Which one has the lowest amount of carbs? This bread roll? That bowl of rice? Or maybe this soda bottle? This is a trick question. While they might differ in terms of fats as well as vitamins and other nutritional elements but when it comes to carbohydrates, they’re pretty exactly the same. What exactly does this translate to your food habits? The first thing to note is that carbohydrate is the term used to describe the nutritional grouping of sugars and other molecules which your body breaks down to create sugars.
Carbohydrates can be simple, or complex, depending the structure they have. It is a simple monosaccharide, also known as sugar. Glucose (glucose), fructose (fruco galactose are sugars that are basic. Combine two of them and you’ll have lactose, disaccharide sucrose, or maltose. Complex carbohydrates are, on the other hand are composed of the presence of three sugars that are simple linked together.
Complex carbohydrates that have up to ten linked sugars are called oligosaccharides. If they have more than ten, they are polysaccharides. In the process of digestion your body breaks down these complex carbohydrates into monosaccharide building blocks. These are the ones that your cells use to generate energy.
When you consume any carbohydrate-rich meal your sugar levels of your blood which is usually around a teaspoon, will go up. However, your digestive tract does not respond to all carbs in the same way. Take fiber and starch, both polysaccharides that both originate from plants. They’re both made of hundreds or thousands of monosaccharides bonded together but joined differently, and this alters the impact they exert on the body.
When it comes to starches that the plants primarily store energy in the seeds and roots sugar molecules are joined to each other by alpha linkages, the majority of which are easily removed by enzymes within the digestive tract. In fiber, however the bonds that connect monosaccharide molecules have beta bond that your body is unable to break into pieces. Fiber also holds starches, which prevents their cleavage to form what’s known as resistant starch.
Therefore, foods that are high in starch like crackers or white bread, digest quickly, quickly releasing large amount in glucose to your bloodstream. This is just as when you drink something that is high in sugar, such as soda. These food items have a high glycemic indice, which is the degree to which a food increases the level of sugar of your blood. White bread and soda have the same glycemic index due to their similar effect on blood sugar.
When you consume food rich in fiber, such as fruits, vegetables and whole grains these indigestible beta-bonds reduce down the release glucose in your blood. These foods have lower glycemic index and food items like eggs cheese, meats, and eggs have the lowest Glycemic Index. When sugar is transferred through the digestive tract into the bloodstream the body goes into the process of transferring it to your tissues, where it will be processed and utilized for energy.
Insulin, a hormone produced by the pancreas, is among the primary tools used by the body to manage controlling sugar levels. If you eat, when your sugar level increases it releases insulin into your blood. It triggers your muscles as well as fat cells release glucose and accelerates the conversion of sugar into energy. The extent that a particular unit of insulin reduces blood sugar levels helps us to determine the sensitivity of insulin.
The more a particular unit of insulin decreases blood sugar levels, the more sensitive to insulin. When insulin sensitivity decreases it’s referred to in the medical field as insulin resistance. The pancreas is still able to send insulin, but the cells including muscle cells become less and less sensitive to it. As a result, blood sugar levels don’t drop as the level of insulin in blood continues to rise.
Constantly consuming large amounts of carbohydrates can cause resistance to insulin, and many researchers believe that the condition can lead to a severe condition known as metabolic syndrome. This is characterized by a variety of symptoms that include the presence of high blood sugar, an increased waist circumference and elevated blood pressure. This can increase the risk of developing diseases, such as heart illness and diabetes type II. Its prevalence is growing across the globe.
It is estimated that 32 percent of the population in the U.S. has metabolic syndrome. So let’s get back to your diet. If your food tastes like a sweet treat or isn’t, it is sugar, and having too many carbs could be an issue. It’s possible that you’ll need to skip the spaghetti sushi roll pita donut sandwich.
