Carbs - the body's most ideal source of energy. Easily converted into glucose (in comparison to protein and fat) for energy (ATP) in muscle contractions and everyday life. When carbs are broken down into glucose, it is either used immediately as energy, stored in your muscles as glycogen, or if in excess stored as additional fat. Having too many carbs will result in the additional excess which leads to more fat being stored around your body, as well as a spike in your blood sugar which can alter your energy levels and mood.
The basic unit of carbs is a single sugar molecule - which belongs to a family of molecules called Saacharides. From this, you can get monosaacharides (one sugar molecule), disaacharides (two sugar molecules), oligosaacharides (three to nine sugar molecules) and polysaacharides (ten or more sugar molecules).
The most important monosaacharide is Glucose - it's what your body uses for fuel as its one of the main sources of calories. There's also Fructose which is found in fruits and veg, and Galactose, which is Milk sugar. When the two monosaacharides Glucose and Galactose combine they form the disaacharide Lactose, which is found in mammal milk such as cow or breast milk. The disaacharide Sucrose is created when Glucose and Fructose combine. There's also Maltose which is formed when two Glucose molecules combine.
There are three types of carbs: Simple carbohydrates, Complex Carbohydrates and Fibres
Simple Carbohydrates
Also referred to as sugar, simple carbs have a basic structure of one or two units of sugar, and so are monosaacharides or disaacharides, and thus can be broken down fairly quickly in your body to be released as energy. Within simple carbs, you can have Refined or Unrefined sugars.
Refined sugars contain high energy density, but also contain excessive sugar, low-quality fats and little or no vitamins/minerals - these includes processed foods, fast food, white bread/pasta/rice and pastries
Unrefined sugars contain healthier vitamins and minerals, antioxidants and fructose/glucose/galactose - these include fruit, veg and quinoa
Consuming simple carbs spikes up your insulin, glucose and metabolic levels rapidly, which allows your body to conduct protein synthesis for your muscle quicker, so it's a good idea to consume simple carbs post workout.
Complex Carbohydrates
Also referred to as starch, the structure of these carbs is much more complicated as it consists of many units of sugar, and so are oligosaacharides or polysaacharides. As such, they take longer to break down into energy and so provide energy over a longer period of time slowly. This is beneficial for endurance athletes as they'll need energy for longer periods, or pre workout if you were training for a prolonged amount of time in the gym so that you don't fatigue quickly.
When you consume a carb, whether it be a Complex carb (oligosaacharide or polysaacharide) or a simple carb in the form of a disaacharide, specific enzymes are used to break these molecules down into single monosaacharides for your body to absorb. Amylase enzymes break down large polysaacharides in starch down to monosaacharides, where Lactase, Sucrase and Maltase break down Lactose, Sucrose and Maltose respectively into their monosaacharide form.
Fibre
Found in fruits, veg and beans, Fibre helps food move through your digestive system and is essential for a balanced diet, although it doesn't actually provide any energy like the other forms of carbs. Fibres can't be digested by the enzymes in your intestine, so they are excreted and help to decrease constipation.
To summarise:
Carbs are your body's main go-to source for energy, more so than fat and protein
A single sugar molecule is called a monosaacharide, and can combine to form other forms of saacharides
The three types of carbs are simple carbs, complex carbs and fibres
If you have any questions, send an e-mail to MOB FIT at mobfituk@outlook.com
Comments