How Carbs Impact Our Body

About the Author

Hey, I'm Stefano, founder of Transparency Foods — I started the company a few years ago after falling pretty deep into the world of monk fruit and sweetener science. Building products that have since reached over 100,000 people has been one of the most rewarding things I've done. I also have a long family history of diabetes, which is what originally pulled me into researching blood sugar and metabolic health. It's a topic I genuinely care about, and I hope that comes through in this post.

In this post, I'll show you how carbs impact our bodies, how consuming too much can make your day-to-day harder, and I'll share one practical way to dramatically reduce the negative effects of carbs — without giving up the foods you love.

What Are Carbohydrates?

To understand how carbs affect us, we need to zoom out a little and ask: what are carbohydrates in the first place? In short, they are just a bunch of little sugar molecules put together. That's it.

Carbs are made out of building blocks called monosaccharides. "Mono" means "one" and "saccharide" means "sugar molecule." The most relevant monosaccharides in biology are glucose, galactose, and fructose.

All you need to know is that these monosaccharides combine to form more complex carbohydrates. For example, sucrose — the regular table sugar we're all familiar with — is a disaccharide, meaning it's made up of two monosaccharides bonded together: one glucose and one fructose. They can also combine to form more complex structures called starches (like a potato), or fiber — but we'll talk about that later.

My only hope is that the next time you see a carbohydrate, you remember: it's just a bunch of little sugar molecules put together.

What Is Glucose, and What's Its Role in the Body?

Now let's talk about the most important sugar molecule: glucose. What makes glucose special is that it's the preferred energy source for our bodies. It's the fuel that allows us to move, think, and do all the things we love to do.

We need glucose to live, and that's why whenever we eat carbs, our body works very hard to break them down into glucose as quickly as possible. This glucose is absorbed into the bloodstream, and if our body doesn't need that energy immediately, it stores it as fat for later.

Our bodies are constantly regulating blood glucose levels. If they drop too low, the body releases glucagon — a hormone that triggers different processes to produce more glucose. On the other hand, if glucose levels get too high (like right after eating a cookie), the body releases insulin to help bring them back down.

Blood glucose fluctuates throughout the day, and that's completely normal. However, rapid increases in blood glucose (blood glucose spikes) and consistently high blood glucose levels are harmful in a variety of ways. They lead to more oxidative stress, glycation, inflammation, insulin resistance, and hormonal imbalance — which in turn produce negative consequences both in the short and long term.

Here's something important: it doesn't take 20 years to feel the effects. Not taking control of your blood sugar makes your day-to-day harder right now. It results in fatigue, mood swings, brain fog, constant hunger, and weight gain.

For example, when you eat a big, carb-heavy meal and your blood sugar spikes, your body releases a lot of insulin to bring it back down — but sometimes it overshoots, dropping your blood sugar too low. This is what's known as a blood sugar crash. It makes you tired and sluggish, and it triggers cravings for more food even though you just ate.

I particularly try to avoid this because it makes it hard to focus. Feeling tired and restless is exactly the opposite of what I need when I'm trying to do productive work.

What's an Easy Way to Start Taking Control of My Blood Sugar?

A great place to start is simple: remove carbs from your breakfast. That's it.

I usually have four eggs, with some feta cheese, tomato, and avocado on the side. This allows my body to maintain a relatively steady glucose level all the way until lunch. Aside from the long-term benefits of one fewer massive glucose spike a day (which is what most Americans get after eating bagels, a banana, or a glass of orange juice), I notice a lot of short-term benefits too. I feel more centered, I don't get cravings or anxiety, and I'm able to focus for longer.

I used to load up on carbs and coffee for breakfast, and let me tell you — that's the perfect recipe for an emotional rollercoaster. The carbs would make me tired, so I'd make a big cup of coffee and try to push through. Then my blood sugar would crash, usually lower than it started, triggering cravings. Add a lot of caffeine on top of that and you end up with restlessness and anxiety. I found it hard to just stay at my desk.

Try it and let me know what you think.

FAQ

Can We Survive Without Carbs?

You might be wondering: "What if I don't eat carbs? Will I die?" Great question. No, you won't — here's why:

• First, glucose is so important that in the absence of carbs, the body can use protein and fat to produce it.
• Second, even though glucose is the preferred energy source, it's not the only one. If you completely cut out carbs, your body adapts by using protein and fat for energy through different pathways that don't involve glucose.

In other words, if you cut out carbs entirely, your body would run mostly on fat (and some protein) as a fuel source. This state is called ketosis, and it's the foundational idea behind the popular ketogenic diet.

Is Fiber a Carbohydrate?

Yes — and this is an important nuance. Fiber is a carbohydrate that our body cannot break down. It's still made out of glucose molecules linked together, but structured in a way that we can't digest, so it passes through the body largely unchanged. That's what makes fiber different from other carbohydrates, and it's a powerful tool for regulating blood sugar levels.