Toward a Healthier You! Every food that is eaten by us falls into 3 categories: fats, proteins or carbohydrates. Carbohydrates have been the buzzword for years now and they have really gotten a bad rap. They do fall into two categories, healthy vs. unhealthy. Food such as candy, cookies, cake, chips and other foods like these are what we call the unhealthy or simple carbohydrates. These are the foods that will make you feel terrible by raising blood sugar levels up and then send you crashing down again soon afterwards. They also are not figure-friendly and will make you gain weight. Sometimes – lots of it. Even foods you assume are healthy like juices may actually be sugar laden. Read the labels. If you see words like high fructose corn syrup, dextrose, glucose, sucrose or ANY word ending in ose that means sugar. On the other hand, complex carbohydrates are much better for you. They include fruits, which contain fructose, yes, a sugar, but a natural one that the body will digest more easily. Vegetables are in the carb family but, by far, have the lowest amounts of carbohydrate in them. That is why most diets tell you to eat them in volume or whenever you are hungry. Grains are also carbohydrates, and while cereals and some bread can be healthy, you absolutely must read the labels. There can be lots of sugar added to the grain to make them taste better. So while low carb diets continue to be very popular I favor a program of drastically reducing sugar and white flour products while eating the healthy carbohydrates that should be the basis of a good diet.

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