The obsession with health rages on in our country and around the world. People are consumed by counting their calories and by getting in an extra few minutes at the gym. We want the bodies that Hollywood tells us are not only possible but easy to have. Much of our pursuit of health is actually a pursuit of physical perfection and a level of beauty that we will probably never attain. We hear a lot lately about the carb and about how we should cut the carb out of our diet as much as possible.

The thing about the carb - or carbohydrate - is that there is a good side and a bad side to it. Let's start with the good side of the carb. Anyone who has ever chased a toddler around for an afternoon knows that life takes energy to make it through each day. Especially as we get older, we need more energy to make it through the days. The carb is a great source of energy that can help us stay awake and maintain high energy levels throughout our days. All of these fad diets that teach us to cut out all of the carbs from our diets are seriously mistaken and they don't take into account the fact that we need energy to live! So don't be sucked into a fad diet that requires you to go no-carb. It just isn't healthy.

On the other hand (there is always another hand in health), don't allow yourself to go carb crazy either. You cannot live long or live well by consuming any kind of food you want whenever you want it. Anyone who is halfway interested in doing something good for their health should carefully watch the amount of carbs they consume. A short appointment with your physician or with a dietician can be a great way to get on the right path to health.

The carb is great because it gives us energy, but it can be bad when it is overconsumned because it turns into sugar and hence into fat if the energy is not burned off. So the key with the carb is balance. Don't eat so few that you don't have the strength or energy to make it through your day, but don't eat so many that you have excess sugar that turns to fat.

Take your health seriously and make an appointment to talk with an expert before your health gets any further out of hand. Take control of your health by learning the truth about the carb.