Carbohydrates are often blamed for weight gain and low energy. As a result, many women cut them out without needing to. Carbohydrates are your body's main source of energy, and choosing the right types makes far more difference than avoiding them.
What Are Carbohydrates?
Carbohydrates are one of the three main nutrients in food, alongside protein and fat. Your body breaks most of them down into glucose, a type of sugar it uses for energy. Your brain alone uses around 120 grams of glucose a day.
There are three main types.
Starchy carbohydrates are found in bread, rice, pasta, potatoes, oats and other grains, as well as in beans and lentils.
Sugars occur naturally in fruit and milk, and are also added to foods such as sweets, biscuits, soft drinks and many sauces.
Fibre is the part of plant foods your body cannot digest. It feeds your gut bacteria and keeps your bowels regular. Most women eat only about half of the 25 to 30 grams a day linked with better health. Our gut health article on fibre explains more.
Why Cutting Carbohydrates Is Often Unnecessary
Low-carbohydrate diets can lead to quick weight loss at first, partly because the body loses water along with its stored carbohydrate. Over a year or more, studies find they lead to similar weight loss to other approaches that reduce how much you eat overall.
Cutting carbohydrates hard can also leave you tired and irritable, and it often means eating less fibre. If you exercise regularly, carbohydrates help fuel your workouts and recovery. Eating too little overall, which often happens when carbohydrates are cut, can disrupt the menstrual cycle in active women. Our article on stress and your cycle explains why.
Some people, for example those with type 2 diabetes, may benefit from eating fewer carbohydrates with support from their doctor or dietitian. For most women, the type of carbohydrate is the more useful thing to focus on.
Choosing Slower-Releasing Carbohydrates
Some carbohydrates are digested quickly and cause a fast rise in blood sugar, followed by a dip that can leave you hungry soon after. Others release their energy more slowly. The glycaemic index, often shortened to GI, ranks foods by how quickly they raise blood sugar.
Slower-releasing options include:
Wholegrain bread, brown rice, wholewheat pasta and bulgur wheat
Porridge oats rather than sugary cereals
Beans and lentils, including chickpeas
Potatoes eaten with their skins
Whole fruit rather than fruit juice
How you eat carbohydrates also has an effect. Eating them as part of a mixed meal slows down how quickly they are absorbed. Pasta with a lentil sauce and a side salad will affect your blood sugar very differently from a plate of plain white pasta.
What About Sugar?
Sugars found naturally in whole fruit and milk come packaged with fibre and other nutrients, so they are not a concern for most people. Added sugars, as well as the sugar in honey and fruit juice, are the ones to keep an eye on if you consume those in excess. Keeping these to around six teaspoons a day or less is linked with better dental health and a lower risk of weight gain. Much of this sugar is hidden in drinks, cereals, flavoured yoghurts and sauces, so checking labels helps.
Carbohydrates belong on your plate. Choosing mostly wholegrain and fibre-rich options, and pairing them well, lets you enjoy them while keeping your energy steady.