It's no secret that any, even the most gastronomically sophisticated and exotic food can be decomposed into components, the common name of which is macronutrients. Their list is very short and well known:
- proteins;
- fats
- carbohydrates.
In addition, each product in various proportions contains water, vitamins and minerals. It is in such a disassembled form that food is absorbed by the body. Each meal, depending on the percentage of macronutrients, has a different effect on human well-being. The thing is that each "brick" has its own function and serves different purposes. This article will examine in more detail carbohydrates and their functions.
Foods with high energy value are often associated with calories. Recently, it is fashionable to exclude carbohydrate-containing foods from the diet, since it is believed that this way calorie intake is reduced. Of course, there is some truth in this approach. Especially if you are a professional athlete. However, first things first.
So what are carbohydrates?
The main function of these macronutrients is energy. Being a kind of battery for the body, carbohydrates help maintain vital activity, due to the energy from their splitting, the work of all body systems is carried out. It is known that splitting 1 g of carbohydrates gives the body 4 kcal. The same amount enters the body when splitting 1 g of fat. However, much less energy is spent on splitting long chains of monosaccharide derivatives, which makes it easier for the body to “burn” 1 g of carbohydrates than 1 g of fat from the supply.
Carbohydrates, depending on the molecular structure or, more simply, the length of the molecular chain, are divided into simple and complex.
What are simple carbohydrates?
Two types are known to science: monosaccharides and disaccharides. Among monosaccharides, the most common and found in free form in nature are glucose and fructose. They are contained in freshly squeezed juices, fruits. The chain of monosaccharides, as the name suggests, is the simplest, which contributes to their rapid absorption by the body. The formula of disaccharides (sucrose, maltose, lactose) is a chain of residues from several monosaccharides. Disaccharides are found in dairy products (lactose), sugarcane (sucrose) and in some cereals (maltose).
What are complex carbohydrates?
Their other name is polysaccharides, they consist of several thousand monosaccharide residues, that is, they have a long and branched chain of simpler carbohydrates. The most famous representatives of this group are pectin, cellulose, starch and glycogen. Carbohydrates of this group in the initial form by the body are not absorbed. Splitting them into simple and easily digestible forms requires significant energy costs. Some species (fiber) are not absorbed at all. This helps to use them as a stimulant of gastrointestinal activity and its purification from toxins. In addition, glycogen, for example, is a building material for the body (liver, muscles).
After we found out what carbohydrates are, it makes sense to return to the question of their usefulness to the body. Obviously, their complex forms are useful and even necessary for the proper functioning of the body due to the fact that they perform a building and nutritional function.
Due to the fact that polysaccharides break down with a high energy consumption and are absorbed more slowly, they are practically not stored as fat, because simply do not have time. Monosaccharides, on the other hand, assimilating much faster and entering directly into the blood, cause the so-called "carbohydrate jump", that is, dramatically increase energy. And their excessive consumption, in the absence of high energy consumption, leads to the processing of carbohydrates and their accumulation in the form of fat.
What carbohydrates are, you need to know to build proper nutrition. The use of complex and simple forms is necessary for the body, otherwise the processes (including mental ones) slow down, lethargy and apathy ensue.