We’ve written about carb confusion before, but it seems that people are still unsure if they should nosh on carbohydrates after the clock has struck 5pm.
There’s a massive amount of conjecture in the wellness world about whether eating carbs after a certain time is “unhealthy” for you (or not) – and if it will lead to weight gain.
At IQS, we don’t watch the clock when it comes to eating carbs, but we are extremely picky when it comes to which ones we decide to eat, no matter the time of day!
We always opt for complex carbohydrates…
Whenever we eat carbs, we reach for complex carbohydrates that are high in fibre. This simply means they take longer to digest and will keep you fuller for longer. The longer chains of sugar molecules in complex carbs ensure that they provide your body with a more sustained release of energy. If we’re feeling hungry, we always add a healthy dose of complex carbs to our meals in order to create a balanced dish that satisfies our appetite. If you’re not consuming enough complex carbs, this could be why you feel hungry not long after eating. Our fave complex carbs include sweet potatoes, oats, Basmati rice, quinoa, sourdough, legumes, corn and veggies. And yes, we frequently enjoy many of these complex carbs at dinnertime!
Simple carbs, by contrast, are made up of more easily digested sugars and are naturally occuring, found in things like fruit and milk. But straight up sugar, soft drink, processed foods, ice cream and baked goods also fall into this category. While many of these simple carbs lack in nutritional value, what’s worse is that they’re also absorbed quickly by your body which causes a crash following a short burst of energy. Not ideal.
But, don’t all carbs turn to sugar?
There are two types of sugar in carbs – fructose and glucose. Fructose is the sugar that we focus on ridding from our diets as it dumps on your liver and can lead to weight gain, an increased risk of metabolic syndrome, compromised heart health and premature ageing! And, unsurprisingly, most simple carbs are chock-full of fructose!
Glucose, on the other hand, is actually our body’s preferred source of energy as it can be used by almost every cell in our body. The use of glucose as energy is triggered by an insulin response, so as long as you consume these foods in moderation, then your body will be able to process the glucose effectively.
Yep, we include carbs in our 8-Week Program…
A number of our recipes on the 8-Week Program feature complex carbs – from sourdough, to Basmati rice and sweet potato. And, many of these ingredients feature in the dinner recipes, so we’re definitely not concerned about cutting our carb consumption after 5pm. We prefer to focus on the quality of our carbohydrates and creating balanced meals to keep you satisfied.
But at the end of the day, it’s ultimately up to you as to when you eat carbs depending on your individual health. What we can agree on however, is that white bread and soft drink aren’t doing you any favours, no matter if it’s 5am or 5pm!
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