Complex Carbohydrates
Filed Under Lower cholesterol Remedies |
It used to be that when you wanted to shed a few pounds, you gave up bread, potatoes and pasta. Doctors thought they were fattening. But times have changed, and so has the scientific understanding of carbohydrates: Researchers now know that carbohydrates, the body’s primary source of fuel, can help fill us up without necessarily filling us out. What’s more, some studies have found that replacing saturated fat with a particular kind of carbohydrate-complex carbohydrates, found primarily in grains and starchy vegetables-can help lower blood cholesterol.
So feel free to enjoy that plate of pasta or that slice of fresh-baked bread. Prepared correctly and eaten in moderation, foods high in complex carbohydrates can make low-fat, low-cholesterol eating a breeze. Here’s how to power up your diet while helping to trim down your cholesterol.
Complex Carbohydrates: Simply Delicious
There are two types of carbohydrates: sugars (simple carbohydrates) and starches (complex carbohydrates). Simple carbohydrates are abundant in fruits, vegetables, honey, corn syrup, milk and sugarcane. Complex carbohydrates are found primarily in breads, pastas, rice and other grains, beans and potatoes.
There’s a lot to recommend complex carbohydrates. Starches release their energy more slowly than sugars, making you feel fuller longer. Further, foods high in complex carbohydrates tend to be low in fat and high in fiber-both soluble fiber, which has been proven to lower blood cholesterol, and insoluble fiber, which helps keep you regular and protect against colon cancer.
The government recommends that we eat 6 to 11 servings of reads, cereals, rice and pastas per day. While that may seem like a ot, filling up on complex carbs isn’t as hard as you might think, says Iindy Hermann, R.D., a nutrition consultant in Mount Kisco, New ok. “A couple of slices of toast for breakfast equals two servings,” says Iermann. “If you have a turkey burger for lunch, the bun counts as .’:10ther two servings. The bag of pretzels you have as an afternoon snack may count as two servings, depending on the size of the bag. And a big plate of pasta for dinner might add up to four servings. That’s ten servings right there.”