Carbohydrates are components which can be easily converted by the body into sugar or glucose. This sugar or glucose can be used by the body to produce energy. However, not all carbohydrates are good for the body and not all of them are bad.
What are Bad Carbohydrates?
Bad carbohydrates are those carbs which have been highly processed and are not close to their natural state. These carbohydrates are stripped off their nutritional value due to the processing. They are also added with additives such as colorings, preservatives, flavorings and sugars etc.
How Can Bad Carbohydrates Lead to Obesity?
Bad carbohydrates are hard to digest and they trigger quick increase in energy levels. However, this type of energy increases plummets very fast, prompting you to eat more of bad carbohydrates.
These carbohydrates also cause quick increase in sugar levels and this can cause diabetes or heart disease in the long-term. Although bad carbs may be packaged in an attractive way, they have zero nutritional value, i.e. they do not contain vitamins, minerals or other components which benefit the body.
List of Bad Carbohydrates:
Bad carbohydrates are generally baked food, processed food. Here are few examples:
- Baked foods such as pastries
- Sodas
- Doughnuts
- Candy
- Desserts
- White flour
Choose Good Carbohydrates:
Good carbohydrates, unlike bad carbs, have good nutritional value. They are close to their natural state. They give you a feeling of being full. Hence, you are more likely to lose weight when you eat good carbs. Here are examples of good carbohydrates:
- Fruits
- Vegetables
- Beans
- Few dairy products
- Seeds
- Nuts
- Legumes
- Whole grain foods
Good carbohydrates can help you to stay healthy and overcome obesity. To overcome obesity, a healthy diet is as necessary as exercise. So, eat good carbohydrates to steer clear of obesity.
Bad Carbohydrate and Medical Complications in Children?
Bad Carbohydrate raises the sugar levels in the body. To bring back normalcy in the sugar levels, the body releases a hormone called Insulin from the organ pancreas. When this state frequently arises, the organ pancreas has to produce large amounts of the hormone insulin. After a point, the organ becomes tired and starts producing less insulin than what is required in the body. Such a dreadful situation is called the Type 1 Diabetes prevalent among the obese children in the United States. There are increasing numbers of evidences that Type 2 Diabetes has also started to target the age group 9-17 years of obese youngsters.
Another health complication of obese youngsters is known as Fatty liver. The liver is supposed to burn the stored fat when the body is in need of energy. But in patients with Fatty Liver, the organ accumulates more and more fat, and hence the name.
