While my family was visiting over the weekend I became engaged in an inevitable conversation about fitness/nutrition with my mom and brother-in-law. We discussed many things but one topic in particular was that of carbohydrates; I have always had a very specific stance on carbs. Here is the gist of what I mentioned-

“Look, we live in a carb fearing society. Our nation is led to believe that carbs are the enemy. The Atkins diet, low carb diets, etc., are all telling people that carbs make you fat. While this is true to some extent, my argument is that the answer is not that simple. It’s not that carbs are making people fat, it’s that people are making the wrong carb choices. People are consuming vast amounts of sugars and high glycemic carbs that act like sugars, as a result their blood sugar is out of whack. THAT is what is truly adding to most peoples waistlines. We need carbs, plain and simple. Carbs are fuel not only for the physicality of living, but our brains require them to function as well. They play many vital roles within the body and if you didn’t have them, you would be in trouble. It ultimately comes down to the types you consume.”