Key Takeaways"Naked carbs" is a wellness buzzword used to describe simple carbohydrates that can lead to a spike in blood sugar levels.“Dressing” naked carbs with protein, fat, and fiber can help slow digestion and absorption.Carbs are an essential macronutrient that fuels bodily functions.
Key Takeaways
“Naked carbs” is a wellness buzzword used to describe simple carbohydrates that can lead to a spike in blood sugar levels.“Dressing” naked carbs with protein, fat, and fiber can help slow digestion and absorption.Carbs are an essential macronutrient that fuels bodily functions.
Wellness TikTok is talking about “naked carbs,” a term that describes foods that are mostly simple carbohydrates without any fat, protein, or fiber.
There are three types of carbs: complex carbs, simple carbs, and fiber. “Naked carbs” is just another name for simple carbs.
“Simple carbs can give you a sugar rush. They get digested very quickly, and the sugar goes straight into your bloodstream and raises your glucose,” saidSandra J. Arévalo, MPH, RDN, director of community health and wellness at Montefiore Nyack Hospital.
Complex carbs are found naturally in whole grains, vegetables, and legumes. These take longer to digest and absorb, so you don’t get a rapid blood sugar spike.
Simple carbs are often in ultra-processed foods, candy, white rice, and soda. These may also have added sugar and refined carbs,which lack fiber and nutrients.Consuming too many added sugars can lead to weight gain, type 2 diabetes, or heart problems.
Certain oat milk products that lack protein but contain high amounts of added sugars may also induce sugar rushes, especially if you’re having it with coffee first thing in the morning without any food.
So, if you want to enjoy a cup of oat milk latte, be sure to have it with breakfast. And the same rule applies for other naked carbs.
“If you’re going to eat crackers, match them with a bean spread like hummus,” she said.
Wait… Fruit Is Mostly Simple Carbs
Fruit naturally contains simple carbs, so should you “dress” fruits as well?
Unlike other naked carbs, fruit contains fiber, which cannot be digested and moves through the stomach slowly. It can help control blood sugar and cholesterol.
“Even if it’s 100% fruit juice from an apple, you’re basically drinking simple carbs straight. But if you eat the apple, then you have fiber, vitamin C, and other nutrients that help mask the sugar from the apple. The fiber is going to help reduce the amount of sugars that get absorbed, and it won’t give you the same sugar rush as the juice,” Arévalo said.
Some low-carb diets, like keto, recommend cutting fruits from the diet. However, eating whole fruit is linked to a lower risk of heart attacks, strokes, and certain cancers.
Instead of avoiding fruit, Arévalo said it’s best to dress whole fruit with a protein source like cheese, peanut butter, or nuts to slow down carb absorption even more.
Carbs Are Essential for the Body
Many fad diets focus on cutting carbs, but a hyper-fixation on carbs could lead to an unhealthy relationship with food.
Heather Anita Garcia Cerda, MS, RD, CPT, a registered dietitian based in Los Angeles, said that it is best to focus on fueling our bodies with a good balance of necessary nutrients. Most meals and snacks should have protein, fiber, unsaturated fats, and carbs.
Carbs are essential for supporting brain function and physical activity. You could choose higher quality carbs to reap the most benefits, such as unprocessed or minimally processed whole grains, fruits, and beans.
“We do not need to be afraid of eating carbs,” Garcia Cerda said. “Everything—besides the fiber we don’t fully digest—turns into glucose in our bodies. Our brain prefers to function with glucose as its primary source of fuel.”
What This Means For YouYou don’t need to completely eliminate naked carbs from your diet. Adding fiber, protein, and healthy fats to naked carbs can help slow down their digestion and absorption.
What This Means For You
You don’t need to completely eliminate naked carbs from your diet. Adding fiber, protein, and healthy fats to naked carbs can help slow down their digestion and absorption.
5 SourcesVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.American Heart Association.Carbohydrates.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Get the facts: added sugars.National Library of Medicine: MedlinePlus.Simple carbohydrates.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Fiber: the carb that helps you manage diabetes.U.S. Department of Agriculture.Why is it important to eat fruit?
5 Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.American Heart Association.Carbohydrates.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Get the facts: added sugars.National Library of Medicine: MedlinePlus.Simple carbohydrates.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Fiber: the carb that helps you manage diabetes.U.S. Department of Agriculture.Why is it important to eat fruit?
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
American Heart Association.Carbohydrates.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Get the facts: added sugars.National Library of Medicine: MedlinePlus.Simple carbohydrates.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Fiber: the carb that helps you manage diabetes.U.S. Department of Agriculture.Why is it important to eat fruit?
American Heart Association.Carbohydrates.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Get the facts: added sugars.
National Library of Medicine: MedlinePlus.Simple carbohydrates.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Fiber: the carb that helps you manage diabetes.
U.S. Department of Agriculture.Why is it important to eat fruit?
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