salty-snacks, potato-chips, popcorn and dip In the last few weeks, people have been continuously stocking up on food. Since the COVID-19 epidemic spread, shelves have emptied quicker than ever before. But, instead of fruits, veggies, and healthy eating, the majority of the population has opted for comfort carbs foods, like popcorn, potato chips, and pretzels.  Comfort food sales have skyrocketed. Since March 2020, potato chips sales went up by 30%, pretzels by 47%, and popcorn by 48%, according to the New York Post.   This may not seem out of the ordinary since they are cheap, tasty, and most of them last a long time. Unfortunately, it’s not as good as you’d think. The more you stack your pantry with comfort foods such as these, the less likely you are to eat healthily.  For those who stay at home 24/7, controlling the urge to binge on these foods out of boredom can be a real problem. That’s why we decided to cover all you need to know on fast carbs and the way they can compromise your health. 

How Do Fast Carbs Compromise Your Health?

According to Dr David Kessler, a former commissioner at FDA, if you prefer to manage your weight and keep your metabolism healthy, it’s best to skip fast carbs. That includes snacks manufactured from refined grains, sugar, corn, and starches.  Crispy potato chips What you may not realize is that anything that contains processed flour is entirely devoid of fibre. When we eat these foods, our body quickly starts absorbing them into the system and ends up converting them into glucose. The more glucose it turns, the higher the insulin and blood sugar spikes. This makes it very difficult for us to control our hunger.  When we include fast carbs in our regular diet, it will turn into an eating pattern, which will cause chaos in our metabolism, leading to:

• Hormonal misbalance

• Weight gain

• Higher risk of developing any form of diabetes

• Heart issues

• Probable complications when infected with the coronavirus.

With constant eating, foods such as these can become a weakness, particularly when we are anxious or stressed. Eating them simply makes us feel better. This is true, added Dr Kessler. Even though he has worked with foods for years, he still finds it difficult to avoid fast carbs.  The reason for that is relatively simple – this sort of food provides a momentary comfort. But, it’s crucial to overcome these temptations and be in complete control over your eating habits, especially if you want to stay in good health during the pandemic.  Woman Opens Door And Reaches For Unhealthy Donut Not only that but foods such as these, also stress the heart. According to research, the more sugar you add to your diet, the more it will hurt the artery walls. As a result, you will experience inflammation, which will increase the chance of cardiovascular diseases.  Based on statistics, individuals who consume more than 20% of the daily-recommended calories from simple sugars boost their chance to die from cardiovascular conditions by 38%. These results are terrifying. 

What Makes Fast Carbs Food Processing Bad for the Metabolism?

For many years, we’ve been processing our foods to get pliable ingredients. We’ve relied on milling, grinding, and boiling our foods. This is what we call new ways of food processing, and it’s a usual way of processing our foods. There are no additives added, and the result is entirely natural. However, industrial processing has nothing to do with natural processing. We don’t even use similar techniques. Instead, we over-process our food. To make processed grains (the ingredient used for making cereal), the grains have to be milled under steel rollers. These rollers rotate at very high speeds.  To make them even smoother, the grains are pulverized with a series of processing techniques, one of which is the extrusion technique. This is a method that completely changes the chemical structure of the grains until they become very tiny starch molecules.  They are no longer grains. Since the granule structures have been eliminated, the food becomes a lot easier to absorb, therefore affecting our digestive tract and blood sugar levels. But that's not all. According to the National Institutes of Health, fast carbs even impact our nervous system. Whenever you munch on some cookies or biscuits, they trigger a neurological response, which tells the brain to keep eating also though the body is not hungry. In other words, these foods feel like a reward, so we keep on consuming them. Unfortunately, this overeating only makes you pack on a few extra pounds. Fast carbs have plenty of calories, and due to industrial processing, you will be eating more and gaining weight. 

What Happens When We Eat Slow Carbs?

Whether you decide to go for brown rice, beans, or broccoli, you are choosing food that is much easier on your metabolism. This is what we call slow carbs. When you eat these foods, they release the glucose at a much slower pace, leaving enough time for the body to digest the food and reach the gastrointestinal tract.  When they reach the lower parts of the body, they trigger the GLP-1 hormone. This hormone is responsible for signalling the brain to let it know it’s fed, therefore controlling our appetite. Fast carbs, on the other hand, don’t stimulate this hormone at all. That’s why even after eating an absurd amount of food, you still feel hungry. 

Should You Eliminate Fast Carbs From Your Diet Completely?

Even though fast carbs are not the healthiest of food choices, it doesn’t mean you should eliminate them from your diet, advises Dr Kessler. The key to feeling healthy and keeping the metabolism at full health is to consume in moderation.  You should be aware of the impact this kind of food can have on your system. Besides, if you don’t eat them too often, you won’t have to deal with the cravings.  If you want to control the type of food you eat, it’s best to choose slow carbs instead. So, whenever you feel the need to eat chocolate or chips, you can munch on some veggies, fruits, and nuts.  For people with diabetes, however, it’s crucial to monitor your cholesterol level. The more often you consume fast carbs, the more fluctuations you are going to notice in your cholesterol. This is a crucial component in managing metabolic diseases such as diabetes. Therefore, you may not have the chance to enjoy these fast carbs as much as anyone else. Otherwise, you risk affecting your insulin and blood sugar levels, which will affect your daily life and overall health.  Last but not least is the metabolism. With the current pandemic, keeping the metabolism at optimal health is vital. Since the virus is so unpredictable, we all want to be super healthy, suggests the doctor. Those with a robust immune system can better handle the virus, which is why watching the food you eat should be your top priority. And something as simple as skipping the fast carbs can be helpful.