The Importance of Carbohydrates in Our Diet

The human body runs on sugar or glucose. This is our main form of energy. Our bodies turn the food we eat into glucose and carbohydrates are the best source. This is because they convert more easily than fat or protein. This means we have to eat carbohydrates just to function, let alone maintain good health.

Simple and Complex

There are two types of carbohydrates – simple and complex. They are called simple carbohydrates because they are made up of one sugar. Some of them we already know: sucrose, which is white sugar; glucose, which is corn sugar; fructose, which is fruit sugar; maltose, which is found in beer. Complex carbohydrates were given the name because they are made of more than one type of sugar. The key difference is the time the body takes to break them down. Simple carbohydrates break down quickly, while the complex take longer.

Both types are important to our bodies and should be included in our diet. There are times when we need to pick up quickly, say after strenuous exercise. That is when we feel the benefits of simple carbohydrates. We get a surge of energy from them to help us keep going by replacing the energy we have lost. On the other hand, the complex type will sustain us longer because they are being converted into energy over longer period of time. The body still breaks them down into glucose, but it takes longer to do it.

Sugars In The Body

Carbohydrates simply convert to sugar. The sugars in the body, called saccharides, keep the cells healthy by communicating with one another. In fact, that is their main function. They are actually in all living things, such as plants, and there are around 200 of them in the human body. Human breast milk has a number of natural sugars, which underlines their importance. We need monosaccharides, which are sugars, to metabolize our food. Which means, if we do not get enough, our food is not broken down properly to the life-giving components we need.

We cannot underestimate the importance of carbohydrates in our diet. That is why low carbohydrate diets can be dangerous and can lead to health problems. It is much better to have a diet that has a balance of protein and carbohydrates.