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You Can Eat Carbs: Why your body needs carbohydrates
- Kristen Bryk
- 7 days ago
- 7 min read
Updated: 5 days ago
Carbohydrates. Carbs. Starches. Sugar.
There is so much conflicting information out there about carbs - so how do we know what’s right and what’s wrong?
‘Carbs will raise your cortisol level.’
‘If you’re eating the right kind of carbs, your body will be more alkaline.’
‘Carbs will make you gain weight.’
‘You can’t control yourself around carbs.’
‘Eating too many carbs will cause you to be lethargic.’
As written before, much of the information online especially in the social media space is only a very small nugget of truth and then dilutes and simplifies nutrition in a way that can spread misinformation.
Let me try to set the record straight - carbs are a very important macronutrient. Your body needs carbohydrates.
What are carbs?
Carbohydrates are molecules of sugars that come in both complex and simple forms.
Complex forms are long chains of sugar molecules all strung together. They include starches and fibers. Foods like whole grains, potatoes, beans, fruits and veggies.
Simple carbs are carbs with 1 or 2 sugars that digest faster than complex carbs. They are in fruits and dairy products, and also cookies, cakes, white pasta and white bread.
Now, let's give an example where current nutrition advice is simplistic.
While some may say brown rice is ‘good’ and white rice is ‘bad’, this is a major oversimplification. One could eat a bowl of brown rice and still feel hungry and have a higher blood sugar level than someone feeling satisfied with white rice and a protein, veggie, sauce and dessert.
Nutrition is nuanced and should be individualized.
Why your body needs carbohydrates
Carbs play a major role in many bodily functions, including:
Being the main source of energy for our cells
Providing the brain with optimal cognitive function, memory and neurotransmitter production
Restoring muscle glycogen in our skeletal muscle so we can move and engage in physical activity
Ensuring the liver has enough glycogen to keep our blood sugar levels normal overnight and between meals
Providing fiber, which regulates digestive health and helps blood sugar control and cholesterol levels
Ensuring we have enough vital micronutrients like iron, magnesium, potassium, phosphorus, among others
What if I am not eating enough carbs?
We know from the Minnesota Starvation Study and other research that there can be negative consequences when we are not getting enough carbohydrates, (Blaak 2021).
While low-carb diets have been shown to incur modest weight loss and improvements in some health parameters like HDL (‘good’ cholesterol) (Charla, et al 2020), these studies also show worsened levels of LDL cholesterol (‘bad’ cholesterol) (Chawla, et al 2020) or an increase in all-cause mortality among women and men (Fung, et al. 2010). Further, many studies include a caloric restriction on the experimental group, which can affect findings.
The data is far from concrete to be recommending low carb diets, and there are certainly several downsides to consider (Blaak, 2021).
Lack of adequate carbs can lead to:
Feeling tired, fatigued or lethargic
Being constipated, bloated and distended
Not being able to do sport or move in ways we enjoy
Getting injured more frequently
Experiencing brain fog
Getting sick more often
Having disruptions in hormone levels leading to poor bone health, lack of menstruation or low testosterone
Experiencing micronutrient deficiencies
Losing muscle because without enough carbs, our body may burn muscle for fuel. Muscle is everywhere, including the heart.
Ok, you may be thinking- ‘Kate, this is all well and good but I can’t control myself around carbs and even if I could, shouldn’t I try to limit some carbs in the diet like simple carbs?’
The issue of control
First, feeling like you can’t control yourself or that you often crave certain foods, especially simple carbs, can be a reality. This lack of control is challenging and there is hope that it can change.
There may be many reasons for these experiences like: underlying insulin resistance, restricting calories/carbs regularly, psychological restriction of certain foods/food groups, an emotional attachment to a food (i.e. chocolate gave you comfort in a tumultuous home environment as a kid), not fueling enough for sport, and more.
It can be hard to let go and trust that you can form a new relationship with carbs.
It is possible. It may be helpful to play around with things like:
Eating enough overall calories and carbs over the course of the day
Making sure there is protein and fat at meals/snacks as they slow down the digestion of carbs, manage blood sugar well and leave you energized longer
Eating fun foods in ways that are safe and not in the same context as usual (often alone at night and when emotionally vulnerable)
Plating portions of food versus eating from the bag/container
Meal prepping more often and including a variety of carbs
Cooking more often and experiencing food in ways outside of eating it
Eating in a different place than normal
Getting help from a dietitian that can individualize recommendations to your needs(i.e. medications, diagnoses, food history)
The issue of 'health'
Foods with complex carbs, like whole grains and starchy veggies, have been shown to be associated with improvements in heart health, gastrointestinal health and more. However, this does not mean you need to cut out all simple sugars.
Add versus subtract. My approach to eating healthfully has always been about thinking about what can be added to the diet versus taken out. And to do so in a way that is fun, appropriate for cooking skills, financially feasible and convenient to the degree needed.
Sometimes we also need to change our environments or make efforts to make healthful eating choices easier. For instance, sometimes we may need to put a bowl of fruit on the table to remind ourselves to eat it. If we have a restrictive eating disorder and are eating with family that cuts out carbs, we may need to prepare our own carb-containing side. We may also need to have more whole grains and fun foods at home to get enough and create variety and choice.
Being curious about your experience, thinking about what carbs and food experiences you want more of, engaging with others around food and considering the questions of ‘what am I losing by taking food out of my diet?’ and ‘what am I willing to trade off if I put them back in?’ may be helpful.
It is also important to think about how we want to physically feel versus how we want to look.
Often, when people acknowledge how they are feeling physically, it can help with understanding what foods feel nourishing and drive eating behaviors. This, of course, is not easy for those with chronic illnesses, PCOS, neurodiversity or other concerns. Mindfulness can be one tool in a larger toolbox.
Self-compassion goes a long way. When we do eat something we don’t feel so great about, especially when we feel guilt or shame after eating, the typical response is to beat ourselves up.
This can start a risky pattern of ‘I’ll do better tomorrow’, which can either lead to being full blown in the binge/restrict cycle or to a small level of restriction the next day - all of which can lead to more cravings and less control.
When we are compassionate we can be kind and let our feelings be there without having them dictate the rest of our day or week. We accept that we are human.
This can help us move on and eat regularly the next day, reduce the guilt and shame we may feel and actually - change our eating patterns through also letting go of the cycle that makes it feel you should have unlimited willpower to control your intake.
Lastly, what does ‘health’ mean to you? This is an entire other article series, but for now, it is important to note that healthism, which as Kukla, Q.R. 2024 so eloquently describe, is the emphasis on health as a moral obligation that individuals have to society at all costs.
Carbs are definitely a part of a varied, healthful diet but healthism has put carbs at the center of what it means to be healthy. (See US Dietary Guidelines as an example.) We must justify why we had a piece of cake or didn’t work out that day and still ate carbs.
Society and the government really fail us here. Instead of taking a stand to make healthful, varied foods readily available to all, the system recommends people with less food access to get whole grains from a food bank instead of offering a grocery store with fresh foods in their neighborhood. Additionally, it is on the individual to sift through available food options and using often unreputable sources like social media to find an answer as to what to eat.
No wonder we are all so confused.
In many ways, we have traded the tradition and ritual of growing, procuring, prepping, cooking, celebrating and eating food together for the tradition and ritual of counting calories, reading labels, weighing grams, eating alone, dining fast, not eating for weight loss or 'health', and using food to cope versus celebrate.
We don’t have to think about health as a moral obligation that we either ‘fail’ or ‘succeed’ in.
We can all define health the way we want, as individuals.
We are not required to sacrifice our mental health by counting grams of carbs or not going to social gatherings because of the ‘junk’ food to achieve some false nirvana.
Closing thoughts
Eating carbohydrates can be complicated. It takes effort to eat a balanced diet which includes both simple and complex carbs along with proteins and fats.
Many of us probably have similar relationships with carbs- we enjoy the taste, but are fearful of eating too many due to fear of weight gain or health concerns. We struggle with how to balance them with the rest of our diets.
Our eating disorders may use carbs as the scapegoat for our challenges.
While it may seem simpler to just cut out carbs or eat only some carbs, in the long run, the effort you put into eating a balanced diet will likely be less than the suffering and pain of restrictive eating and dieting.
With some curiosity, compassion, exploring our food history and understanding our bodies, we can find a balance of eating both simple and complex carbs in a way that fuels and nourishes us.
You CAN eat carbs.
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