Confused about good vs bad carbs...

I thought that the only part of the carb factor you had to watch was the sugar content...otherwise I thought that general carbs were okay...like veggie carbs? I've read other info saying we are to stay away from all carbs, then some say it's okay to have good carbs? All this can be a little confusing...at our support group meeting one of the ladies was talking about how she misses the veggies most, and I was like I eat them...as long as they have few or no sugars...just wondering what the official low down was? Thanks, Michelle

Dear Michelle, after reading your post I started wondering too. I found this site http://www.healthscout.com/template.asp?page=carbohydrate&ap=1 and thought that if you were interested you could check it out. It allows you to type in your age, height, and frame size, asks your activity level and then tells you about how many grams of carbs you should be consuming. It was surprised because I think I am well below the number that came up for me. But it does explain the difference between the "good" carbs and the "bad" carbs. Hope this helps and thanks for making me use my brain to find out the answer!!

Talk to your surgeon and nutritionist. They may not be too worried about good vs bad carbs. Not everybody obsesses over that. I think, in the long run, the key is to eat healthy foods that have a good nutritional value for you and to make protein your priority. But that's just me and what I've been told to do. Your mileage may vary.

Wow...I went to the Health Scout web site...noting that this info is for a normal weight person I whould be consuming 248 carbs a day...so I take into consideration that I'm 100% over weight I should probably be safe consuming 124 carbs a day (1/2 the suggested value) totally unscientific of course, but more resonable than 30 carbs...oh well, I will consentrate on keeping away from sugar carbs, and I think I should do okay...I just can't imagine not eating vegetables...my whole new phylosopy is: As I can in moderation. I was never able to drink orange juice due to the high acid content...before surgery my acid reflux was so severe I was asphyxiating in my sleep..ouch! Well now I enjoy the new Tropicana 1/2: 1/2 the sugar and 1/2 the carbs as the regular stuff...they sweeten with splenda...and no reflux, praise Jesus! Please keep sending me information...and thanks for the support! Michelle

Hello - spoke to my dietician and I asked her about carbs in relation to your question. She rolled her eyes (I could hear them going up and up and up over the phone! I was amazed! "Carbs are not bad for you. You need them." Well, I pressed more and more and she broke it down really simple for me. And I will share. If you eat junky food - processed, high in sugar, fructose, white flour *the good stuff we used to eat* you're eating carbs that don't really do much for you. Sort of like building a fire with just kindling. They just burn up quick and you get not much bang for your buck! Now with whole foods, like veggies, whole grains, etc you are burning logs in your fire. Lower in calories and more complex carbs. They are preferred. She gave a great example. If given a choice what would you eat a 1 oz packet of nuts or 2 tbsp of peanut butter? Now to her, the peanuts - ONLY if you can control portions - is the far better solution. Peanut butter is good in a crunch but compare to the real nuts it looses out - because of the processing with additional sugars etc.