Complete - Carbophobes’

Increasingly I have discussions with clients about Carbohydrates, removing Carbs from their diet and counting their carb grams for each meal. Unless you have a medical condition that requires you to do so, then I discourage the Carb Count. Focus more on the quality of your carbs and the grams of fibre.

Refined & highly processed carbohydrates aka simple carbs (i.e., table sugar, white bread, white flour, breakfast cereals) spike blood sugar and will increase cravings. This becomes a vicious cycle of constant hunger, gaining weight and food addiction (check out that Sugar Film if you haven’t already). These carbs are digested quickly in your mouth and then absorbed within 20 minutes in the small intestine.

However, sugars and carbs in their wholefood form aka complex carbs (an apple, pineapple, broccoli, i.e., plants), are packed with fibre and we need fibre in its wholefood form. Fibre helps balance our blood sugar, it feeds our good bugs in our large intestine, and it helps us feel full – it is the satiety link. Fibre is digested in the large intestine (colon) where it goes to work.

A wholefood diet packed with a diversity of plants is the best way to increase your fibre intake. Adding as many plants as possible to your smoothie each day will help you reach your fibre goals. We need 25-30g of fibre per day.

Take this Pineapple Spinach Complete smoothie for example. Reading the ingredients, you can see that the carbs and sugars are entirely plant based. And, there is a whopping 13g of fibre and 17g protein. Overall, this smoothie is a great way to fuel your body with wholefoods and meet almost half of your daily fibre needs.