What are carbohydrates?

Carbohydrates are a significant macronutrient which are made up of fibre, sugar as well as starch. Some weight-loss programmes discourage eating them however the key is finding the right carbs to include in your nutrition place and not avoiding them completely.

Carbohydrates are the body’s foremost source of energy. Each gram of carbohydrates yields 4 kcal of energy. Carbohydrates also play a role in protecting muscle. When carbohydrate sources each depletion the body will then turn to its fat stores to produce energy. y. Glucose that is formed from carbohydrates in the only substrate used by the brain. This means that a depletion of carbohydrates will make you feel dizzy, light-headed and forgetful.

Carbohydrates can be split into two groups:

• Simple carbohydrates, and
• Complex carbohydrates.

What are simple carbohydrates?

Simple carbohydrates are broken down quickly through the body to be utilised as energy. Simple carbohydrates are naturally occurring in foods such as fruits, milk as well as milk products. They are also to be found in processed and refined sugars such as sweets, table sugar, syrups, and soft drinks.

Simple carbs which are frequently added to foods include:

• Raw sugar
• Brown sugar
• Corn syrup in addition to high-fructose corn syrup
• Glucose, fructose, and sucrose
• Fruit juice concentrate

Simple carbs are higher in refined sugars as opposed to complex carbs are. They contain empty (non-nutritious) calories. In addition, simple carbohydrates cause food cravings and upset your energy levels.

What are complex carbohydrates?

Complex carbs pack in far more nutrients as opposed to simple carbs. They’re higher in fibre and digest slower. This also makes these types fo foods more filling, which means they are a good option for weight control.

They’re also perfect for people with type 2 diabetes because they help manage blood sugar spikes after meals.

Fibre and starch are the two types of complex carbohydrates. Fibre is especially important because it promotes bowel regularity and helps to control cholesterol.

The main sources of dietary fibreare:

• Fruits
• Veggies
• Nuts
• Beans
• Wholegrains

Starch is also found in a number of the same foods as fibre. The difference is that certain foods are thought to be more starchyas opposed to fibrous, such as potatoes.

Other foods which are high in starch are:

• Wholewheat bread
• Cereal
• Corn
• Oats
• Peas
• Rice

Complex carbohydrates are essential to long-term health. They make it easier for you to maintain a healthy weight. These foodstuffs and can even help guard against type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular challenges in the future.

Simple and complex carbs are further divided into:

• Monosaccharides (simple sugars): glucose, fructose, galactose
• Disaccharides (simple sugars): sucrose, maltose, lactose
• Polysaccharides (complex carbohydrates): starch, glycogen

Simple carbohydrates contain monosaccharides which is glucose (blood sugar) and fructose which is derived from fruit. These also contain disaccharides which consist of two monosaccharides. The two most common are sucrose (table sugar) and lactose (which comes from milk).

When sugar is consumed it either converts into glucose (quick energy), glycogen or fat storage for use later. Excess consumption of simple carbohydrates has huge disadvantages for both the athlete and the normal person:

• They are low in nutritional value,
• Excess amounts of these carbohydrates are converted into fat, and
• Simple carbohydrates cause insulin to fluctuate wildly which inhibits activity in glycogen storage and synthesis.

We require carbohydrates for health and fitness needs, but they need to be the correct kind of carbohydrate. Eating a well-balanced diet which includes unprocessed carbohydrates, getting sufficient sleep and physical activity, and maintain an appropriate body weight is more likely to lead to good health as opposed to focusing on or eliminating a particular nutrient.