Carbs Without Cause: 8 Foods Worse Than White Bread

By Elizabeth Goodman Artis for Shape.com

White bread has pretty much become bad-for-you public enemy number one; who doesn't automatically order their turkey and Swiss on whole wheat? The reason, of course, is that white bread is processed -- it's had all its goodness stripped away, leaving a soft, squishy slice that was all the rage in the last century. But even if you're a whole-wheat convert, other processed carbs may be finding their way into your diet, many with more than an entire day's worth of recommended carbohydrates.

Your first line of defense is to opt for whole foods that are as close as possible to their original source, says Manual Villacorta, R.D., author of "Eating Free: The Carb Friendly Way to Lose Inches". And, as always, managing portion sizes is key. Otherwise, here are eight bad carbs that may be sneaking into your diet, even if you've sworn off the white slices forever.

For more on diet and nutrition, click here.

From our partners

• Cancer: An American History (INFOGRAPHIC) - Everyday Health
• 39 Deliciously Unexpected Healthy Avocado Recipes - Greatist
• 8 Great Running Apps To Help You Train For Your Next Race - Shape Magazine

Comments

[ThugsDeserveHugs]

01:30 AM on 04/10/2012

For those who want a primer on what carbs do to the human body, Gary Taubes is an excellent place to start. Google him for youtube vids, or for those relics like myself who like to read, see "Good Calories, Bad Calories" which is a rather technical book dealing with a lot of scientific studies. "Why We Get Fat" is a more practical, how-to kind of book based on the first books research.

[elcerritan]

09:37 PM on 04/10/2012

I-US will now show up to dismiss Taubes because his books are not "peer-reviewed studies" (never mind the fact that scientists who have plenty of peer-reviewed articles under their belts regularly cite Taubes with approval themselves).

[NetKnowHow]

11:05 AM on 04/09/2012

I love talking about food and bad diet. I have written several articles on the subject. First of all any processed food is just bad for you. Now then processed high carb food is even worst. Practically every diet system out there is protein based. It takes more energy to digest protein then it does carbs. This energy increases your metabolism and thus you burn more fat. Good eating with a combination of exercise is healthy living. This brings my to the Paleo Diet. A high protein diet which eliminate grains, milk and milk products, legumes (beans) and processed foods. Lean why these foods are bad for you and what you should eat to increase your metabolism. Go here == http://weightlossintoronto.blogspot.ca

[nanaofmysky]

05:56 PM on 01/05/2013

To loss weight you need to change your habits. I know!!!! I've now lost 40 pounds in about 4 months. It is a life change........not a diet. Everything I eat I enjoy. It is all in portion sizes. I keep a very good daily record of everything that I eat and drink.Red meat and pork are not in my meal plan.Chicken,turkey and fish are the norm. Cheese in moderation,whole wheat bread and rye bread. ( light rye being best )I keep track of calories,fiber,protien,fatand carbs. I see a doctor on a regular schedule. To make sure that I am not loosing to fast and am doing it safely. I walk daily and do exercise daily. It is a very long hard struggle but with all the support from family and friend I know I will get to where I want to be.I did not gain over night and will not loose it over night.

[AndrewPineau]

08:50 PM on 04/04/2012

You need to go for a two to three hour run after eating a bagel? That sounds a little extreme. Maybe a two to three hour walk, but even that sounds hyperbolic. One can burn the calories of a bagel in 20-30 minutes of jogging. Bagels really aren't that bad. Not all bagels are made with white flour and the size of footballs so they shouldn't be vilify them as if they are. I often here that eating one bagel is like eating 5 slices of bread. I don't know where people get these bagels, but you can easily find some that have no more calories/carbs than two slices of bread. A decent-sized whole grain bagel should not be lumped in with large white bagels.

[Redv14]

07:16 PM on 04/03/2012

Looks like I'm safe. The only one of these foods I eat is the bagel and only if it is whole wheat and mini-sized. I realized long ago that the others on the list were worthless and not worth the calories and the time I had to spend in the gym to burn it off.

[northbronx]

11:33 AM on 04/03/2012

If we're going to talk about nutritionally worthless carbohydrates that most people should give up entirely, we need to talk about alcohol.

[williamg]

12:48 PM on 04/03/2012

Alcohol isn't a carbohydrate.

[Lesley MacIntyre]

12:56 PM on 04/05/2012

WRONG-O !!! Alcohol contains sugar and depending on what you are drinking it is made from barley, hops, or grapes etc...All of which are carbs. Maybe you were joking when you wrote this and I am not picking up on it?

[pucpaul]

11:03 AM on 04/03/2012

With the way these idiots are always talking I'm surprised any of us are still alive. According to the "experts" we're all just one mouthful away from exploding. F them, enjoy your life, eat in moderation, and don't waste your time worrying about things that in the end don't really matter. I would rather die a little overweight.
Besides if you're overweight and cancer hits you, you've got all that extra time because of the fat before you waste away.

[fried52]

10:49 AM on 04/03/2012

Not Bagels Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

[BatouAce]

12:41 PM on 04/03/2012

Yes.

[EliWiggs]

10:27 AM on 04/03/2012

Simply do not eat simple carbs. It's that simple. OK, it's not that simple in practice, but it is possible to substitute complex carbs for simple carbs most of the time.
Tip: quinoa- if you can find it- is the grain of the gods. Higher protein and higher fiber than brown rice and as easy to prepare as white rice. Tasty too.

[DavidHAllison]

08:19 AM on 04/03/2012

I'm absolutely pig sick of dangerous, ill-informed, unscientific nonsense about food groups written in media outlets. Removing carbs from your diet is an incredibly stupid thing to do. Carbs help produce serotonin - and that not only helps regulate your mood and your basic emotional wellbeing, it also stops overeating or binge eating.

There is only one way to lose weight permanently, and that is to make a change to your lifestyle so that you eat healthily - and that means a VARIED diet that includes all food groups including sugar (in moderation) and carbs - and you exercise. In my experience, it's the exercise part that dieters skip on. We're not talking about one yoga class a week, we're talking about strenuous aerobic exercise that makes you sweat. If you do a sedentary desk job, you need to be looking to do that kind of exercise 3 times a week. Cutting down on you bread intake is not the answer.

You ever wondered why the stick insect girls a la Victoria Beckham always look so miserable Their body doesn't produce enough serotonin because they don't eat enough carbohydrate. Their moods and their appetite will be all over the shop. You really wanna be one of those women? Good luck with that.

[mmoskvit]

08:44 AM on 04/03/2012

You know all about being Victoria Beckham.

[DavidHAllison]

08:54 AM on 04/03/2012

Er. Right. OK. Thanks for that.

[Quest2011]

05:52 PM on 04/03/2012

Not everyone can lose weight with low calories and exercise. I have been on a 1200 calorie nutritious food and exercising atleast 6 hours a week with no weight loss. I do this just to maintain my weight and not add more pounds. Some people get slow metabolism with age, Especially women. My brother eats everything in sight and never puts on weight. Just because something works for you don't assume it will work for others.
Most of these articles/experts give advice for people like me, who have been struggling with weight loss for a while

[northhouse1121]

07:36 AM on 04/03/2012

I have 2 eat anything lossing lbs any food helps carbs or not

[Quest2011]

05:53 PM on 04/03/2012

??

[Evali]

10:02 AM on 01/05/2013

???

[KOslo]

05:15 AM on 04/03/2012

"carbs" is perhaps too overloaded and simplistic these days. Best to think about Glycemic Index - a measure of the effects of food on blood sugar levels (or how the food is processed by the body).

Not surprisingly, our modern grocery stores are filled with high GI foods (foods that break down quickly - essentially like sugar). All that processed food, high fructose corn syrup, sugar is very cheap for food producers and helps sell the stuff.

High GI foods can feel good initially but spike insulin levels and create cravings later on - usually filled by more high GI foods. Insulin resistance builds up, pre-diabetes, then diabetes II. We can see this happening in the states over the last 3 decades as the rise of "modern" food has changed our diet - and our physiques. It's an epidemic. And totally preventable.

Official US Obesity Rate - Animation Video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u1abjGnlfPM

[eLucida]

11:50 AM on 04/03/2012

Or Glycemic Load per serving to be more accurate.

http://www.health.harvard.edu/newsweek/Glycemic_index_and_glycemic_load_for_100_foods.htm

[whorunwerun]

04:35 AM on 04/03/2012

I wish people who do not know about nutrition stop talking about it. How about you need carbs. Yes don't eat five bagels, We know that. But how about when they say lets cut out salt and eliminate Cholesterol =, well you know why We need Cholesterol it's for your brain. Probly why these people don't learn about what their talking about their brain is malfunctioning.
Note to Mayor Bloomberg, YOU have a heath problem with salt. Let the rest of NY decide for themselves before your City wide ban of all salt has people dropping dead of Strokes. You can't control your self around salt when you go out have one of your 30 bodyguards take it off before you get there. Yup their trying to kill Us. Strokes and Brain damage.

[eLucida]

11:54 AM on 04/03/2012

Project much?

Carbohydrates are absolutely NOT essential to the human diet.

Salt is only a problem for a few sodium-sensitive people.

Dietary cholesterol is not a factor, NOR is total blood cholesterol short of extremely low or high levels a health risk factor.

[Quest2011]

05:54 PM on 04/03/2012

F&F or getting the facts right :-)

[elcerritan]

12:53 AM on 04/06/2012

Carbohydrates are not an essential nutrient. Even the ADA Handbook recognizes that.

[CarlT104]

10:23 PM on 04/02/2012

Can we please get over the whole "Oh, my god! Look at how many carbs are in that!" crap! The issue is whether they are healthy carbs (whole grains, fruits and veggies) or unhealthy carbs (sugars, refined flours, etc.). Quit obsessing about "this many grams of carbs" or "that many grams of carbs" and focus on the QUALITY of the food as a whole.

[elcerritan]

12:52 AM on 04/03/2012

Why do the captions differentiate between "carbs" and "sugar." Sugar IS a carbohydrate.

[Creox]

01:42 PM on 04/06/2012

All grains are unhealthy. They are in essence anti-nutrients.

[CarlT104]

03:50 PM on 04/06/2012

you are in profound disagreement with the vast majority of medical science on this one. Yes, there are a few credentialed kooks out there spreading this ant-carb myth, but you're without much support. I'm not going to waste any more of my time than that.

[Evali]

10:04 AM on 01/05/2013

...and you opinion comes from?? that is not a fact..

[susanbsbi]

09:00 PM on 04/02/2012

I don't eat any of those nor do i eat white bread

[Quest2011]

05:55 PM on 04/03/2012

except yogurt

[bellaluna30]

06:11 PM on 04/02/2012

This article is informative, but it fails to differentiate between "good" carbs and "bad" carbs. I get that the sugary drinks and over-sized muffins and bagels aren't good for you, but not ALL carbs are demons.

Popcorn, in and of itself, is "good" carbs; MOVIE popcorn is "bad" carbs with a ton of added salt & fat.

[eLucida]

07:34 PM on 04/02/2012

Except for a few sodium-sensitive individuals, salt & (non-trans) fat are healthy.
The popcorn, not so much. At least it is mostly air.