Well, in order to maintain proper functioning of your body, the intake of nutrients like proteins, sugar, carbohydrates, fats, fiber, vitamins and minerals is essential. The body requires energy for growth and other processes in the body. Talking about a particular nutrient, as much as carbohydrates are important for your body, overconsumption of this nutrient can prove to be harmful for your body. Overeating food items containing high amount of carbs can lead to many health problems. Carbs rich foods include sugary items, white rice, white bread, potato chips, refined flour, etc. Onlymyhealth editorial team spoke to Nutritionist Shalini Chakraborty, Senior Executive Nutritionist, Cloudnine Group of Hospitals, Bangalore about carbohydrates overconsumption. In this article, you will get to know about the major side effects of eating excessive carbohydrates.
Dangers of excess carbs
Medication is important to treat some dangers of excess carbs. However, proper diet and some lifestyle changes can prevent the health problems. Overconsuming carbohydrates can even lead to negative impact on the expecting mother, leading to slow brain development of the fetus, which can also result in autism. According to Nutritionist Shalini Chakraborty, from Cloudnine Group Of Hospitals, these are the 7 major side effects of carbohydrates consumption:
1. Low metabolic rate
Eating too much carbs can slow down your metabolic rate. And, low metabolic rate can lead to weight gain. Therefore, it is important to maintain the right balance of nutrients in your diet.
2. High blood sugar
Another negative effect of having too many carbohydrates is the rise in blood sugar levels. And to maintain those levels, pancreas releases insulin, which results in high insulin in the body. It can lead to being overweight and even more sugar cravings.
3. Less insulin poduction
Other than hyperinsulinemia, prolonged consumption of rich carbohydrate diet can also make the pancreas release less insulin after a certain point of time. This can make a person prone to diabetes, which is a major health problem.
Also read: What Are Complex Carbohydrates And Why Should You Have More Of It For Weight Loss?
4. Increased cholesterol
Having too much carbs can also increase the levels of cholesterol in the body. It shoots up the bad cholesterol (triglycerides) in the blood that can develop heart diseases.
5. Pregnancy issues
If a pregnant woman consumes carbs in high amount, then the excess sugar can travel from the placenta to the baby. It can lead to fetal macrosomia i.e larger baby or Type 1 diabetes for newborn.
6. Gestational Diabetes Mellitus (GDM)
Pregnancy itself adds a stress factor. So, at that time, a mother goes through many hormonal changes. So, if a woman takes a lot of carbs at that time, it can lead to fatigue and a lot of weight gain. In fact, it can even result in pregnancy induced diabetes (Gestational Diabetes Mellitus).
Also read: What is the Importance of a Balanced Diet and How It Can Enhance our Health
What are the healthy alternatives of carbs rich food items?
You can replace the carbs rich food items with a healthy alternative like protein in each and every meal. Good sources of protein are eggs, fish, legumes, pulses, dairy products, etc. On an average, protein rich foods can improve the metabolic rate. Nutritionist Shalini said, "Not just chapati and veggies, it can be good to eat meat, pulses, sprouts and milk products. Try adding some besan flour in your wheat flour. Also, avoid having meat food items at night as it takes more time to digest."
These were the major side effects of carbohydrates overconsumption. One has to lead a healthy lifestyle to avoid these health problems. This can only happen by combining regular exercise and a balanced diet.
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