Everything You Need to Know About Carbohydrates & How Grocery Stores Impact Our Ability to Access Them

Carbohydrates are an essential macronutrient that we all need to have a healthy, energy filled life. They provide fiber, minerals and vitamins. When shopping for carbohydrates we want to find the healthy ones. These are legumes, vegetables, fruits and whole grains. (Donuts are an example of unhealthy carbohydrates)

Our bodies benefit from simple and complex carbohydrates. Simple carbohydrates provide us with quick energy. These are things like lactose (found in milk), fructose (found in fruit), honey, table sugar, and brown sugar. It is not a good idea to over indulge on these items but they are okay when consumed in moderation. Complex carbohydrates take longer to digest, make you feel full for longer and do not spike your blood sugar to the same degree as simple carbohydrates. Fruits, vegetables, whole grains, whole wheat, nuts and legumes are carbohydrates. The important to thing to notice is that certain foods have both types of carbohydrates. If you are hungry then eat a piece of fruit. This will provide quick energy and make you feel full for longer. Avoid going for ready-made easy snacks because the way to win this game is by eating whole foods and not refined carbohydrates.  Refined carbohydrates have been stripped of the nutritional value.  Examples are pasta, fries, cookies, cakes, ice cream, and white bread.

Maintaining a healthy diet does not have to be stressful or confusing although some grocery stores do a better job than others making it easy to find quality food. The produce department is also a key indicator on the quality of food the grocery store stocks. If you want to get healthier and get stressed out about trying to find healthy foods then I would recommend going to Whole Foods. They do a better job than most grocery stores.