09/07/2026
FOOD FOR THOUGHT!
Let's talk Carbs!
Dun, dun, duuuunnnnn!
Carbs (carbohydrates) are one of the three Macronutrients, along with Fats and Protein. Macro, meaning things that we need in bigger amounts, so measured in grams, versus being measured in milligrams like the majority of Micronutrients (vitamins, minerals, etc). Carbs also happen to be our BEST, most easily accessed form of energy, especially for our VERY hungry brains!
The issues we come up against, where the carb conversation misses out on the nuance, are the very BIG differences between simple carbs and complex carbs! Foods that are considered to contain complex carbs offer us more than just pure 'energy' in the form of starches and sugars. These foods also give us higher fibre content, vitamins/minerals (micronutrients), polyphenols, antioxidants, etc. ALSO, because foods that contain complex carbs are not as easy for us to breakdown/digest/assimilate, we are technically using some of that energy (measured as calories) just to do the breakdown/digest/assimilate. They also have lots of prebiotics and other helpful compounds for all our Good Buddies so they can do their work. So, then the question becomes - depending, of course, on the goal you have: Do you just cut/avoid carbs, or do you start to choose carbs that are offering you MORE?
Notice how I went from talking about 'carbs' to talking about 'foods that contain complex carbs', because I think it gets reduced to that too often, and we forget that we don't 'eat carbs'; we 'eat food'. Give yourself permission to explore more diversity in your food, and choose foods that really serve YOU and offer you more, including that Food Joy we talk about in this space. When you are consuming food, with mindfulness and that Food Joy in mind, you eat it slower, and when we apply that to having complex carb-rich foods in the diet, that also means we get to a point of satiety BEFORE even needing to worry about 'overeating carbs'. Indeed, you may get to a point where you do not even worry about it anymore at all.
So, to conclude:
Carbs = not the Devil
Foods containing Complex Carbs = Win/Win!
