Who here loves pasta?

Uh-huh.

…And potatoes? Rice? A good mango, strawberry…all of the fruits?

“Oh, my gosh, but that has—like—SO many carbs in it…”

“I can’t eat that! It’s all carbs…it’s so bad for you.”

And yet these phrases and the likewise are so commonly heard in today’s culture. Especially after the New Year kickstarting many people’s weight loss goals, it seems like the fads of being “low carb” are certainly well-known and widely shared among dieters. With it, the unreasonable stigma around what is actually the body’s favorite and most preferred source of energy: carbohydrates.

Apparently, the tale goes something like “carbs make you gain weight”/”it isn’t healthy if there’s too many carbs”/watch those carbs…

I will plainly state here that these are lies and misconceptions.I will confidently argue that eating a baked potato that is loaded with copious amounts of fat and sodium, and deeming it as “unhealthy” because of the potato, is downright unfair.

Sure, potatoes have carbs, but biologically speaking, the human body purely runs on carbohydrates (a.k.a. glucose)—sugar. It is literally the thing every single cell of our bodies run on, and everything else—protein, fats, whatever—gets converted into this so that eventually we have the sugar to make our brains happy.

Some foods contain more of this sugar, thus providing more readily the good stuff we innately love.

…Foods like the humble potato.

The foods that contain higher percentages of protein or fat, will take longer for the body to process in order to turn it into energy. So essentially, when a product is supposedly touted for its high-protein content or other, this simply means that the body is going to have to work harder and longer in order for you to receive its energy.

Not all as great is it may be cracked up to be, is it?

Of course, it is suggested to get a healthy amount of all of the macronutrients, but I honestly believe that a person can do this very easily without worrying so much about a specific one.

It’s pretty straightforward: if the body doesn’t receive carbohydrates, it doesn’t run. Those football players and runners aren’t going to get the same easily viable energy provided by potatoes or a banana if they only down protein shakes.

So, potato and pasta-lovers rejoice! Your body loves the energy these carbohydrates provide.

Foods like the potato—being virtually one of the most versatile starchy vegetable out there—are wonderful sources of energy and of course, those lovely carbs.

I personally am a huge supporter of the sweet potato as well, but I believe any potato should be more widely seen as “good for you.”

And let’s not forget some of the other good, carb-filled friends: pasta, rice, fruit, anything sweet or starchy. Humans crave sweet things. We instinctively know that it is what keeps us going the best. And going against your instincts just because of some diet trend that tells you can no longer eat pasta? I mean, how sad would life be without fruit, without potatoes? WITHOUT PASTA? Why should you deny yourself of what you know you need?

Because a life without a sustainable source of carbohydrates is really hardly a life (your body thinks so too). Cut carbs = cut life.