don't want to miss out on bad carbohydrates but still crave sweet snacks, our healthy coconut apricot energy balls are just the thing for you.
