Products Containing Carbohydrates

Potatoes and bread, cakes and fruits. Which of these foods contain the right carbohydrates?

Potatoes and bread, cakes and fruits. Which of these foods contain the right carbohydrates?

Carbohydrates are a group of organic compounds that are a necessary component of cells and tissues of all living organisms. They are part of the complex vital molecules of our body, play the role of reserve nutrients and participate in metabolism. It is the fuel for our body that we get from food.

Simple and complex carbohydrates

Carbohydrates are simple and complex. And also easily and poorly absorbed.

Simple carbohydrates are directly involved in the reactions taking place in our body. Simple carbohydrates include: glucose, fructose, galactose.

Complex carbohydrates are first broken down into simple carbohydrates, and only then are they absorbed. Scientists include disaccharides: sucrose, maltose, lactose, and polysaccharides: starch, glycogen, fiber, and pectins as complex carbohydrates. Nutritionists consider only polysaccharides to be complex carbohydrates - substances consisting of dozens and hundreds of monosaccharides, which are slowly broken down and absorbed by the body.

Glucose

The most "famous" carbohydrate is glucose. It plays a very important role in metabolism. This carbohydrate provides most of the energy needs of our body.

Insufficiency of this substance in the blood leads to:

• fatigue
• irritability
• nausea
• poor performance
• loss of consciousness

To avoid this, we must supply the body with this substance in a timely manner.

Glucose in its pure form is found in many fruits. Grapes, cherries, raspberries, strawberries, watermelon and other sweet fruits are among the products that contain a large amount of this substance. There is glucose in vegetables.

Fructose

Unlike glucose, this carbohydrate practically does not require the participation of the hormone insulin in order to get from the blood into the cells of the body. Part of fructose is converted into glucose in the liver.

There is a lot of fructose in grapes, apples, cherries, pears, melons, strawberries, currants, watermelons. It is also found in vegetables, but in much smaller quantities. In addition, the source of fructose is honey.

Galactose and lactose

The simple carbohydrate galactose is not found in its pure form in food products. But, combining with glucose, it forms a disaccharide, lactose, which enters our body with dairy products: milk, sour cream, cheese, yogurt, kefir. In the gastrointestinal tract, lactose is split into glucose and galactose x casino bonuses. Then galactose, having entered the blood, turns into glucose in the liver.

Saccharose

Sucrose is a disaccharide that includes glucose and fructose. The most common sugar consists of 99.5% sucrose. In the gastrointestinal tract, sugar is quickly broken down into glucose and fructose, which quickly enter the bloodstream. Foods with a high sugar content are said to contain empty calories. And this is true, because when we eat very sweet foods, we get a lot of energy, the excess of which is deposited in the form of fat deposits, and we do not get other substances that the body needs.

There is a lot of sucrose in beets, melons, peaches, tangerines. And, of course, jam, cookies, cakes, candies, ice cream, and drinks where a lot of sugar is added according to the recipe are also a source of sucrose.

Starch

It is a complex, well-digested carbohydrate, which is broken down into glucose in our body. The main source of starch is cereals, flour products, potatoes. Among cereal products, the least amount of starch is found in oatmeal and the most in buckwheat and rice. A lot of this carbohydrate is also in legumes: peas, beans, lentils. But in soy it is much less.

Glycogen

Glycogen is a carbohydrate of animal origin. It is found in small amounts in liver and meat.

Fiber and pectins

These carbohydrates have a complex structure and are practically not digested by our body. Once, because of this, they were considered superfluous in our diet. But it turned out that they perform a very important function: they stimulate digestion processes, remove toxins from the body and create conditions for the development of beneficial bacteria in the intestines. There is a lot of fiber and pectin in vegetables, fruits, bran and products made from coarsely ground flour.

Let's put the menu in order!

Carbohydrates play a very important role in our diet, and it is impossible to refuse them. But an excessive amount of easily digestible carbohydrates can harm health. An excess of glucose in the blood can contribute to an increase in the level of insulin and cause the formation of fat deposits. That's why nutritionists advise whenever possible to replace simple carbohydrates with complex ones, which are digested more slowly and gradually saturate the blood with glucose. And do not forget about the need for fiber (another name is cellulose), eat more products that contain it.

It is not so difficult to control yourself and adjust the menu. Get yourself a special diary and mark everything you eat there.