Carbs: Your friend or foe? The truth about fuelling your body right.

There's always such debate about carbs but, here's what your need to know.

1. Carbs are Brain Fuel: Your brain can only use glucose as fuel so, carbs are super important for keeping our brains sharp! Oestrogen plays a big role in how our bodies use glucose. So, during perimenopause and menopause when our oestrogen levels fluctuate or drop, it can cause some chaos in the brain, and if you're not getting enough carbs in your diet this can make symptoms worse. That doesn't mean you should be going for the high sugar processed stuff, it means choose nutrient dense carbs, like sweet potatoes, lentils, vegetables, oats, berries to help fuel your brain.

2. Fuelling Your Body: Our bodies mainly run on two fuel sources—carbs (glucose) or fat (fatty acids). Which one we use depends on what our body needs at that moment. But if we’re not getting enough carbs, our body doesn’t just switch to fat—it actually starts breaking down protein (like our muscles) to make glucose. So, for women over 40, muscle already begins to breakdown at at rate of 3-8% per decade, maintaining muscle is super important to keep bodies strong and for weight management. Eat carbs and spare muscle.

3. Carbs and Menopause: As we transition through menopause, our bodies might become more resistant to insulin. But that doesn’t mean we should ditch carbs! If insulin resistance was the main reason for struggling to lose weight, low-carb diets would be way more effective than they actually are. It’s all about being smart with carbs, not avoiding them altogether. For example, if choosing to have a serving of bread choose, spelt, wholegrain or good quality sourdough and make sure you top them up with good quality protein, or fats. This way they will fill you up and help regulate blood glucose levels. Be carb wise!

4. What About Sugar? I get asked this often, but sugar isn’t the villain here—it’s the amount you eat and frequency that is the problem. Everything needs to be consumed appropriately to our bodies needs and for enjoyment. Problems arise when our diets are high in sugar, because they often lack fiber, antioxidants, protein, and all the other good nutrients that helps us thrive. Also, let's not forget about the role high sugar diets have on increasing inflammation in our bodies! Limit your sugar intake and choose nutrient dense carbs on your plate.

Some nutrient dense carbs include: pumpkin, sweet potato, berries, vegetables, leafy greens, lentils, chickpea, legumes, oats, wholegrains, bananas, quinoa, oranges, beets, apples, kidney beans.

So, carbs are not the problem, but rather the carb choices we make and portions sizes. Choose your carbs wisely! Quality and quantity.

Reach out if your feel like your relationship with carbs or food in general could use some helpful rejigging?