# Good carbs vs Bad carbs



## anrol (Mar 11, 2003)

I recently discovered, quite by accident, that removing virtually all traces of carbs and sugars from my diet gives me relief from gas and bloating. The problem is I did not plan on staying on this restrictive diet for more than 2 weeks. Right now I eat no breads, rice, pasta, potatoes, fruits, fruit juices or refined sugar. I know they cannot all be bad but how do I figure out what is safe to reintroduce. Anyone has any ideas of what the typical culprits are? Maybe I can avoid those for a while and start with 'safe' carbs.Thanks


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## Dokii (Oct 19, 2003)

Hello there, I have found the same problem with carbs, so I've cut out a bunch myself and found a huge improvement with gas and bloating issues. I think the ones to definitely continue avoiding are breads and pasta. I am totally fine with rice and potatoes, but you could be different. There are some veggies that are worse like corn, peas, broccoli which I avoid, so usually stick with carrots, celery, lettuce, zucchini and I'm fine. Fruits are difficult too. I'm ok with bananas, blueberries and a few others, but many are bad - especially apples they make me very gasious. I would slowly introduce one thing at a time back into you diet. Usually if you try one new thing every 2-3 days you will soon find out what doesn't go well for you. It is all individual, so you have to persevere and test each food for you.Good luck.Also, there are many alternative products out there so you can avoid bread and pasta. I just have rice bread and pasta instead and find it quite good, even better without all the discomfort.Cheers.


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## calid (Aug 4, 2003)

Everyone is so different in this aspect. I can't tolerate potatoes any longer, rice is fine, but no potatoes. This happened after I went off the no carb diet, couldn't go back to potatoes at all.Trial and error, I think it takes about a full year to figure out all your personal little triggers.


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## chrisgeorge (Feb 28, 2003)

You might want to check out www.zoneperfect.com which will give you an idea on which carbs are good for you and which ones to stay away from.


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## Kathleen M. (Nov 16, 1999)

While things like Zone Perfect site may help with glycemic index issues...that doesn't translate directly to what is good for gas.Unfortunately some of the carbs that are worst ala glycemic index are the easiest on the gas front because they straight into your blood raising blood sugar rather than staying in the digestive tract where they get eaten by bacteria (which is where most of the gas comes from in the vast majority of people).Some of the carbs that are the worst offenders on the gas front are things like starchy grains (other than rice) and potatoes. Some of the starch is not digested by us but is by the bacteria in the gut. Another common offenders that can effect everyone is raffinose which is in beans and cabbage family veggies (beans beans the musical fruit....after all







) Sorbitol and other sugar alcohols are not digested by us (why no calorie sweeteners) and can be an issue for some people.Lactose and Fructose may be issues for certain individuals who do not digest/absorb them well, but may be just fine for others.The other issue is many of the carbs that may increase gas may also have the fiber you need for your GI tract to work well...so it can be a balancing act.My suggestion since this diet relieves your symptoms is to add back the things you would like to add back one food at a time and see how each effects you. With gas/carb issues a lot of times volume can be an issue. A small amount may be OK most of the time, but larger amounts are much more problematic (more carbs= more gas that can be made from them). So it may be both which things, and how much of each thing (or how much of a combination of carbs in a day) will work for you, and it is hard to know what that will be before you try it.For some people probiotics seems to limit the amount of gas they have because these bacteria do not produce gas from carbs when they digest them. And what they eat, other bacteria cannot use to make gas.K.


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## mcrosby (Dec 11, 2003)

I experienced some of the same things when I was on the Atkins Diet. I felt really good but too much meat was something I didn't like. I am going to try the South Beach Diet and have purchased the book on the internet. This is a diet that discusses the good and bad carbs and it says that white flour is bad and since I have almost eliminated it from my diet I have felt much better. The first two weeks is very limited in the amount of carbs you can eat but after that it introduces good carbs. I learned about this diet by watching one of the news stations that had a special program on it and it investigated the diet to see if it was really safe. They decided that it was pretty good and the people they interviewed said that once they restricted certain items from their diets that they did not crave them anymore. Like some carb and sugar. It helped them to lose weight although the author of the diet developed it to help heart patients, he noticed that people lost weight and were able to keep it off. As with anything, though, do research on it before trying it out and talk with our doctor.


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## mfitzpa (Jan 30, 2004)

If you go for the lo-carb diet types, it's hard to diet when you have IBS!Try Healthy Life Lo-Carb wheat bread if you don't have wheat allergies, Boca (veggie) burgers and La Tabla Lo-Carb Tortillas- they're at most major grocery stores, now (Sentry and Pick 'n Save in my area). That way, you're getting a nice boost of fiber (helps a lot with regularity IF you drink lots of water) without insulin-crazy carbs and fullness without bloating.Frozen peas are a favorite, too.Good luck!


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## m2d&v (Jan 30, 2004)

I've been on the South Beach diet for a month and haven't felt better in a long time. In fact, if I eat something that is a bad carb, I am hurting for 2 days... Not sure what I will do, but I do know that the diet has helped...


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