What is the glycemic index? In addition to choosing less monosaccharides and increasing the whole grains, a new tool for choosing the food you need has emerged over the past few years. It provides insight into the body’s use of carbohydrate, and more specifically, how quickly your blood sugar rises after the ingestion of a particular food.
Most carbohydrates are absorbed in a mono and disaccharide form. These mono and disaccharides are what impact the blood sugar level. As we digest these foods and break them down into their component parts, they reach the bloodstream at variable rates. This index measures how quickly your blood sugar rises after the ingestion of a particular carbohydrate.
Major studies indicate that those who eat a diet of high glycemic index carbohydrates have the greatest risk of many chronic diseases. That means that the carbohydrate in that food was thrown into the bloodstream at a rapid rate, and your body produces insulin to utilize that particular carbohydrate. Is it the carbohydrate or is it the insulin response? Most of the science says that if you eat a high glycemic index food, you’re going to have a significant increase in the amount of insulin that is produced.
We must know, however, that many factors influence this insulin increase. For example, white bread carbohydrates might reach the bloodstream quickly, but when I make a hamburger with it, it is going to leave the stomach slowly, and hence exhibiting a lower glycemic index response. Also, the organization of the carbohydrate influences it.
Foods such as oatmeal, most whole grains, non-tropical fruits (apples and pears, for example), legumes, dry beans and peas have a lower glycemic index. Think about it this way: the more hands touched it, in general, the higher the glycemic index.
Many studies are looking at the relationship between high glycemic index foods and chronic diseases. There is enough evidence out there. Fresh fruits, vegetables and whole grains are going to help you maximize the benefits of carbohydrates.
Is there a time when a high glycemic index food is desirable? Absolutely. There are times in the athletic world, for example, where they want that carbohydrate to get back in that muscle as fast they can. Why? Maybe they want to run another race in 2 hours. Sports drinks have a relatively high glycemic index. At that point in time, athletes are mostly interested in their performance.
Those who eat a diet with a high glycemic index as a chronic diet, meaning that you’re not using it for athletic performance but it is just the food choice that you make, you’re going to have more issues with chronic illnesses. These include obesity, heart disease, type 2 diabetes and even cataracts.
Showing posts with label carbohydrates. Show all posts
Showing posts with label carbohydrates. Show all posts
Monday, March 8, 2010
Friday, March 5, 2010
What are Carbohydrates
What are carbohydrates? In our culture, carbohydrates are considered malign nutrients. They are, however, nutritional powerhouses, and our bodies have many mechanisms for coping with having inadequate amounts of them. They are central to our human physiology. First and foremost, carbohydrate is the exclusive fuel of your brain and the first choice for exercising muscle.
Let’s review a little of the history of our food supply. Back in the early 1900’s, we ate a lot of carbohydrate, about 500 grams per day. A slice of bread is 15 grams of carbohydrate, so, you may note that 500 grams is a lot! I'm sure that back then people were more physically active. Whole grains dominated the carbohydrate supply. It was from whole wheat bread, brown rice and whole oats that those carbohydrates came.
There was a steady decline of whole grains until the early 1960’s. They were essentially disappearing from the American dinner plate. Why was that the case? We began refining carbohydrates. “Refining” means to take away outer bran layer. This began in the 1940’s.
In the 1960’s, we started to see total carbohydrate consumption to rise again. Instead of whole grain, however, we began to eat highly processed sweetened foods. Since the early 1900’s the consumption of sweeteners has increased substantially.
This shift in the American food landscape has been associated with the development of some chronic diseases, most notably type 2 diabetes. Is it the carbohydrate or is it the form of it?
Let’s get to some carbohydrate basics. What are carbohydrates? Carbohydrates are made up of three elements: carbon, hydrogen and oxygen. Carbohydrates in foods exist in multiple forms, from the most simple to the more complex. How they are categorized depends on how many glucose or sugar units are contained within it.
What are the simple carbohydrates? These are termed simple sugars or monosaccharides. On your food label they are going to be listed sugars. The most important monosaccharides in human nutrition are glucose, lactose and fructose. Most monosaccharides don’t exist in simple form in food. It’s the disaccharides that are found in food, they are: sucrose (table sugar), maltose (malt sugar) and lactose (milk sugar).
If you look at a carton of milk it would tell you that each serving of milk has 12 grams of sugar. That is not sugar added by the manufacturer, but the sugar of the milk itself: lactose. These disaccharides are two monosaccharides stuck together.
Complex carbohydrates are known as Polysaccharides. Poly means many (20 or more sugar units stuck together). Given the length of the compound, it takes longer physiologically to break those molecules down into their component parts. The carbohydrates that go to your blood have to be in a monosaccharide form. The digestion of that long complex carbohydrate takes a longer time.
Breads, cereals and fruits are mostly complex carbohydrates. Mono and disaccharides are also found in these foods in less amounts. The carbohydrate content of a slice of white bread and a slice of whole grain bread are actually the same. The content is the same, but they behave differently. Keep in mind also that not all the nutrients that are lost in the refining of that grain are replaced. The two that stand out are fiber and magnesium. We can look at big public health surveys that suggest that more magnesium in your diet, the less type 2 diabetes you have.
What are the functions of carbohydrates? The primary function of carbohydrate is to serve as an energy source. It is the high-octane fuel that your body prefers for your brain. It has 4 calories a gram. Fat is also a valuable supply of energy, but carbohydrate is needed to burn that fat completely. In the absence of carbohydrate, breakdown of fat is incomplete and so-called ketone bodies are formed. Ketones are like the waste products of an inefficient car engine. They cause nausea, stomachache and other awful things.
An often forgotten role of carbohydrate it’s protein sparing. Carbohydrates spare protein so it can do its own unique function. Carbohydrates protect or bodyguard protein. It protects it so it can build and repair tissue. When there is inadequate energy in the form of carbohydrate, some protein would be broken down to satisfy the energy need for basal metabolic rate.
Why is protein broken down and not fat? Because protein can serve as a source of carbohydrate. Protein can be sent to the liver and turned into carbohydrate if your intake is too low. I’m really serious when I say that your body needs carbohydrates for optimal functioning. In the absence of them, your body has a default plan: to send that valuable lean mass to the liver to turn it into carbohydrate.
Let’s review a little of the history of our food supply. Back in the early 1900’s, we ate a lot of carbohydrate, about 500 grams per day. A slice of bread is 15 grams of carbohydrate, so, you may note that 500 grams is a lot! I'm sure that back then people were more physically active. Whole grains dominated the carbohydrate supply. It was from whole wheat bread, brown rice and whole oats that those carbohydrates came.
There was a steady decline of whole grains until the early 1960’s. They were essentially disappearing from the American dinner plate. Why was that the case? We began refining carbohydrates. “Refining” means to take away outer bran layer. This began in the 1940’s.
In the 1960’s, we started to see total carbohydrate consumption to rise again. Instead of whole grain, however, we began to eat highly processed sweetened foods. Since the early 1900’s the consumption of sweeteners has increased substantially.
This shift in the American food landscape has been associated with the development of some chronic diseases, most notably type 2 diabetes. Is it the carbohydrate or is it the form of it?
What are Carbohydrates? Simple and Complex Ones
Let’s get to some carbohydrate basics. What are carbohydrates? Carbohydrates are made up of three elements: carbon, hydrogen and oxygen. Carbohydrates in foods exist in multiple forms, from the most simple to the more complex. How they are categorized depends on how many glucose or sugar units are contained within it.
What are the simple carbohydrates? These are termed simple sugars or monosaccharides. On your food label they are going to be listed sugars. The most important monosaccharides in human nutrition are glucose, lactose and fructose. Most monosaccharides don’t exist in simple form in food. It’s the disaccharides that are found in food, they are: sucrose (table sugar), maltose (malt sugar) and lactose (milk sugar).
If you look at a carton of milk it would tell you that each serving of milk has 12 grams of sugar. That is not sugar added by the manufacturer, but the sugar of the milk itself: lactose. These disaccharides are two monosaccharides stuck together.
Complex Carbohydrates
Complex carbohydrates are known as Polysaccharides. Poly means many (20 or more sugar units stuck together). Given the length of the compound, it takes longer physiologically to break those molecules down into their component parts. The carbohydrates that go to your blood have to be in a monosaccharide form. The digestion of that long complex carbohydrate takes a longer time.
Breads, cereals and fruits are mostly complex carbohydrates. Mono and disaccharides are also found in these foods in less amounts. The carbohydrate content of a slice of white bread and a slice of whole grain bread are actually the same. The content is the same, but they behave differently. Keep in mind also that not all the nutrients that are lost in the refining of that grain are replaced. The two that stand out are fiber and magnesium. We can look at big public health surveys that suggest that more magnesium in your diet, the less type 2 diabetes you have.
What are the functions of carbohydrates? The primary function of carbohydrate is to serve as an energy source. It is the high-octane fuel that your body prefers for your brain. It has 4 calories a gram. Fat is also a valuable supply of energy, but carbohydrate is needed to burn that fat completely. In the absence of carbohydrate, breakdown of fat is incomplete and so-called ketone bodies are formed. Ketones are like the waste products of an inefficient car engine. They cause nausea, stomachache and other awful things.
An often forgotten role of carbohydrate it’s protein sparing. Carbohydrates spare protein so it can do its own unique function. Carbohydrates protect or bodyguard protein. It protects it so it can build and repair tissue. When there is inadequate energy in the form of carbohydrate, some protein would be broken down to satisfy the energy need for basal metabolic rate.
Why is protein broken down and not fat? Because protein can serve as a source of carbohydrate. Protein can be sent to the liver and turned into carbohydrate if your intake is too low. I’m really serious when I say that your body needs carbohydrates for optimal functioning. In the absence of them, your body has a default plan: to send that valuable lean mass to the liver to turn it into carbohydrate.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)