January 3rd,2010 Carbohydrates or carbs are responsible for some of the most important functions our body carries out but due to decades of being misunderstood they have been left totally unappreciated for the work they do and are treated as a big no-no in the world of diet.
To understand why carbs have attracted so much of dietary criticism,we need to realize the role the diet and food industry has played in creating this controversy about carbs. The following is a rather simplified account.
In the 60′s and 70′s,when the medical field stated that there was a link between coronay heart disease and high animal fat,the food industry in the name of providing an alternative food type,took advantage of the situation by introducing white flour based products such as white breads,cookies,muffins,doughnuts,sweetened cereals,white pastas and cakes.
These carbs are highly refined (fibre content removed) with high amounts of sugar and salt added to improve their taste. In the 80′s and 90′s when obesity was on the rise with people being addicted to and consuming large amounts of these foods,doctors found that they caused diseases such as type 2 diabetes,heart disease,cholesterol and hypertension.
Nowadays nutritionists and dieticians agree that good carbs in their pure form,unrefined and unprocessed,are high in fibre and do not lead to weight gain. A clear testimony to this are communities in the world who have survived for centuries on carbs such as rice and wheat,but did not face weight problems until the advent of commercialized foods.
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