Carbohydrates That Fool

Are bread and other carbohydrates fattening? No. The problem isn't the carbohydrates themselves, but the now-widespread super-sized portions that are often to blame when weight seems out-of-control. And it's not just "junk foods" at fault here –even "healthy" foods in excessive portions spell trouble.

Studies show that the American population remains largely sedentary. Our calorie intake, however, is steadily increasing. When calorie consumption goes up and calorie needs do not, those extra calories have only one place to go: body fat.

Think, for example, about those "healthy" muffins you grab on the way to work. The old-fashioned three-inch muffins mother used to bake contained about 100 to 130 calories and three or four grams of fat. Today's jumbo muffin usually clocks in at 400 to 700 calories and 15 to 24 grams of fat. Do you put butter on yours? Do you have two? Obviously, calories and fat go even higher.

What about pasta? Surely a healthful, fat-free food like spaghetti couldn't be high in calories. The standard serving size listed on labels, which makes about one cup after cooking, contains only 210 calories and no more than a gram of fat. That's about equal to two or three slices of bread. If, however, your portion is closer to the three-cup amount seen on restaurant platters, you're looking at 630 calories. Would you really eat six to nine slices of bread at one time?

Experts are hotly debating whether bagels should be considered healthful or horrible. As low-fat complex carbohydrate, they clearly offer good nutrition. (It would be nice, however, if more bagels were made from whole grains, which possess widely publicized benefits for prevention of heart disease and cancer.) When it comes to weight and blood sugar concerns, it's the portion that we should consider.

The small bagels you find in grocery store freezer aisles weigh in at two ounces and provide about 140 calories each. Yet the jumbo bagels served at most bagel shops and coffee stands are more likely to weigh closer to four or five ounces, raising their calorie load to 300 to 350. Each is equivalent to eating four or five slices of bread.

Most adults who lead a sedentary lifestyle would probably be better off splitting the bagel with a friend (or saving half for later) and balancing the meal with less calorie-concentrated fruit or a low-fat vegetable spread.

Cereal is another food that offers many nutritional advantages. Some, however, such as granola and Grape-Nuts, are so concentrated in calories that the label states standard portion to be a half-cup. Nevertheless, most people go ahead and pour themselves a bowlful. Unless you're exercising at a high level (more than a 30-minute walk each day), you probably don't need 500 calories worth of cereal to start the morning. If you enjoy your granola, try cutting the serving size in half and sprinkling it over some other whole grain cereal that's also low in calories, like flakes or squares.

These portion size issues relate to many carbohydrate foods – potatoes, crackers, tortillas and so on. It's not that the foods themselves are fattening or bad for blood sugar. We've just gotten so used to "super-sizing" everything that we're super-sizing ourselves without realizing it. Moderation is the key.