Good Carbs and Bad Carbs - good article

What to Buy
Good Carbs vs. Bad Carbs

I have a secret: Carbs are GOOD for you! We need carbs — we couldn't function without them. They give us the energy to walk, dance, drive — to do anything. And they make food taste better, giving it texture and crunch, variety and color.

If carbs are so great, why do they have such a bad rap? Think about some of the carbs that are super popular in America today: soda, chips, candy, cookies. These calorie- and fat-laden metabolism killers aren’t going to help you lose weight or get toned — and you’re certainly not going to feel good when you've eaten all the chemicals they contain. These are the foods people think of when they hear the word “carbs.”
But they are NOT the carbs nature intended. If you’ve read through my power metabolism foods, you already know the “good” carbs: fruits, veggies, and whole grains. These carbs have unique nutritional profiles that make them awesome for your body. And they all share one amazing metabolism booster — fiber. What makes fiber so fine?
· Fiber soaks up estrogen like a sponge and carries it out with other waste.
· Fiber lowers levels of cortisol, a stress hormone, in your bloodstream.
· High-fiber carbs don’t cause insulin spikes, so blood sugar levels remain more stable.
· Fiber slows digestion, so you feel full with less food — and you stay satisfied longer.
When you’re looking for foods that are rich in fiber, pay special attention to the ones with soluble fiber. Insoluble fiber, which bulks up the stool and aids digestion, is cool, but it’s soluble fiber that is really critical for hormone balance. If you want to tell the difference between the two types, picture the food submerged in water. Insoluble fiber, like apple skins and celery stalks, will retain its shape; soluble fiber, found in oatmeal and inside beans, will get gooey and sludgy. Or you can just check out my list of the best sources for soluble fiber:

Almonds
Apples
Apricots
Artichokes
Avocados
Bananas
Barley
Beans (kidney, black, navy, garbanzo, pinto)
Blackberries
Black raspberries
Broccoli
Brussels sprouts
Bulgur
Cabbage
Cantaloupe
Carrots
Crushed psyllium seeds
Figs
Grapefruit
Ground flaxseed
Kiwi
Lentils
Mangoes
Nectarines
Oat bran
Oatmeal
Onions
Oranges
Pears
Peas
Plums
Potatoes
Prunes
Raspberries
Rice bran
Rye
Strawberries
Sunflower seeds
Sweet potatoes
Tomatoes
Wheat germ