Carbohydrates (Carbs) have replaced fat as the new enemy in the war against obesity and being overweight. Everyday there seems to be a new type of low carb diet out, and the results seem miraculous. So are Carbs really bad for you? Should you avoid them?

The truth is that it really depends on the type of carbohydrates you are talking about.

There are two types. Simple carbs and complex carbs. The simple carbs are the ones you want to avoid. The complex carbs are the ones you want to have with every meal. That's right; you want to have it with every meal.

Why would you have carbs with every meal?

Why Carbs Are Good For You

Carbohydrates are a very important part of your eating plan. So important that they will make up most of what you eat throughout the day. Here's why:

• Carbs help maintain an optimal hormonal balance by managing the release of insulin
• Carbs help the body absorb protein, and by doing so, prevents catabolism, which is the breakdown of muscle tissue. You want to protect all the muscles you have, because the more muscle you have, the higher your metabolism rate, and the quicker you'll lose fat.
• Carbs are the most efficient energy source for your body. They are broken down really quickly, and are the easiest source of energy for your body to use, and the most available. Whenever carbs are restricted, you may feel tired or lethargic. If you workout or play sport or conduct any other type of intense activity, you'll find your performance dropping.
• While its true that your body will use a combination of carbs and fats for energy, whenever you train intensely (and that's what you should be doing for the quickest weight loss), your body burns a higher percentage of calories from carbs than fats. When you do low intensity exercise, you burn a higher percentage of fats then carbs (but lower calories overall). The reason for this is that fats don't burn as efficiently as carbs. In fact, carbs can continue to fuel exercise for a short period, even in the absence of oxygen.

So, as you can see, carbs play a very important role in the health of your body. It will also help you to lose weight through insulin managment, and providing you with the sufficient energy for your workouts. You should definitely get the required amount, and not buy into the anti-carb sentiment promoted by many fad diets.