Many people who struggle with food cravings ask me about low-carb or keto diets.  Whilst I believe that low-carb diets can have health benefits, help to balance blood sugar levels, and reduce cravings, I have not found that is necessary for the majority of people I work with to cut out carbs entirely.

Carbohydrates (or carbs) are found in many foods, but they are predominately associated with grains – like rice, wheat, oats, bread & pasta; starchy vegetables – like potatoes, turnips, parsnips, carrots & beetroot; and pulses – like chickpeas, butter beans & lentils.

Carbs are broken down into glucose in the blood, and if we eat a large quantity of them they can cause a blood sugar spike which can lead to, amongst other things, weight gain and sugar cravings. For this reason, if food cravings are a real issue for you, I suggest putting boundaries around the type of carbs, and the amount of carbs, we include in our diet.

I always recommend having carbs that are slower to digest, such as brown bread and pasta rather than white, as this slows down the speed with which glucose is released into the bloodstream.

Here are some guidelines that  I recommend as regards carbs…

  1. Small portions of carbs with each meal – as a rough guide, this would be about 120g or 4oz of cooked potato or rice with lunch or dinner, or 30g or 1oz of uncooked oats for breakfast.
  2. Include plenty of non-starchy veg, such as courgette, aubergine, cauliflower, broccoli, sprouts, spinach, tomatoes, cucumber, and peppers.
  3. Include good quality fats and protein with each meal. This slows down the release of glucose into the bloodstream.
  4. Avoid all hyper-processed foods which are high in sugar, sugar substitutes, and alternatives to sugar such as aspartame.
  5. If you are diabetic, prediabetic, or obese and can’t drop to a healthy weight while including a moderate amount of carbs in your diet, I would suggest a very low carb diet.