What Do You Need To Know About Carbohydrates?

In recent years, scientists and doctors look at carbohydrates not so categorically. But what are carbohydrates and why does the body need them? What are carbohydrates? How are carbohydrates useful and what are harmful? Why did Atkins ban carbohydrates?

Since the mid-1990s, there have been talks about the harm of carbohydrates. And the most important of them was called the sin of fat accumulation in the body. It has come to the point that many women who want to lose weight have removed not only bread and pasta, but even fruit from their diet. In this, they followed the recommendations of Dr. Robert Atkins (Atkins diet) and Dr. Arthur Agatston (South Beach diet). Atkins and Agatston nutrition systems were praised by Hollywood stars Catherine Zeta-Jones, Renee Zellweger, Jennifer Lopez, Jennifer Aniston. They all lost weight on the Atkins and South Beach diets. But we still felt sorry for carbohydrates. Therefore, we find out what is wrong with these diets.

Atkins and Agatston reasoned that a low-carb diet lowers insulin levels in the body, reduces fat storage, and ultimately leads to fat burning. They urged women to minimize the consumption of carbohydrates, but to increase the content of protein and fats in the general diet.

This opinion is outdated. Now scientists and doctors are not so categorically opposed to carbohydrates. But what are carbohydrates and why does the body need them?

There are four main classes of biomolecules: carbohydrates, proteins, nucleotides, and lipids. The most numerous of them are carbohydrates, which are also sometimes called saccharides. They play a very important role in the functioning of living organisms. Yes, they participate in the construction of various support structures, serve as a source of energy, and protect plants.

 

Four main classes of biomolecules

Carbohydrates consist of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen atoms. They are the main source of food and the main form of energy for almost all organisms. They can act as food storage molecules, as protective membranes for organisms and cells, and as the main structural component of plant cell walls.

Lipids (fats) are molecules consisting of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen atoms. They play a major role in regulating the vital activity of individual cells and the body as a whole.

Proteins are molecules containing nitrogen, carbon, hydrogen and oxygen. They act as biological catalysts, form structural parts of organisms, participate in signal transmission and cell recognition, and act as immune molecules. Proteins can be a source of energy.

Nucleic acids - DNA and RNA. These molecules carry genetic information and also form structures inside cells. They participate in the storage of all the genetic information of organisms in the transformation of this data into proteins.

What are saccharides?

Saccharides are another name for carbohydrates. They consist of two main compounds: aldehydes (double-bonded carbon and oxygen atoms, plus a hydrogen atom) and ketones (double-bonded carbon and oxygen atoms, and two additional carbon atoms).

There are different types of saccharides, such as monosaccharides, disaccharides, and polysaccharides.

 

Monosaccharides

These are simple carbohydrates that dissolve easily in water. These include glucose, galactose, fructose. When we talk about blood sugar, we are talking about glucose, which is the main source of energy for the cell.

Galactose is present in milk and dairy products, and fructose - mainly in vegetables and fruits.

Disaccharides

Disaccharides are two monosaccharide molecules linked to each other. These complex organic compounds include lactose, maltose, and sucrose. If you connect one glucose molecule with a fructose molecule, you get a sucrose molecule.

Sucrose is present in large quantities in regular table sugar. It is often formed as a result of photosynthesis. If you bind one molecule of glucose with a molecule of galactose, you get lactose, which is usually found in milk.

Polysaccharides

Polysaccharides are chains of two or more monosaccharides. It can be branched (a molecule looks like a tree with branches and twigs) or unbranched (a molecule in the form of a straight line). Chains of polysaccharide molecules can consist of thousands of monosaccharides. There are several types of polysaccharides: glycogen, starch, cellulose.

 

Carbohydrates and nutrition

Now that we have understood a little about carbohydrates, let's talk about how these biomolecules are related to human nutrition.

Carbohydrates, which are the most common source of energy for many organisms, are found in large quantities in bread, pasta, beans, potatoes, rice, and cereals. Almost all of these products contain a large amount of starch. Officially, carbohydrates are not considered essential nutrients for humans. In principle, we can get all the energy we need from fats and proteins. However, our brain needs carbohydrates, specifically glucose, because neurons cannot burn fat.

• One gram of carbohydrates contains approximately 4 kilocalories
• One gram of protein contains approximately 4 kilocalories
• There are approximately 9 kilocalories in one gram of fat

Not all carbohydrates are used as energy. Many dietary fibers are made of polysaccharides that cannot be digested by the human body.

If you ask a doctor how much energy a person should get from carbohydrates, he will tell you that about 40-65%. Only 10% of energy a person should receive from simple carbohydrates (for example, glucose)

High or low carb?

From time to time, "sensational" statements by scientists or nutrition experts appear in the media, calling for "avoid all fats" or "avoid carbohydrates." In fact, carbohydrates will always be an integral part of any diet, any human diet.

In most developed countries, obesity has already reached epidemic proportions in recent years. Evidence can be given that in order to fight excess weight, it is necessary to abandon foods with a large amount of carbohydrates. After that, you can provide other evidence, with references to research by scientists, that to lose weight you need to include foods with carbohydrates in your diet.

However, one cannot ignore the factors associated with the obesity epidemic:

• Lack of physical activity
• Insufficient sleep
• Eating unhealthy food
• Consumption of food additives, dyes, flavor enhancers
• Stress

In China, India, Brazil, and Mexico, due to changes in people's lifestyles, obesity rates have risen rapidly. But a few decades ago, carbohydrates made up a larger share of the food of the inhabitants of these countries.

In the past, for example, Brazilians used less unhealthy food, ate more natural products, and slept more. Therefore, it is incorrect to associate the problem of the increase in the number of obese people only with a very large or very small amount of any substance in products, as it happens, for example, in the case of carbohydrates. In reality, the problem of the obesity epidemic is much more complex.

 

Blood sugar level

Carbohydrates in the body are broken down into glucose, which then enters the bloodstream, raising blood sugar levels. As a result, the pancreas secretes the hormone insulin. It causes our cells to absorb sugar, due to which its level in the blood decreases.

Insulin together with glucagon, which is also secreted in the pancreas, help maintain normal glucose levels. If blood glucose levels rise too quickly, cells can stop responding properly to insulin. The body needs more and more insulin - resistance to it develops.

As a result, beta cells, which have to produce increased amounts of insulin for many years, wear out. After some time, the production of insulin in the body drops or stops altogether, and a person develops a number of diseases.

Blood sugar levels can be regulated with the help of natural carbohydrates found in whole grains, legumes, fruits and vegetables, as well as with at least moderate exercise and good sleep.

Glycemic index

Carbohydrates in the form of glucose enter the blood at different speeds. So, carbohydrates with a high glycemic index enter the blood quickly, and with a low one - slowly. For health, of course, it is better when the glucose level rises slowly. To do this, you need to eat foods with a low glycemic index (whole grain bread, fresh vegetables and fruits, rice, barley, etc.).

If you are overweight and want to lose weight, you should give preference to foods with slowly digestible carbohydrates. And do not forget about healthy sleep and regular physical exercises.