Okay, so before anybody reads this thread and goes way overboard from looking at the advice people on here have posted about cutting out certain things, or severely restricting others, just remember that any nutritionist or doctor worth his salt will tell you that MODERATION in the key.
No, this does not mean in order to eat a balanced meal, you should start adding a salad to your 12oz. steak. :-D
There's nothing wrong with a little glucose as long as you keep it in moderation with everything else.
Now, what all of the carb-this and that- people on here are actually talking about is a foods glycemic index
Glycemic Index of FoodsDifferent foods are rated as having different glycemic levels in comparison to glucose (which has been given an arbitrary value of 100). The lower the value, the more time it takes for a given set of carbs to digest.
Ever eaten a meal that was really starch based (pasta, potatoes, etc...) and then gotten really tired a little after? (my friends call this state 'food coma') It's because you're eating food with a really high glycemic level which is being digested VERY fast, and making your blood sugar shoot up, which in turn is making your pancreas overtax itself making insulin, the result is you get sleepy soon after.
Basic point is, food with a low GI level will leave you fuller longer, and you won't need to eat again quite so quickly, plus it's less taxing on your system. It's the only way to reduce your calorie intake and not be STARVING at the same time.
This does NOT mean you should try to cut carbs out of your system, a little bread every day won't kill you, just remember that it's not much of a staple compared to what you might put on your sandwich, so don't count on it to fill you.
One thing you can also do with pasta is to prepare it al dente(not cooked as much, chewy), it isn't a cure all, but it does raise the GI level a bit compared to the way pasta is typically prepared in america anyway.
