by BJ Armstrong

September is the ninth month of the year. Summer ends and Autumn begins. Labor Day comes on the first Monday of the month. The Morning Glory (one of my favorite flowers) is the flower for September.

30 Days has September,
April, June and November.
All the rest have 31,
except February.
Which has 28,
and that is fine,
Until Leap Year ..
And that gives it 29.

I learned this poem in grade school and I always encouraged my students to learn it.

What does all this information have to do with a health column. Nothing!!!  But aren't you tired of the word "carbohydrates." Well, so am I. But I thought I'd

write about the word "carbohydrates" and then we'll forget all about it (maybe).
It seems that everyone is on a low carbohydrate diet. Well, some people anyway. An excess of calories causes weight gain, not carbohydrates. There are two groups of carbohydrates, simple and complex.

Simple Carbohydrates

1. Found in processed and refined sugar, candy, carbonated beverages and pastries.

2. Break down quickly and result in sugar overload.

Simple carbohydrates that contain vitamins and minerals occur naturally in fruits, vegetables, milk and milk products. As sugar levels in the bloodstream rise, so does insulin. Lots of insulin rush through the body to store excess

sugar as fat.

Complex Carbohydrates

These are found in:-
* cereals
* vegetables
* whole-wheat breads
* rice and pasta
* legumes

Complex carbohydrates break down slowly when digested, therefore avoiding most of the damaging insulin and sugar fat. These complex carbohydrates are loaded with vitamins, minerals, and disease-fighting antioxidants.

Are carbohydrates bad for you and make you gain weight? I repeat.. an excess of calories causes weight gain, not carbohydrates. Regardless where the calories come from, carbohydrates, proteins or fat, any calories beyond what your body burns are stored as fat. Carbohydrates are digested, then broken down into sugar, which then circulate in the bloodstream and serve as the body's key source of energy.

A balanced diet of complex carbohydrates, protein and fat and simply following a healthy lifestyle is the best way to lose and maintain weight.

Just after the death of the flowers,
and before they are buried in snow
There comes a festival season
When nature is all aglow....Author unknown

The morrow was a bright September morn;
The earth was beautiful as if newborn;
There was nameless splendor everywhere,
That wild exhilaration in the air,
Which makes the passers in the city street
Congratulate each other as they meet....
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.