Friday, September 5, 2008

Types of Carbohydrates

Carbohydrates provide fuel for the body in form of glucose, which is sugar. There are two types of carbohydrates simple and complex. Simple carbohydrates are sugars that found in candies, fruits and baked food goods and on the other hand, complex carbohydrates are those carbohydrates that are found in beans, nuts, vegetables and whole grains.

Amount of Carbohydrates in vegetables vary between individual pieces and depending on cooking method. As most vegetables are boiled they absorb more water so the carbohydrate content of each vegetable will lower compared to the same weight when raw. All values are calculated from raw vegetables and are also considered better as compared with cooked food.

Our liver digests carbohydrates by breaking them down to simple foods such as sugars and glucose. It stimulates the production of insulin in pancreas. The insulin functions to get the sugar into the body's call and used as energy. The two different types of carbohydrates affects the production of insulin differently when digesting simple carbohydrates the insulin levels spike faster and the carps are used up more quickly for energy. This explains why many who turn to a candy bar for a quick supply of energy find that their energy levels crash when the "sugar high" comes to an end. The Complex carbohydrates take longer to digest also resulting in longer lasting energy and less of an insulin reaction in the body.

When carbohydrates are broken down into glucose, it enters the bloodstream where it is made available to all cells of the body. When glucose levels rise, the body responds to the low carbohydrate diet by releasing a hormone called insulin into the blood.

Some researchers describe insulin as a "glucose doorman" that travels around the body opening cell doors so glucose can enter and do its job, which is maintaining proper blood-sugar levels. Without the help of insulin to open the cell doors, the glucose molecule is just too big to enter the various cells of the body. The Inadequate amounts of insulin causes improper metabolism of both glucose and fats, leading to decreases in energy production and, too often, diabetes.

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