The body's primary fuel — sugars, starches, and the fiber that comes with them.
Carbohydrates
Carbohydrates are the fastest energy your body knows how to use. Most of them are broken down into glucose, which powers your brain and muscles. How quickly that happens depends on what the carbohydrate is packaged with — fiber, fat, protein, and how it was cooked.
Common carbohydrate sources
- · Rice, oats, wheat, corn
- · Potatoes, sweet potatoes
- · Bread, pasta, tortillas
- · Fruit
- · Beans and lentils (also protein)
Common ways to cook them
- · Boiled (rice, pasta, potatoes)
- · Baked (bread, sweet potatoes)
- · Steamed (rice, dumplings)
Often paired with
- · Protein, to slow the rise in blood sugar
- · Fat, to add flavor and satiety
- · Vegetables, to add fiber
One simple meal
Rice with a fried egg and greens
- Rice → carbohydrate — energy
- Egg → protein and fat
- Greens → fiber and plant compounds
The rice supplies energy. The egg adds protein and fat that slow how quickly that energy hits. The greens add the fiber the rice is missing.
Cook it and log itSomething to investigate
What changes if you eat the greens first, then the rice? Try it once and notice.