Don't cut the carbs

If you expect my advice on starchy foods is going to be ‘restrict, cut out or avoid' then you're in for a pleasant surprise. Despite the recent plethora of low carb/carb-free diets, diet books and the emergence of carb-lite foods, carbohydrates are not fattening. And there is scientific proof to support this.

Neither do all carbohydrate foods cause allergies, ill-health, poor skin, tiredness and all the other symptoms they may have been linked to in some of the tabloid and trashy magazine articles you may have picked up. The fact is, starchy carbohydrate foods such as bread, cereals, rice, pasta and potatoes are a really important part of a healthy diet, especially the wholegrain varieties which you should try to choose whenever you can.

Exploding the myths

Gram for gram, carbohydrate is actually the least energy dense nutrient. However, we eat food not nutrients, and it is fair to say that many carbohydrate-rich foods also have a high fat content or are eaten with high fat ingredients which pushes up the overall calorie content. Many starchy carbohydrate foods have a low water content which makes them a more concentrated source of energy. This is where portion control becomes so important for weight loss.

The bogus science theory behind so many high protein, low carbohydrate diets is that it is carbohydrate alone, especially in the form of sugar that causes weight gain. Supporters of these diets believe that because sugar is rapidly absorbed into the blood stream causing blood glucose levels to increase, more insulin is then required to lower blood glucose levels back to normal.

They suggest that insulin promotes the conversion of sugar into fat. This will only happen if you are eating more calories that you use up. Eating a healthy balanced diet that includes starchy carbohydrates and using up more calories that you take in will still result in weight loss.

In extreme circumstances, eliminating carbohydrates from the diet can be potentially dangerous and lead to a metabolic condition called ketosis - a dangerous state for the body to be in.

The brain is the biggest user of glucose (provided by carbohydrate in the diet) and without it, the body has to start to breakdown its protein stores to release enough glucose for the brain. This leads to dangerous shifts in the body's acid-base balance, the side-effects of which can cause ketoacidosis coma.

Even on low carbohydrate diets, people have reported feeling tired, lethargic and irritable as their body struggles to make enough glucose. Anyone trying to exercise while following these types of diets will find it a real problem as stored carbohydrates (as glycogen in the liver and muscles) are the best source of energy for exercise.

A second myth is that starchy foods are responsible for allergies causing weight gain, and other symptoms such as bloating, tiredness and skin conditions.

There are of course, some people who need to avoid certain types of grains in their diet, such as gluten for people with celiac disease, or more rarely, wheat for those diagnosed with wheat protein allergy. But to say that an ‘allergy' linked to a food group causes weight gain is nonsense.

People suffering from food allergies or food intolerances do not gain weight by eating the culprit foods, in fact quite the reverse. Food intolerances usually cause sickness and diarrhoea. Food allergies can have very serious consequences resulting in anaphylactic shock, milder reactions include asthma and eczema, none of which are pleasant but hardly implicated in weight gain.

Having said all this, many people have wheat dominant diets and from a health perspective it is a good idea to increase the variety of different grains in the diet, some of which are easier to digest and kinder to a sensitive gut.

Finally, starchy foods are a good source of energy and the main source of a range of nutrients in our diet. As well as starch, these foods contain fibre, calcium, iron and B vitamins. Cutting out starchy foods, or any food group, can be bad for your health because you could be missing out on a range of nutrients.

How much starch?

Hopefully, you are now convinced that you need a certain amount of starchy foods in your diet and they should not be cut out to achieve weight loss.

Experts recommend that starchy foods should make up about a third of the food we eat. Many people that struggle with their weight eat a lot more than this. For example, imagine you are serving an evening meal of chicken curry and rice or pasta and bolognaise sauce. How much rice or pasta do you put on the plate?

Covering approximately a third of the plate with rice or pasta is about right, covering the entire plate with rice or pasta is definitely too much.

Next, add a small amount of protein and this leaves plenty of room (about a half to a third) for vegetables or salad. So if you want to eat healthily, think about the proportions of the different foods you eat in a day.

If you're concerned about your weight, wholegrain varieties of starchy foods are an especially good choice. Using a specially designed diet plate can help to re-educate your serving sizes of foods. Try the diet plate from www.thedietplate.co.uk

Fibre

Most people don't eat enough fibre, which can lead to poor bowel health, increase risk of bowel conditions such as chronic constipation and colon cancer. Foods rich in fibre are a healthier choice for your gut health and can also aid weight loss as they contain fewer calories than refined versions of the same foods.

They also are more bulky so help to fill you up allowing you to eat smaller portions and less likely to pick between meals. Fibre-rich foods include: wholegrain bread, brown rice, wholewheat pasta, oats, beans, peas, lentils, grains, seeds, fruit and vegetables.

Why choose wholegrain foods?

Wholegrain, wholemeal and brown foods provide B vitamins, vitamin E, fibre essential fats and a wide range of minerals. Many of these nutrients are lost in white or refined foods. We also digest wholegrain foods more slowly so they can help make us feel full for longer.

Recent research shows that people with healthy hearts tend to eat more whole grain foods as part of a low fat diet and healthy lifestyle.

Replacing refined grains with whole grains may offer a simple and important way to maintain healthy blood glucose and insulin levels. It has been suggested that this might be through the combined effect of the nutrients in whole grains

Studies show that people who eat more whole grain foods have a lower Body Mass Index and are less likely to gain weight over time.

Being low in fat and high in fibre and complex carbohydrates, whole grains can help you feel fuller for longer - helping you to avoid the temptation of snacking. Whole grains are an important source of both types of fibre, which can promote regularity and help you maintain a healthy bowel.