What are the most effective carbohydrates for weight loss?  

Carbohydrates are one of the most feared nutrients during a diet. Since many people still think that the best way to eat is to eliminate carbohydrates. However, the truth is that there are carbohydrates that can help us in our weight loss: they are not all the same and we need to know which ones will help us and in which foods we can find them.

The different types of carbohydrates

Remember that not all carbohydrates are the same and that they doesn’t come from the same sources. It is also important to know the level of processing of the food that provides us.

Simple carbohydrates: they cause a sudden increase in our glucose levels because they are quickly assimilated. This means that our body receives a large amount of immediate energy, but if they are not burned, they eventually accumulate as fat. This is the case for hydrates from white flours, industrial pastries, white pasta, uncooked bread or sweets.

Complex carbohydrates: unlike simple carbohydrates, they take longer to assimilate. Because of their composition, our body must break up the unions of these nutrients in order to assimilate them. In this way, they pass more slowly through our blood and, as a result, help to maintain fairly stable levels of sugars, thus avoiding peaks and valleys that can lead to weakness and hunger, among other things.

As you have seen, complex carbohydrates will help us feel full by maintaining a stable glucose level, but they will also help to reduce fat accumulation, as slow assimilation helps to distribute the energy created throughout the day.

The most important complex carbohydrates we can find are starch and fibre. They are mainly found in fruits, vegetables, tubers and seeds. These carbohydrates are one of the healthiest foods that provide us with complex carbohydrates and that we can eat when we are on a diet.