24/05/2020
Carbohydrates or carbs are a hotly debated topic in the world of diets and healthy eating. Although some may believe that low carb diets are a new phenomenon, these are not so new. Over many, many years, people have been experimenting with restricting carbohydrates in their food in order to fast-track weight loss. A study published in the Lancet last year showed that people consuming high quantities of carbohydrates, generally found in rice, pasta and bread, had about 30 per cent higher risk of dying than people eating a low-carb diet.
Basically, carbohydrates are a major group of macronutrients, just like protein and fat. Needless to say, all three macronutrients are part and parcel of our daily intake of food and no food can claim to be composed of only one nutrient. There are three broad types of carbohydrates that we can find in our food, namely fibre (vegetables, wholewheat, pulses, etc), starch (roti, bread, pasta, rice, potatoes) and of course, sugar. So a low carb diet will mean restricting such carbohydrates.