Perplexed about why some people can tuck into as much pasta as they want and never seem to gain weight, but you feel like the scales creep up every time you look at a bread roll? It turns out you’re not imagining it.
According to Dr Sharon Moalem, a leading US geneticist, different people process carbohydrates differently – so while some people thrive on them, others should restrict how many they eat. “Carbohydrates have been villainised for years, but many of our ancestors who were farmers gave up the genes to thrive on a diet that’s up to 50 per cent carb-based,” says Dr Moalem. “If you inherited a high carb tolerance from your ancestors and you try to severely limit cabs in your diet, you won’t feel very well and any weight loss you achieve won’t be sustainable.
“On the other hand, if your ancestors were hunters and ate very few carbs, they didn’t pass on the genes required for a high-carb diet,” he says. “So if you eat too many carbs, achieving your ideal weight and health status will be almost impossible.”
The surprising news is, you don’t even need an expensive genetic test to work out which carbohydrates ‘group’ you fall into. Take the cracker self-test to find out your carb type.
The Cracker Self-Test
An unsalted, unflavoured cracker, like a water cracker, and a timer (the stopwatch function on your phone will work nicely). If you eat a gluten-free diet, swap the cracker for a small piece of raw peeled potato.
Take a bite of the cracker and begin timing and chewing – resist the urge to swallow! You need to pay attention as you’re chewing – resist the urge to swallow! You need to pay attention as you’re chewing, to when the cracker changes taste. As soon as you notice it has, take note of the time on your stopwatch. If you don’t detect a change in taste and you hit the 30-second mark, you can stop. Repeat the test twice more, add up the times and divide the total by three to get an average.
If you noticed that the crackers changed taste in…
0-14 seconds – Your Carb Type Is Full.
You thrive on carbs, and up to 50 per cent of your calories can come from carbohydrates, which means you can eat around 250 g of carbs a day. The remaining 50 per cent of the calories should be divided between fats (30 per cent) and protein (20 per cent).
15-30 seconds – Your Carb Type Is Moderate.
Up to 35 per cent of your calories can come from carbohydrates, so you can eat 175 g of carbs a day. Another 35 per cent of your calories should come from fats, and 30 per cent from protein.
More than 30 seconds – Your Carb Type is Restricted.
Your body finds carbohydrates quite difficult to process, so they should account for no more than 25 per cent of your calories – which means restricting your intake to around 125 g. The rest of your calories should come from fats (40 per cent) and protein (35 per cent).
Here’s how different foods stack up in terms of their carbohydrate content…
1 cup of cooked rice = 57 g
1 small mango = 16 g
1 cup of cooked quinoa = 39 g
1 medium banana = 22 g
1 cup of cooked pasta = 42 g
2 slices of wholemeal bread = 24 g
1 medium baked potato = 21 g
READ MORE:
Love Fast Food? Here’s What It Actually Does To Your Body
Benefits Of Ginger Every Woman Should Know
Where To Celebrate Father’s Day At In Singapore?
Text: Karen Fitall, Bauersyndication.com.au / Photos: 123RF
This article appeared in the June issue of The Singapore Women’s Weekly