CARBS

WHAT ARE CARBOHYDRATES?

Carbohydrates are your primary resource for energy; they are very long chains of sub units called monosaccharides (e.g. glucose, fructose and galactose). These monosaccharides are the basic staple unit of energy. When two monosaccharides bond this gives a disaccharide (e.g. sucrose) and then when 3 or more monosaccharides bond this is a polysaccharide (e.g. starch and cellulose) Depending on the length of the chain of the carbohydrate this can give rise to a number of different functional properties in the body. The smaller the chain e.g. eating glucose in monosaccharide form is a much faster energy source than eating longer carbohydrate chains such as starch, the starch takes longer to break down in the body during digestion and so releases energy into your blood stream in smaller packets, giving a smaller insulin spike (we will discuss this later). Carbohydrates consist of carbon, oxygen and hydrogen molecules and the breaking of these bonds is what gives us the energy needed during respiration to exercise and move. Starch and cellulose are usually found in plants with the cellulose providing structural support and the starch its main source of energy. Glycogen is the long branched chain of glucose monosaccharides that animals primarily use as an energy source.

WHAT ARE INSULIN AND GLUCAGON?

Insulin and glucagon are two hormones circulating in your blood that both control blood sugar level. After consuming a heavy carbohydrate meal or an intake of pure glucose, your blood sugar levels increase dramatically and so to return levels to normal the body releases insulin from the pancreas. What the insulin does is it enables the cells in the body to take in this excess glucose from the blood and store it in your body cells as fat, this is then what gives rise to visual obesity. Glucagon however has the opposite effect and when blood sugar levels are low when exercising or dieting, this causes the liver to undergo a series of processes that causes the breakdown of fats to monosaccharides that can be released into the blood stream, this is what causes you to visually lose weight and fat and look better.

WHAT IS DIABETES?

Diabetes can fall under two categories. Type I Diabetes is when your pancreas cannot produce any insulin, this in turn then leads to glucose accumulating in the blood which can make it thick and gooey and in turn lead to a heart attack. This type of Diabetes is usually genetic and acquired at birth and requires constant drug suppression and treatments such as insulin needles to manage your blood sugar levels. Type II Diabetes however is caused by your own lifestyle, this is when your body does not react efficiently to the presence of insulin and so cell uptake of glucose from the blood is limited, or the pancreas simply does not produce enough insulin hormones. this can be carefully reversed and managed with good diet and exercise.

WHAT DO CARBOHYDRATES DO?

Carbohydrates once entered into the blood stream by digestion and absorption in the intestines undergo a process called aerobic respiration (aerobic - with oxygen, respiration - breakdown of glucose to provide energy in the form of ATP). Once the carbohydrates have been respired, every cell in your body receives this energy from breaking down the molecule and this in turn provides a special organelle (organ of a cell) known as the mitochondria with energy to synthesise ATP in order to power all of our living processes.

WHERE CAN I FIND CARBOHYDRATES?

Carbohydrates come in two forms, simple and complex. In order to maintain a good healthy diet you require a mixture of the two however if you consume too many simple carbohydrates (glucose, sugars) then your insulin levels will rise too high and you will store fat. If you eat complex carbohydrates then your insulin levels will remain at a healthy level and glucagon will be present in your blood to help break down your fatty deposits, so in terms of fat burning and health, complex carbs are a much better choice.

Simple:

Sugars, fruit juice, milks, honeys and syrups

Complex:

Oats, Brown rice, cereals, skimmed milks, pasta, spaghetti

each carbohydrate may be given an 'glycaemic index', all this means is that the higher the number, the higher the production of insulin will be inside your body and so the higher the fat storage.

Low Glycaemic index = 55 or less: Beans, wheat, oats, vegetables all complex carbs
Medium glycaemic index = 56 to 59: Regular ice cream, banana, Wheat bread
High glycaemic index = 70 and above: White rice, bagels, potatoes

In all try to incorporate as many low GI foods as possible to reduce your insulin spike and promote glucagon production to aid fat loss