CARBOHYDRATES

Carbohydrates are a group of nutrients known collectively as a macronutrient. It provides energy to the body and can be found in many everyday foods.

Like other macronutrients, such as fat and protein, carbohydrates are essential for a varied and balanced diet.

Types of Carbohydrates

The main types of Carbohydrates are:

  1. Starch – Foods high in starch include peas, beans, corn, potatoes, sweet potatoes and grain products.
  2. Fiber – Is essential for digestive health because it helps keep bowel movements regular. It also helps make you feel full and satisfied after eating. Fiber comes from plant-based foods such as whole grains, nuts, fruits, and vegetables.
  3. Sugars – Are sometimes called simple or fast-acting carbohydrates. It occurs naturally in foods like milk and fruits. These can also be found on processed food such as canned fruits, cookies, cakes, doughnuts, and muffins, candy, ice cream, breakfast cereals, non-diet sodas, sports drinks, and juices.

Importance

Carbohydrates play a major role in the following:

  • Supplies energy to the body.
  • Carbohydrates are essential for proper brain function.
  • Prevents the breakdown of proteins for energy. When there aren’t enough carbohydrates in the diet, protein is used like a back-up generator for energy. If that happens, protein will not be able to do their life-sustaining jobs like maintaining muscles and body tissues.
  • Helps with fat metabolism. Excess energies are stored as fat, the ones we used for emergency situation.

Deficiency & Excess

Lack of Carbohydrates usually happens for people that crash diet. This may result to different health problems, such as:

  • Ketosis- This allows to burn fats when there are not enough carbohydrates in the body and as part of the process, makes ketones. High levels of ketones can result to dehydration. It also changes the chemical balance in the blood.
  • Fatigue- Lack of Carbohydrates decreases the energy levels in the body that may cause you to get tired easily.
  • Loss of Sodium- Too much ketones can also lead to sodium excretion. Symptoms include muscle cramps, exhaustion, and lassitude.
  • Hypoglycemia- Sugar levels drop down because of the lack of Carbohydrates.
  • Acidosis- Production of ketoacids may increase acidity in blood and may result to damaging of the cells.
  • Mood swing- Lack of Carbohydrates in the diet may cause the brain to stop regulating the hormone Serotonin. Low supply of this hormone may effect in mood swings and depression.

Carbohydrates are known to the production of glucose (an energy source). Hence, it tends to affect your blood sugar level. Too much Carbohydrate intake would result to excessive production of glucose. This situation is believed to lead to Diabetes.

Diabetes occurs when your body can’t effectively regulate blood glucose levels. There are two main forms of diabetes:

  • Type 1 Diabetes– the body can’t produce the hormone insulin, which regulates blood glucose levels and lets the body use glucose for energy.
  • Type 2 Diabetes–the body doesn’t produce enough insulin or becomes unresponsive to it, so your blood glucose levels remain high.

Balanced diet, exercise, and medications may help treat Diabetes.

Other serious health problems causes by too much Carbohydrate affect proper function of your kidneys, nerves, and eyes.

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