Wholegrains considered as slow digesting carbs?

Question

For the person who is doing a resistance training with a spot on diet with all the meals weighed and protein and Carb proportions balanced, can grains be the main source of complex carbs, if weight loss is the goal?

I always noticed the recommend complex carbs for people in this situation are brown rice, pumpkin, sweet potato and similar foods. However I've came across this paragraph in one my readings which says

"The current Paleo craze has demonized grains, which isn’t fair, or rooted in solid science. Still, most people get and stay leaner when they limit their intake. This is partly due to grains being readily available and easy to overeat. A wise move is to save your grains for just one meal a day, either at breakfast, in the hours before or after you lift weights, or as part of your last meal of the day."

Does this mean grains such as wholemeal bread can be problematic and hindering the weight loss process if used as the main carbohydrates source in the daily diet?

Answer 1

The best way to determine if a carb source is going to be slow digesting or not is to look at the fiber content. Not all whole grains are particularly high in fiber. When looking at the list of foods you find recommended over and over again, most are relatively high fiber foods:

• Brown rice: 3.5g / cup
• Sweet potato: 4g / cup
• Pumpkin: 3g / cup
• Oatmeal: 4g / cup

You can find other grains or breads that have relatively high fiber content, and that's what slows down the digestion as well as provide other benefits to the body. Make sure to examine the labels. You might see claims like 13g of whole grains per slice of bread--which tells you nothing. The same label has barely 2g of dietary fiber per slice. Another loaf may have as much as 5g of fiber per slice.