Is she the carb queen?
Pasta/oak extract
Quite a few people see carbohydrates as a form of comfort, whether they are sweet carbohydrates such as cakes or cookies or salty carbohydrates such as those found in different types of bread or pasta.
Carbohydrates are considered fuel for the body, but if you overdo it, the immediate effect will be weight gain.
Winter traditionally causes many of us to consume more carbohydrates.
In addition to the cold season, the stressful period in which we live these days also contributes to an increase in carbohydrate consumption, as a form of compensation or relaxation.
But not all carbs are created equal.
Some will make us even hungrier shortly after we eat them.
Others will make us a week and even provide our body with additional important components, which it needs.
In this article I will organize and explain what is considered a healthy carbohydrate, and how much you should eat every day.
Quite a few studies carried out over the years examined what is more important and what is better for health: to minimize the amount of carbohydrates we eat, or simply to choose healthier carbohydrates?
The conclusions were not uniform.
In some cases, the researchers concluded that it is better to minimize carbohydrates, and in others they showed that the quality of carbohydrates, the amount of dietary fiber and vitamins in them, and a low glycemic index are more important.
Since most of the chances are that we will not be able to avoid them, it is better to understand how to correctly choose the carbohydrate that will provide us with both good nutritional values and will make us full.
Let's talk about the carbohydrates we all eat, and in the end we also need them:
The most common: the different types of rice
The store shelves are full of basmati rice, Persian, round, elongated, wild rice, brown rice, red rice and the list goes on.
But are there nutritional differences between the different types?
Rice is considered the most common food after corn and wheat.
The nutritional value of white rice is extremely low: it contains very little fiber, vitamins and minerals.
Unlike white, whole rice (the one that contains the husk of the rice grain, the bran) contains a good amount of B vitamins, folic acid, and also minerals such as phosphorus, potassium, magnesium, zinc and selenium.
Basically, all the nutritional value of the rice is found in its husk, therefore white rice (one whose grains have been peeled) is not a food that contributes much to our health, and from a nutritional point of view there is no problem to exist without it.
If we compare the amount of vitamins and minerals in whole grain rice to other grains, we will find that it is quite similar to whole wheat pasta, corn, quinoa, buckwheat, and bulgur.
Supplementing protein with legumes
Rice has little protein (8%, which is slightly less than in pasta, bulgur or couscous).
Whole grain rice has 10% more protein than white rice.
But in any case - the protein in rice is not of high quality, which means it will help less in building muscles, the immune system, hair and more.
Legumes such as chickpeas, lentils, white beans, and pulses - have the proteins that are missing in rice, so if you eat them together - the body gets quality protein.
For example, Majedra, a dish that combines rice and lentils (from the legume family) contains higher quality protein, since the lentils contain the amino acids that are missing in rice - and the combination of the grain + legume together gives a high quality protein.
Perhaps the most common of all carbohydrates, but with extremely poor nutritional values.
White rice/Nimrod Saunders
Rice crispies
are usually made from whole rice, so their nutritional value is high.
They are low in fat, but the amount of calories in 100 grams of crisps is higher than in 100 grams of bread.
The reason one crisp has few calories is only because it doesn't weigh much.
That's why two crisps are probably less satisfying than two slices of light bread.
Is it dangerous to eat whole rice due to arsenic?
This is a myth.
It is true that there is arsenic in the soil in different parts of the world, and the arsenic can be absorbed into different agricultural crops.
It is also true that it is mainly found in the husk of the rice and less so in peeled white rice.
But, there is no way to know if this or that rice contains arsenic, and where it is grown.
Arsenic is found in many agricultural crops and not only in rice, because it is simply found in the soil.
In any case, the nutritional value of whole rice is much higher - in the husk of the rice are most of the dietary fibers, most of the vitamins from group B, iron, zinc, and other minerals.
And when you peel the rice from its husk for white rice - you lose the nutritional value.
And not only that - the dietary fiber contributes to long-lasting satiety and slows down digestion, so that whole rice also satisfies for a longer time than white rice.
pasta
Here are 7 things you should know about this popular carbohydrate:
1. Satisfying for a long time:
Compared to other carbohydrates, the glycemic index of pasta is low.
This means that it is digested slowly, provides energy for a long time, is more suitable if there is a tendency to diabetes, and satisfies for longer than other supplements.
2. Pasta cooked "al dente" is more satisfying:
cooking the pasta too long until it is too soft, makes digestion easier and causes the pasta to satisfy for less time.
Cooking to "al dente" level is the most recommended when you want to be full for the longest time.
3. "Durum" wheat pasta is not healthier:
it is a type of wheat that is harder, and this type of flour is more suitable for pasta and not for bread.
4. Not "semolina" either:
semolina is basically the degree of grinding of wheat, into grains that resemble semolina.
5. Whole wheat pastas:
contain more vitamins and dietary fiber, and satisfy for a longer time.
In terms of caloric value - there is no difference between them and regular pasta.
6. Gluten-free pasta from legumes:
pasta made from orange lentil, green lentil, or pea flour contains a higher percentage of protein, and more vitamins and fiber.
A portion of such pasta can be considered a protein portion, even though you are actually eating pasta.
7. Cream sauce doesn't necessarily have more calories than tomato sauce:
a container of 10% cream contains about 300 calories, pretty much the same as two units of a small tomato paste with a tablespoon of olive oil.
When it comes to a whole pot of pasta, the addition of cream is no longer significant because it is spread over a large amount of pasta.
The carb queen?
Sweet potato as chips/ShutterStock
sweet potato
So it is true that sweet potatoes have more sugar than potatoes, but let's start with the fact that the number of calories in 100 grams of sweet potato or potato is quite similar.
Actually, like the calories per unit depends on the size.
A medium potato or sweet potato of the same size will contain about 100 calories.
The sweet potato has about 5% sugar, compared to less than 2% in the potato, but even so, the sweet potato's glycemic index is very low.
This means that the carbohydrates in it are digested and absorbed slowly, so it is more suitable in cases of diabetes, compared to a potato.
The sweet potato has a huge amount of vitamin A (which is hardly found in potatoes).
This vitamin is very important for vision, as we all know, especially for night vision (in the dark), but also important for our immune system against viruses.
It is also important for preventing hair loss and helps to obtain healthy and radiant skin.
Vitamin A is not destroyed to a significant extent by heat, so it is found in huge quantities also in sweet potato roasted in the oven, boiled or even fried - as fritters.
The sweet potato has a lot of iron (slightly more than a potato), and also a considerable amount of potassium which is needed to regulate blood pressure and heart activity (in this case a potato is more excellent).
Another significant advantage is that sweet potatoes are also loved by children, and if they don't eat a lot of vegetables, this is an excellent way to introduce vitamins and minerals to their menu.
Personally, I use sweet potato to make baked pancakes (with Bulgarian cheeses and eggs), as a base for gluten-free pizza, and also sweet potato cubes to upgrade cold salads.
Here is the real queen.
A bean that increases the low nutritional value of the rice/Wala! system, Ayala Jenny
The ranking: which carbohydrates are healthier?
Where is there more dietary fiber and vitamins from the B family?
Where will you find more minerals like zinc, iron or magnesium?
Here is the ranking:
in first place:
legumes: white, red or black beans, lentils of all colors, chickpeas, peas, soy and tofu, lupine.
Although they have 25% vegetable protein and can be considered as a substitute for meat or fish, they have 60% excellent carbohydrates with a low glycemic index, a large amount of dietary fiber, and more vitamins and minerals than other carbohydrates.
In second place:
sweet potato or whole basmati rice.
You will find here quite a few vitamins, dietary fiber and a low glycemic index, so that you will be full of them for a long time.
In last place:
white wheat products: pasta, flakes, couscous, white bread and yes - also white rice.
And in terms of calories?
All carbohydrates are all similar in their number of calories - rice of all types (including whole rice), pasta and flakes, as well as bulgur, buckwheat and couscous, contain about 350 calories per 100 grams, about 120 calories per 100 grams after cooking.
What it means?
3-4 tablespoons contain 120 calories, like a light bread sandwich or light pita, including the spread.
Why is it dangerous to diet?
A portion of 3-4 spoons is a small and unsatisfying portion, which sometimes only causes frustration.
And as we all know, while cooking, it happens that you taste a spoonful or two standing up to correct the seasoning, or just because it tastes good.
And so, without feeling it, we put another 100 calories into the body, that is, like another sandwich, but without counting it and without feeling it.
When you want to lose weight, it is better to focus on measured things, which can be counted accurately.
Light bread or light pita - you know how much you eat and you can calculate it, even if it's a relatively large amount, so in my opinion it's better in a diet.
Nutritionally - the pasta or the flakes give the body the same nutritional value as bread (even less nutritional value than light bread or a small spelled pita), the same goes for white rice.
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