The Carbohydrate Debate

Written by Renee Kennedy


To eat or not to eat carbohydrates. that isrepparttar question. There are good carbs and there are bad carbs. How can we tellrepparttar 115525 difference and how do we know what to eat?

The old way of classifying carbohydrates:

Complex Carbohydrates provide fiber, vitamins, minerals and energy. Some foods that contain complex carbohydrates are whole grain bread, legumes like peas and beans, pasta, rice, and starchy vegetables.

Simple Carbohydrates are broken down quickly to provide energy. Simple carbohydrates are found naturally in milk, fruits and vegetables. Simple carbs are also found in processed foods like syrup, soda, and refined sugar found in many processed baked goods.

In this way of classifying carbs, it is recommended that we limit our intake of simple carbs and get most of our carbohydrates from complex carbs.

The new way of classifying carbohydrates: The Glycemic Index (GI) measures how quickly blood sugar rises after ingesting a food with carbohydrates. Eating a diet full of foods that have been rated with a high GI may contribute to an increased risk of diabetes and heart disease.

Highly processed or highly refined carbohydrates have been found to have a high GI - foods like white bread, white rice, white pasta, french fries and refined breakfast cereals.

Whole foods will have a lower GI - legumes, whole fruit, and whole grains like wheat, oats, barley, and brown rice.

However, there are exceptions to this rule. Many other factors influencerepparttar 115526 GI of a food. Fiber content, fat content, ripeness, and type of starch also affectrepparttar 115527 GI. Thus some foods like potatoes and bananas have a high GI.

Ten Tips For a Healthy Halloween

Written by Dale Reynolds


Does Halloween signalrepparttar starting of a whole season of unhealthy eating for you? The Halloween candy is out and we buy early forrepparttar 115524 best selection. Then it’s inrepparttar 115525 house calling our name, and we eat some of it (or all of it?) beforerepparttar 115526 day arrives! Afterrepparttar 115527 trick-or-treat event, we have leftover candy inrepparttar 115528 house. Andrepparttar 115529 next thing you know, it’s Thanksgiving and that startsrepparttar 115530 whole holiday feeding frenzy until New Year’s!

Don’t tear your hair out! Here are 10 tips to survive Halloween in a healthy way and head intorepparttar 115531 holiday season on a better note!

If you’ll be handing out candy to trick-or-treat visitors, consider buying candy that you don’t even like. That way you’ll be less likely to eat it.

Get candy that isn’t too high in fat and calories, such as lollipops or peppermint patties or hard candy.

Buy your candy atrepparttar 115532 last minute. This serves three purposes: you won’t eat a bunch of it ahead of time, you’ll probably get a better price because it will be marked down, and you might not findrepparttar 115533 kind you really like to tempt you because they might be out of it already!

Wear a costume while handing out candy. It will be more fun, so maybe you won’t think aboutrepparttar 115534 candy as much. Try to come up with a costume that discourages eating, like something with a mask or long fake fingernails.

Rent a movie and pop some popcorn. Hit “pause” whenrepparttar 115535 doorbell rings. The movie and healthy snacks will keep your mind offrepparttar 115536 candy.

Keeprepparttar 115537 kids home (or invite your adult friends) and throw a costume party. Have a contest with several categories of winners (scariest, funniest, most original) and serve healthier treats like caramel apples or popcorn balls. Order pizza, or make your own using turkey sausage and reduced fat pepperoni, reduced fat cheese and lots of veggies.

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