Numerous nutritionists and medical experts have ideas on what constitutes a bad carbohydrate. Some bad carb lists are much longer than others because there is dissension on whether carbohydrates cause obesity or whether they are so healthy that you should double the percentage of carbohydrates in your diet. Governmental agencies and health groups generally favor eating more foods with lots of carbohydrates, but they have bad carb lists, too.
Simple Carbs
From a molecular standpoint, carbohydrates are either complex or simple. "Technically, starches are complex carbohydrates, and sugars are simple carbohydrates," reports "The New Pritikin Program."
"Dr. Dean Ornish's Program for Heart Disease" reports that simple carbohydrates have no nutritional value and lists alcohol, honey and sugar as simple carbohydrates that are bad carbs. According to "Dr. Atkins' New Diet Revolution," snacks that have been filled with sugar to replace fat are simple carbohydrates that are also bad carbs. He lists low-fat or diet cookies, crackers, ice cream, cakes, pies, soft drinks and white bread.
High-Fat Carbs
The U.S. Department of Agriculture urges Americans to reduce their odds of obesity-related diseases by doubling their consumption of carbohydrates. However, many carbohydrates should be eaten sparingly because they are high-fat bad carbs.
"Dr. Atkins' New Diet Revolution" lists the following high-carbohydrate fatty foods as bad carbs: apple pie, bean burritos, beer, cheeseburgers with buns, dark chocolate, chocolate ice cream, chocolate layer cake, croissants, glazed doughnuts, egg rolls, hot dogs with buns, macaroni and cheese, milk shakes, oatmeal cookies, onion rings, pecan pie, pizza, pretzels and tortilla chips.
Refined Carbs
Carbohydrates that have been converted to refined from unrefined, to tomato juice from tomatoes for instance, are considered bad carbs by many medical experts. These bad carbs may increase the risk of heart disease because they "tend to trigger higher insulin levels and increased serum triglycerides (fats in the blood)," reports "The New Pritikin Program."
Pritikin identifies mashed potatoes, french fries, apple juice, French bread and white pasta as refined carbohydrates that are bad in large quantities. "Atkins Diabetes Revolution" lists numerous refined carbohydrates as bad carbs that you should "eat sparingly." They include bagels, brown rice, wild rice, cranberry juice, fruit cocktail, orange juice, prunes and raisins.
Atkins' Bad Carbs
Several high-carb foods that are considered good carbs by many food experts are bad carbs according to "Dr. Atkins' Diet Revolution" because he believes they cause fat. "Dr. Dean Ornish's Program for Reversing Heart Disease" reports that "very little of the complex carbohydrates a person eats is converted into body fat," but Atkins contends that fat is caused by excessive blood sugar.
Atkins formulated a Glycemic Index that measures how much foods increase blood sugar. High-carb foods with bad scores--bad carbs according to Atkins--include sweet corn, sweet potatoes, baked potatoes, black-eyes peas, lima beans, navy beans, pinto beans, bananas, pineapples, watermelons and carrots.
References
- "Dr. Dean Ornish's Program for Reversing Heart Disease"; D. Ornish, M.D.; 1996
- "The New Pritikin Program"; R. Pritikin; 1990
- "Dr. Atkins' New Diet Revolution"; R. Atkins, M.D.; 2002
- "Atkins Diabetes Revolution"; R. Atkins, M.D., M. Vernon and J. Eberstein; 2004
- "Essentials for Health and Wellness;" G. Edlin, E. Golanty and K. McCormack Brown; 2000
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