Carbohydrates (starches, sugars and fibers) are our energy suppliers
Carbohydrate

Carbohydrates (starches, sugars and fibers) are our energy suppliers.

Carbohydrates provide the energy necessary for all bodily processes and serve as fuel for brains. One gram of carbohydrate provides 4 kcal (= 17kJ).

There are three main types of carbohydrates:

Sugar and starch are both high energy and fiber to help keep the intestines healthy and are essential for proper digestion.

The fibers also help to reduce cholesterol in the blood and gives you a feeling of satisfaction after each meal, so you will less craving snacks.

Carbohydrates are as starch in bread, potatoes, rice, pasta and pulses (brown and white beans).

Fruits and fruit juices contain simple carbohydrates such as fructose and dextrose.

Milk and yogurt contains milk sugar.

Sweets, cakes, pastries, soft drinks contain sugar (sucrose).

Many foods contain a mixture of complex and simple carbohydrates. Fibers were found in fruits, vegetables, legumes and cereals.


Dietitians frequently recommend about half of the daily diet should consist of carbohydrates.


Carbohydrates plain cereal

Eat more unprocessed carbohydrates and less processed grains.

Eating carbohydrates that are rapidly digested and absorbed, increases blood sugar levels of triglycerides and lowers HDL-cholesterol.

However whole grain foods are clearly better for long-term health and protection against diabetes, heart disease, cancer and gastrointestinal disorders such as diverticulosis and constipation.


Low carb is bad for health

March 19, 2006 LONDON - Following a low-carb diet can be very detrimental to health. American doctors describe Friday in the medical journal The Lancet how a 40-year-old wife fought for her life after following the so-called Atkins diet. She had a dangerously high levels of certain acids in her blood received, reports the BBC.

The doctors concluded that the diet was borrowing to the poor health of women. She had excessively high levels of ketones in her blood. The liver produces these substances and the insulin levels decreased by starvation or diabetes. The woman had lived for one month on meat, cheese and salads, and had, according to Atkins guidelines, extra vitamins and supplements swallowed, and checked her urine regularly.

The Atkins diet, named after founder Robert Atkins believes that carbohydrates fat. Fats and proteins you can eat but rather no pasta and bread.

Often from the medical field it is suggested this diet is dangerous. There would be an increased risk of heart attacks, diabetes, kidney problems, arteriosclerosis and high cholesterol.


carbs and health
Carbohydrates: sugars

Foodindustries use sugars not only for its sweetening power. They also serve as substrate for fermentation, cooking, storing or freezing. In some cases they act as texturing agent..

Use less sugar, is a major problem for the industry, as sweeteners (like aspartame) miss the special technological characteristics of sugar.

Today some foods such as milk and sweetened drinks contain many more sugar than necessary.

Over the past fifteen years, consumption of different sugary products exploded significantly: 26% for carbonated sugared soft drinks, fruit juices 77%, 31% for cookies and 50% for milk and yogurt desserts. The consumption of table sugar, fruit and milk, however, is actually declined (-29% in 10 years time).

Two types of sugar : good and bad sugars. Good sugars are natural and proper and belong into a healthy diet. Grains, fruits and sweet vegetables like carrots contain good sugars. Syrup, sugar and honey belong to the group bad sugars.

Experts recommend minimizing using products that contain these sugars because they contain lots of calories, also affect the teeth and occur often in combination with high fat.

Sugar is called the white poison, sugar withdraws the essential vitamins and minerals of the body, which leads to a reduced resistance.

Using bad sugars in small quantities, you do not have immediately to worrie. But the large amounts of added sugars that occur in such a glass of cola and a chocolate bar are very unhealthy.

If you frequently incredible craving may be that you suffer from hypoglycemia, a condition where your blood sugar disturbed seriously.


Carbohydrates: starch.

Starch occurs naturally in potatoes, wheat, maize and pulses. In plants, starch is made as a backup power source and is therefore mostly in the seeds, tubers (corn, potatoes) and legumes.
In food starch is include in bread, potatoes, legumes, whole grains, pasta and rice.

The main use of starch as a thickener, use cornstarch to thicken sauces, is a good example. In this example, the starch must first be heated before it thickens. In many products that heating step is very difficult or even impossible. It is not possible in cold sauces or instantpuddingen. Such applications uses chemically modified starches.

The digestibility of starch depends how presentinig the starch. There is fast digestible starch in just cooked starchy foods. Slowly digestible starch is found in most raw grains.

Starchy foods like potatoes have the false name they make you fat. Because they are virtually calorie, it's the accompaning creamy sauces and fat who deserve the name of fattening.