Are carbohydrates a waste of calories with little nutritional value?

When you talk about carbs, it truly depends.

For many people, the idea of cutting carbs is pretty tricky. It’s hard to imagine that eliminating bread, rice, or pasta could be good for you. But if you think about it, carbs are just simple sugars that are refined and stripped of all their nutritional value.

By definition, carbohydrates are made up of sugar molecules linked together. So, they don’t provide any nutrients at all — just empty calories, which can easily be used as energy by your body.

Carbohydrates are in fruits, vegetables, beans, grains, and milk. These “quality carbs” add essential nutrients to a sports diet.