Give Some Carbs a Rest
If you’ve been perusing my Monday Morning Health Tips for a while, or if you’ve read some of my health books, you know I am not a big fan of carbohydrates as a food group. For starters, they are just not essential. Our bodies can make everything we need to live healthy lives from the two other food groups: fats and proteins.
So why, why, why, do carbohydrates still get the biggest “area” of the USDA’s food pyramid assigned to them? As recently as 2020, healthy adults were encouraged to eat up to 11 servings of carbs per day, but only 7-9 serving of fruits and vegetables combined…and a mere 2-3 servings of a protein. Something seems upside down here.
And why, if the overconsumption of carbs creates pre-diabetes, diabetes, and their precursor, insulin resistance, are heathy individuals, and those who are on medication for either type-1 or type-2 diabetes, told to eat so many servings of carbs? This, at a time when 50% of our adult population is not able to properly regulate their blood sugar levels!
Here’s a little-known fact: fiber-filled, “whole grain” carbs are just as health altering when it comes to insulin regulation and sensitivity as their “white” substitutes are. Case in point, a slice of whole grain bread raises your blood sugar level far higher than a snack-sized Snickers® bar. Yikes! I’m not denying that the fiber content in whole grain bread isn’t good for you, but I’m talking specifically blood sugar regulation here.
Far be it for me to recommend you live carb-free. (I wouldn’t want to live that way!) But what I am saying is that you’re likely eating FAR TOO MANY carb servings throughout your day.
So, do your health a favor, make your sandwich with only one slice of bread (use a slice of cheese or a piece of lettuce as the top “cover”). Don’t eat cereal every day for breakfast. Do your best not to snack on carbs. And get creative with your dinner plans so that you can replace some of your “carbo-licious” mainstays with a few, non-blood sugar assaulting ones.
Need some suppertime ideas? Okay, here you go.
- Turkey chili served over spaghetti squash strands
- Grilled chicken Caesar salad (hold the croutons)
- Cod fish (wild caught) with edamame and roasted parmesan cauliflower florets
- Baked chicken breast topped with pesto, roasted peppers, fresh mozzarella, lemon broccolini on the side
- Zoodles (zucchini noodles) with chunky Bolognese sauce, sided of garlicky wilted spinach
- Curry chicken salad atop and avocado half, Asian cabbage salad (no crispy noodles)
- Greek Lemon Chicken soup, add cauliflower “rice” at the end, instead of white rice.