Complex Carbs, Whole Grains and the 80/20 Diet

Yesterday I wrote all about what happens to our bodies when we eat refined, white flour products. Today I will offer you a solution to help escape the matrix of simple carbs.

What are complex carbohydrates?

Complex carbohydrates are composed of long chains of sugars. These long chains are bound with the food's fiber. The body processes the sugars by breaking the chains and releasing fiber into the bloodstream. This process is relatively slow; therefore the sugars are absorbed into the bloodstream at a steady rate for many hours, providing long-lasting energy. A breakfast of steel cut oats with nuts, raisins and fresh fruit would be a terrific, hearty, and satisfying whole grain breakfast. A lunch of quinoa salad with veggies or a sandwich on dense, fiber-rich bread with avocado, cucumber, sprouts,cheese and/or fresh turkey/chicken (optional) and your favorite soup would be good too. A dinner of brown rice with lentils and indian spice with veggies and spinach would be wonderful or fish with herbs and butternut squash, wheatberry salad with a green salad, nuts, and parmesan shavings would be lovely. Try experimenting with a new grain this week. Here are a couple of grains to try (you can find these at the salad bar at Whole Foods if you want to sample before making them at home.

complex carbohydrate grains: quinoa, millet, barley, buckwheat, dense bread made with sprouted grains (look for California Sprouted Grain, or the loaves in the fridge...they have the least amount of preservatives...that's why they're in the fridge,) spelt crackers, wheatberries, brown rice (short grain), steel cut oats too of course.

Non-grain complex carbohydrates: lentils, chickpeas, black beans, pinto beans, leafy greens!

A good rule of thumb to determine if a food is a complex carb is to read the fiber content on the label. If the fiber is 2g or less, it is NOT a whole grain (even if it claims to be on the front of the box). The more fiber, the better the grain is for you, the harder your metabolism will work and be stimulated to break down these complex chains of sugars, and the longer you will be able to be comfortably sated before getting hungry again...this time, just in time for lunch!

If you do get hungry between meals, nibble on a carrot with peanut butter, apple slices, or cashew butter is delicious too, trail mix, a small salad even. Grabbing a coffee and a muffin or a sugary yogurt will only keep the roller-coaster going up up and away again. Think lasting energy, not quick fix.

What is the 80/20 diet?

The 80/20 diet means that 80% of the time you make a conscious effort to eat a balanced diet of whole foods, predominantly home-cooked, plenty of raw foods, fresh and natural, nourishing meals with grains and protein that suit your body's needs. And 20% of the time...pay attention here...20% of the time, you say "whatever, it's not gonna kill me" and you eat a slice of birthday cake, a chocolate croissant at a fancy bakery, a hot chocolate with your friends, a cheeseburger at the bar watching the game, or a bagel and cream cheese. Let's face it, sometimes we need to eat a bagel and cream cheese with friends more than we need to not eat a bagel and cream cheese with friends. The most valuable thing I learned while studying at The Institute for Integrative Nutrition is that relationships feed us more than anything in our lives; more than wheatgrass or brown rice or fish oil, more than running or sleeping, relationships fuel our lives. It is imperative that you give yourself permission to cultivate and nourish your relationships with friends, family, boyfriends, girlfriends, husbands, wives, children; the man at the dry cleaner, the woman at your nail salon, the mailman, your teachers...everyone who enhances our existence on this planet deserves recognition and love, and that in turn comes back to you. Can you imagine if everyone in the world had this perspective on food?


Take home message:

Experiment with new grains, but also, remember: it's ok to eat bagels and cookies every once in a while--in fact I demand it. Food is not religion, it's just food. There are no special seats in Heaven for people who swore off bagels forever or moved to Vermont and converted their family and pets to a raw food diet until the day they died. That works for some people, not everyone. And you are not some people, you are you. Everything in moderation--even moderation!