We Eat Carbohydrates To Live

We eat to live is something mum would say anytime we (me and my siblings) try to cheat. Of late, I helped her chop chicken for a pot of stew when she insisted I peel off  the overlying skin. I was interested in this recent development so I had to ask, apparently ‘there's fat deposits in the skin’, that's something I have to verify. Our parents in their advance ages are doing the things we should do now as millenials, one of which is; eating to live. You might find that the taste of mum’s stew have changed over the years, with less pepper and salt, she's got a whole pot of natural medicine. Mum’s take would be “don't be all out about pleasing the tongue and belly, you have to think of the long term effects”.

Nutrition is about everything edible and what they do for the body.  We need some in large quantity (macronutrients) and others in small quantity (micronutrients), Carbohydrates fall under macronutrients and are needed in large quantity.

Carbohydrate is one word that means ‘sugar in all its forms’ which is energy boosting thus necessary for muscular development. We need carbohydrates in our meals because we need energy to workout but eating carbohydrates in excess could result in unwanted fat, diabetes and heart disease. 

The sources for carbohydrates are naturally occurring (natural sugar,starch, fibre) which are sometimes processed (processed sugars). It is known that the best sources of carbohydrates are the natural sources because it's harder to take them in excess .

You can rarely eat a whole watermelon in one seating but it's quite easier to drink all of it’s juice even with the chaff/fibre. This is because food (carbohydrates) in its solid form (which is often it's natural state) can rarely be consumed in large quantity when compared to its processed form ( usually liquid or powdered form)

Also, processed sugars or carbonated drinks are easily absorbed in the body when compared to solid food. Hence, they tend to quench hunger but are less filing; you get hungry again faster if you've used them at first, so they can’t replace solid food. 

You can't get a litre of apple juice from a single apple (NGN 50) but you can buy a litre apple juice (NGN 500) from the mall. Does it mean a litre of processed apple juice contains 10 apples? 

Whilst these companies have their own farms or buy in wholesale, they can't make profit if they used the natural juice alone. They add colour, water, processed sugar, artificial nutrients and preservatives. 

It is easy to consume carbohydrates in excess if you eat solid foods at home and also consume processed foods (soda,baked snacks,ice cream,soft drinks,sweets,table sugar,brown sugar,fructose corn syrup,barbecue sauce ,ketchup,bread) when you are out. To have your daily fair share of carbohydrates (200g/day) it is best to stick to the natural sources such as whole grains,brown rice,oats, whole wheat, fruits,vegetables,legumes and beans.

  To get a measure of what you should eat (200g for carbohydrates) , get the weight in grams for your plate alone, and that of your food with the plate (without the sauce or protein (meat)).Subtract the weight of the food with plate with that of the plate alone. If you don't get up to 200g, you can eat more carbohydrate later in the day or opt for a processed source taking note of the labels in grams and calories.