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Carbohydrates are confusing. On the one hand, carbs are our body’s main source of energy, but on the other hand, everyone seems to be afraid of them.
So what are carbs? How much of them should we eat a day? Are all carbs created equally? And what about gluten?
So many great questions about this confusing topic.
We’re going to follow the Nutrition Facts label and focus on the two distinct types of carbohydrates: Sugar and Fiber.
Fiber
Dietary Fiber. It’s one of those nutrients that we hear about a lot, but tend not to eat as much. Fiber started gaining attention because of it’s health benefits, such as lowering cholesterol, lowering weight and helping in the prevention and treatment of type 2 diabetes. Sounds like a miracle food! So then why is it so hard to get enough of it in our diets?
To start off, what is fiber? Well, according to the official people at the Institute of Medicine, dietary fiber is “nondigestible carbohydrates and lignin that are intrinsic and intact in plants. Basically, this means that fiber is an important nutrient found in plants. It isn’t broken down by the digestive system. And it’s found in plants. This implies that people who eat diets that are low in plants (like fruits, veggies and whole grains) are most likely also eating a diet that is low in fiber. And a diet that is lacking in fiber is also lacking in all of those wonderful health benefits.
Easy Ways to Increase Fiber in your Kid's Diet<
There is no magic trick to eating more fiber. Eating a diet that is high in fruits, vegetables and whole grains is one of the best ways to also eat a diet that is high in dietary fiber.
There are some tricks to help increase your fiber intake, which is especially helpful if you’re dealing with a picky eater.
- Eat the Peel – The skins of many fruits and vegetables contain many nutrients, including fiber. Leaving the skin on fruits and vegetables like apples, cucumbers, potatoes.
- Bring on the Berries – Luckily, some foods with fiber are delicious as well. Blueberries, raspberries, blackberries and strawberries are all high in fiber and popular among the kids (and grown-ups too).
- Oats and Beans and Barley – That song was probably written about a high fiber farm! Beans, lentils and oats are all delicious ways to add fiber to a meal.
- Switching to whole grains
What are Whole Grains?
A grain kernel, which is where most of our flour comes from, is made up of three parts: the endosperm, bran and germ. So whole grain is grain that includes all 3 parts of the kernel.
The opposite of whole grain is refined grain. Those are the “white” flours, which have most of the bran and endosperm removed. This takes out a lot of the nutrients, fiber and phytochemicals from the grain.
Refined grain products have a different texture and a longer shelf-life than whole grains, which is probably why so many processed foods chose refined over whole grain.
Why are they Important?
Whole grains contain a very important nutrient: Fiber.
Whole grains may help lower the risk of some very serious diseases, such as Type 2 Diabetes and heart disease. In addition, whole grains contain phytochemicals. These help prevent diseases and unlike some of the vitamins, can’t be added back to enriched products
How much do Kids need?
According to the USDA, half of your daily grains should be whole grains.
Toddlers between the ages of 2-3 need 1.5 servings of whole grains each day.
Kids between 3-13 need 3 servings and anyone over the age of 14 should aim to have 3-4 servings each day.
A serving of grain is 1 slice of bread or 1/2 cup of rice. Again, choosing less processed grains is a great way to boost your whole grain intake and keep your added sugar levels down.
Sugar
What is Sugar?
When people hear sugar, many of them probably imaging those white grainy crystals that they add to their morning coffee. Most of the time, that definition of sugar is exactly right. When a recipe calls for “1 cup of sugar” or your neighbor wants to borrow a teaspoon of sugar, they are definitely referring to that.
In the world of sugars, there’s a whole shelf full of different types, textures and colors of sugar, but for this topic, let’s get more precise. Sugar, or glucose as the chemist say, is a molecule of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen.
What is Natural vs Added Sugar?
Some sugars exist natural, such as fructose (the sugar found in fruit) and lactose (the sugar found in dairy). Those sugars are part and parcel of the foods.
Added sugars are sugars that do not naturally occur in food, but have been added to improve on the taste, texture, shelf life or any combo of those. This is pretty straight forward. Until it gets complicated.
Honey and maple syrup, for example, are 2 sugary foods that exist in nature. After a bit of back and forth, the current statement is that maple syrup and honey are not added sugars by themselves, but if they are added to a different food, then they are counted as added sugars.
Which Sugars are "good" and which ones are "bad"?
Well, we don’t believe in assigning moral value to foods, so no sugar is bad! Which is great news.
However, too much sugar, especially added sugar, is linked to a variety of serious health concerns. The biggest culprits include soda, sports drinks and iced teas.
Even “health foods” like granola and yogurt may contain a lot of added sugars. So it’s important to distinguish between added and naturally occurring sugars, which is now even easier to do by reading the Nutrition Facts.
Where does Natural Sugar come From?
Natural sugars are those that occur naturally in food.
Fruit sugar, or fructose, isn’t healthy by itself, but it is a compelling reason to eat fruit. Once you separate the fructose from the fruit, you have a substance that is not really healthy – high fructose corn syrup.
Some people may also think that honey, agave or other less processed sugars are better for them. For nutrition purposes the source of the sugar is less important that whether or not it was added.
There are other sugars on the market that are not digested by the body, but that’s a discussion for another time.
How much Sugar do Kids need?
Well glucose is the primary source of energy for the body. It makes muscles contract and brains think. The body gets most of its glucose from carbohydrates and the Recommended Amount is 130 g for everyone over the age of 1.
There is, however, a difference between naturally occurring and added sugar. The FDA urges people to keep their added sugar intake to less than 10% of their daily calories. Europe pushes that number down to 5%.
So do you need sugar? Yes!
Do you needed added sugar? No!
But the important thing is NO ONE said no added sugar.
So can you eat cake? YES!
Just keep an eye out for added sugars and make sure you truly enjoy those 5-10% of you calories with added sugar.
Where Sugar Likes to Hide
Of course, it’s not easy to find sugar. Even though food labels are required to list all of their ingredients, here are a few clever ways that sugar likes to hide
Words that end in "-ose"
Many people are familiar with the word lactose, which is a type of sugar found in milk. The ending -ose is a clue that the ingredient is a hidden name for sugar. Some popular examples are: Glucose, fructose (as in high fructose corn syrup), dextrose and maltose.
Although none of these say “sugar”, once they hit the digestive system, that’s exactly what they are.
Words like "syrup" or "nectar"
We all know that maple syrup is very similar to sugar, but what about rice syrup? Rice syrup may sound like a health drink, but it’s actually a hidden name for sugar.
What about agave nectar? Although it sounds like a mystical drink from an oasis, it’s actually another name for sugar.
And that ubiquitous high fructose corn syrup, that is also sugar. Ingredients that are any form of syrup should spell out S-U-G-A-R.
Words that say "sugar"
This one seems obvious. Something that says sugar is basically calling itself sugar. So a label rarely says “sugar”.
It lists all sorts of natural and healthy sounding sugars, such as: Organic cane sugar or all natural beet sugar.
Evaporated cane juice is another hidden name of sugar. If you can block out all the noise, those ingredients are simple sugar, trying to pass itself off as being pure and innocent.
Maple Syrup & Fruit Juice
Have you seen labels on juice claiming that there is “no sugar added”? At first I didn’t understand how that was possible, and a quick once over of the ingredient label confirms that no sugar is added. Other than the 100% fruit juice concentrate. Oh the former secret to claiming a product had no sugar added!
Fortunately, the FDA is giving consumers more clarity about the concept of added sugar.
Things like maple syrup and honey are considered to be sugar. When they are added to a food, they are considered to be added sugars and should be counted in that category.
High Fructose Corn Syrup
This is quite deceiving. High fructose corn syrup (HFCS) has gotten a bad rap recently, so many manufacturers have moved away from using it in their products.
Which sounds great, but not using HFCS doesn’t mean they aren’t using sugar!
Many packages will advertise the fact that there is no HFCS in an attempt to disguise the sugar that is hidden inside.
Although it’s not really a hidden name for sugar, any box that advertises No HFCS should be examined with care.
After all, apples and potatoes don’t advertise their lack of added sugars. This is a prime example of protesting too much.
But What About Gluten?
Gluten. These days, that’s a loaded word. Gluten is blamed for stomach problems, behavior problems and even many of the current political problems. Those who avoid gluten claim that they feel younger, freer and healthier. But what exactly is gluten and why is it so controversial?
What Exactly is Gluten?
Gluten is actually not some sort of magical power in food. Nor is it a nutrient of any kind. Gluten is a mixture of 2 proteins that creates structure. If you’ve ever made bread (or pizza) dough, those lines you seen when you stretch the dough is gluten. In order to maintain the texture and structure of baked goods, gluten is necessary.
Avoiding Gluten Pros & Cons
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Pros:
There is no direct benefit, but gluten is found in every wheat product, so avoiding it could lead to a deficiency in certain nutrients. Most of the B vitamins, like folate and b6 are found in grain products, so people who avoid grains may be avoiding these as well.
There are plenty of gluten free substitutes though, such as beans, spinach and bananas.
Another nutrient to keep an eye on is fiber. Although it’s true that the general population struggles with getting enough fiber, a gluten free diet may add to that struggle. Fruits and vegetables, along with naturally GF grains such as buckwheat, quinoa and brown rice help bulk up the fiber
Cons:
There is a very serious condition, called celiac disease which prevents people from eating gluten. Celiac disease mostly affects the small intestine, and those who suffer from it may have stomach aches, and poor absorption of nutrients due to the irritation in their intestines.
Celiac disease is triggered by eating gluten, so people who have it need to be very careful about what they eat. There is a blood test that confirms this disease and the current treatment is a eating a gluten free diet. In children with celiac disease and ADHD, avoiding gluten was found to improve their behavior.
Other people avoid gluten because they have a “gluten sensitivity.” Scientifically speaking, it’s pretty hard to prove if someone has a sensitivity to gluten. There is no conclusive blood test for this, the way there is for celiac disease, but if people are happier not eating gluten, then it’s not really a problem either.
The Downside of Gluten Free Products
Once a trend catches on, the market responds. Gluten free labeling is a great way for people who cannot eat gluten to avoid it. But it’s also a great way for companies to market their products and increase the prices.
“Gluten-free” does not translate directly to “Nutritious”.
For example, potato chips are naturally gluten free, but no one would mistake those for being a health food. There are many many many nutritious gluten free products, like produce, dairy, nuts and brown rice.
But there are also plenty of not as healthy gluten free products like chocolate bars and lollipops. Gluten free, highly processed snack foods, like all foods, should be eaten in moderation.
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Summary
Carbs seem complicated. In order to make sure our kids are getting both the energy and nutrients they need, we should focus on whole grains and fruits and veggies.
And limit added sugar.
