The Carbohydrate, Fiber, and Sugar Counter

by Annette B. Natow; Jo-Ann Heslin

• ISBN13: 9780671025625
• ISBN10: 0671025627
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1999-01-01
• Publisher: Pocket

Summary

You don't have to be an elite athlete to eat like one -- their peak performance secret is carbohydrates, the pure energy source that keeps active people going

strong. In this one-of-a-kind nutrition counter, discover the surprising benefits of carboh

Excerpts

From the Introduction

OnlyThe Carbohydrate, Fiber, and Sugar Countergives you the whole carbohydrate story with all the information you need to make the best food choices. Carbohydrates are favorites. We all seem to love potatoes, pasta, bread, tortillas, bagels and, of course, sweets. Americans get most of their calories from "carbs." You can see why when you add cereals and other grains, popcorn, rice, beans, vegetables, fruits, milk and milk products, all high in carbohydrates. Carbohydrates taste good and are good for you. The Dietary Guidelines, government advice for healthy eating, recommend that you choose a diet with plenty of grain products, vegetables and fruits. And the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Food Guide Pyramid, which illustrates a healthy diet for Americans, has as its base and largest section the bread, cereals, grains and pasta group. Six to eleven servings are recommended daily. They are the foundation of healthy eating.

What are carbohydrates?

Carbohydrates (sugar, starch and fiber) are made in plants from carbon, hydrogen and oxygen. When you eat plants, or foods made from them, your body gets the energy it needs for fuel (calories). Many people believe that eating carbohydrates will make you fat. That's not true. In fact, there are only four calories in a gram of carbs. Compared to the other energy-yielding nutrients, fat and protein, carbohydrates have less than one half of the calories in fat and the same number of calories as protein.Excesscalories, or more than your body needs, from any of these three energy sources -- carbohydrate, fat or protein -- will put on weight. It may surprise you to learn that many studies in the United States and other countries show that people who eat more sugar and other carbohydrates tend to weigh less than those who eat smaller amounts. Carbohydrates are a less efficient fuel than fat. Converting the carbohydrates you eat into stored body fat uses up 25 percent of the calories. Converting the fat you eat into stored body fat uses up only 3 percent of the fat calories.

How much carbohydrate should I get every day?

You need at least 100 grams of carbohydrate a day to meet the needs of your brain and other body tissues that do not easily use other fuels. Adequate carbohydrate will also reduce the amount of body protein that is broken down. Some carbohydrates are needed to help break down body fat and prevent the accumulation of ketones (formed when fat is broken down), which can upset the normal balance in the body.

Experts recommend that we get about 60 percent of our calories from carbohydrates. The Daily Values (DV), printed on food labels, suggest 300 grams of carbohydrate (1200 calories) in a 2,000-calorie diet, which is 60 percent of daily calories. Calorie intake each day varies depending on your body size and level of activity.

Do athletes need more carbohydrate?

Yes. Some long-distance runners, for instance, eat as much as 85 percent of their daily calories as carbohydrates. Most of us don't need that much. Active adults -- runners, tennis players, swimmers -- do benefit from high carbohydrate intake. Carbohydrates fuel muscles.

Glycogenis the form in which carbohydrate is stored in muscles. Excess carbohydrate is converted to glycogen and stored in the liver and muscles until needed. The amount stored is small, only enough to last for less than a day. These muscle stores can be increased by a combination of a high carbohydrate diet and exercise. Trained muscles store more glycogen.

FAST FACT

Americans are eating more cereal -- 60 percent more than in the late 1970s.

Can a person with diabetes eat carbohydrate foods?

People with diabetes do not handle carbohydrate normally. Either they cannot make enough insulin (the hormone needed to use most carbohydrates) or their bodies cannot use the insulin they do make.

There are two main types of diabetes: Type 1, also called insulin-dependent diabetes and Type 2, non-insulin dependent diabetes. (The name of Type 2 is misleading because one-third of the people with this kind of diabetes do use insulin.) Type 2 is more common, affecting about 14 million Americans -- that is, 90 percent of all persons with diabetes.

In both types of diabetes, the goal is to keep blood sugar as close to normal as possible. This is done by keeping track of the amount of carbohydrate eaten each day. People with diabetes and their health care practitioners work out diet plans that include dietary carbohydrate levels based on usual intake, activity level, medication or amount of insulin used. In the past, people with diabetes were advised to avoid sugar. This is no longer considered necessary. All carbohydratessugar and starches-are broken down into glucose (sugar) in the body. The diabetic diet can include all types of carbohydrates as long as the amounts eaten fall within prescribed limits for each meal and snack.

Why do people count carbohydrates?

Many people count carbohydrates. You can do so to keep track of your carbohydrate and sugar intake in order to lose weight, if you are an athlete or if you have diabetes.The Carbohydrate, Fiber, and Sugar Counterwill help you count carbohydrates by telling you how many grams of carbohydrate and sugar are in the foods you eat. Reasonable amounts of sugar and sugar-containing foods, such as cookies, can be included. Just be careful that sugary foods do not crowd out more healthy carbohydrate choices.

What is low blood sugar?

Low blood sugar (hypoglycemia) is a condition in which a person's blood sugar (glucose) falls below normal levels, causing symptoms such as sweating, trembling, agitation, rapid heartbeat, and hunger. These symptoms show that too little blood sugar is available to fuel the body cells. It can happen in people with diabetes who have taken too much insulin or have not eaten enough food. In persons who do not have diabetes, hypoglycemia may occur several hours after a meal. This is known asreactive hypoglycemia.Eating frequent small meals made up of high-protein foods, fewer carbohydrates and less sugar usually relieves the symptoms. To establish a diagnosis blood glucose tests have to be taken when the symptoms occur because many people mistakenly believe they are hypoglycemic.

What is glucose?

Glucose is the body's main fuel used to support movement, nerve function and temperature control. All carbohydrate foods -- potatoes, apples, sugar, rice, pasta -- are changed to glucose in the body. Every cell and almost all body fluids contain glucose; it is the way sugar travels in the blood. Plants store glucose as starch and we get glucose when we eat them. Grains, beans, peas, and potatoes are the main sources.

FAST FACT

The average American eats 142 pounds of sugar and corn syrup a year, along with 24 pounds of low-calorie sweeteners.

FAST FACT

The average American gets 16 percent of his or her calories from added sugars. Teens get 20 percent, mainly from sodas, cookies, cakes, and pastries. Teenage boys, on average, drink more than 575 cans of soda a year, while teenage girls drink more than 400 cans.

Is sugar bad for you?

Most people enjoy the sweet taste of sugar. Babies are born with a preference for sweets. Their first food, milk, contains milk sugar (lactose), which is slightly sweet. Sugar is not just a source of empty calories. It makes other foods taste better, so nutritious foods are more pleasant to eat. Adding small amounts of sugar to cereal makes it tastier, and a little chocolate syrup added to milk can encourage children to drink more milk.

While it is true that eating too many sugary foods can crowd more nutritious foods out of your diet, moderate amounts of sugar -- 12 to 15 percent of total calories -- will not harm healthy people. Sugar does cause cavities, but what matters more is how often you eat sugary foods (and other carbohydrates) rather than the amount you eat. In the past, sugar was believed to cause many other health problems, including diabetes, hyperactivity, heart disease and even criminal behavior, but at present there is no evidence that sugar causes these problems. The evidence points to obesity, not sugar, as a major cause of diabetes. And sugar does not cause hyperactivity in children. Hyperactive behavior is more likely to occur in a stimulating situation like a birthday party where many sweets are eaten. Research shows that when sugar is eaten in everyday situations, it usually has a calming effect. The 1995 USDA Dietary Guidelines advise us to eat moderate amounts of sugar. This would be about 12 to 15 percent of total calories.

Copyright © 1999 by Annette Natow and Jo-Ann Heslin

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Excerpted from The Carbohydrate, Fiber, and Sugar Counter by Annette B. Natow, Jo-Ann Heslin
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