Nutrition
Some Carb Lovin’
Natasha Rahman gives you a lowdown on why you need more carbohydrates for a healthier body
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Whenever you think of jumping on a diet bandwagon, there will be a lot of mindless advice about what you should and shouldn’t eat. Carbohydrates usually get the worst rap and are always pushed off of the list of foods you should be consuming while on a ‘diet’. It’s time we stop avoiding carbs like the plague and admire this ‘feel good’ nutrient for what it really is. Picture this, you decide to change your eating habits and pick out one of the most trending diet plans on the internet - a low-carb high-protein diet. Not only are you obstructing yourself from your daily intake of carbs but you are also restricting yourself to a certain amount of calories per day. The diet will seduce many by attaching a perfect body goal to the end of a tempestuous week or two and before you know it, you are off to the mall picking out high-protein, low-carb food options. Now mind you, protein is great - chicken, egg whites, beans - but when you take away carbohydrates from your diet and just stuff yourself with protein, it will lead to nutritional deficiencies or insufficient fiber that will agitate your mood and even affect
digestion. A diet like this results in hunger pangs that will worsen and you will be left daydreaming about the cheeseburgers and fries that you shall run to once this ordeal is over. Not a very pretty picture, is it? This is where your body starts revolting, and initially you may shed some pounds because you are eating so little, but this will adversely affect your metabolism. Your body continuously needs to be replenished and energized and restricting your calorie intake may shrink your waist at first, but this is all a short term facade. Hence, cutting back on calories and doing strenuous exercises will put the skids on your metabolism as your body will be craving carbs to fuel these workouts. Your metabolism will start to slow down as a natural protective mechanism against the stress you are putting it in. Your body needs carbohydrates and it needs to recover but when you keep pushing your body with less and less calories, it will surely show face in the form of anxiety, headaches and lethargy.