When we talk about carbohydrates in the diet, we're usually talking about foods that are rich in starch, and that is complex carbohydrate. And it is also known as polysaccharide. The name comes from the fact that
starchy foods are made up of many sugars. Poly meaning many and saccharide is another chemical name for sugars. And those sugars are linked together by chemical bonds.
Dietary carbohydrates are simple carbs, or simple sugars. The simplest simple sugars are called glucose.
Another kind of sugar is called fructose which is found in fruits. And the next one is galactose. These three are called monosaccharides,mono meaning one, and saccharide meaning sugar, so these are single sugars.
When glucose and fructose combined, or linked together, they form another kind of sugar called sucrose which is known as table sugar. Too much of this kind of sugar is not good for health.The other two unit sugar that you may have heard of is called lactose. And it's a combination of glucose and galactose. It's the sugar found in milk. And some people have a hard time digesting it.
These two sugars, sucrose and lactose, are examples of disaccharides or two unit sugars. Both of these types of carbohydrates give us energy. Now there's another type of carbohydrate, also a type of complex carbohydrate, that gives us no energy, because our bodies can't break it down. But it's important and it's called dietary fiber. There are two kinds of dietary fiber. They are soluble fiber and insoluble fiber.
Soluble fiber, you might've guessed it from the name, it dissolves in water. It's believed to support the health of the intestinal walls and it helps to regulate cholesterol levels. Insoluble fiber doesn't dissolve in water, but instead it absorbs water,like a sponge. Since it absorbs water, it acts as a stool softener. It prevents us from getting constipated. By the way, fiber is also a polysaccharide. But our bodies can't break these bonds, so
it doesn't give us any energy.
Now, both types of fiber are found in fruits and veggies. When we choose things like brown rice over white
rice, or when we choose whole grain bread over white bread, we're basically making a choice that increases
the amount of fiber that's connected to our starchy carbohydrates. And this is better for our health, and will also prevent us from getting hungry again too quickly. So it's a good thing to do. Go for the foods that are rich in fiber.
starchy foods are made up of many sugars. Poly meaning many and saccharide is another chemical name for sugars. And those sugars are linked together by chemical bonds.
Dietary carbohydrates are simple carbs, or simple sugars. The simplest simple sugars are called glucose.
Another kind of sugar is called fructose which is found in fruits. And the next one is galactose. These three are called monosaccharides,mono meaning one, and saccharide meaning sugar, so these are single sugars.
When glucose and fructose combined, or linked together, they form another kind of sugar called sucrose which is known as table sugar. Too much of this kind of sugar is not good for health.The other two unit sugar that you may have heard of is called lactose. And it's a combination of glucose and galactose. It's the sugar found in milk. And some people have a hard time digesting it.
These two sugars, sucrose and lactose, are examples of disaccharides or two unit sugars. Both of these types of carbohydrates give us energy. Now there's another type of carbohydrate, also a type of complex carbohydrate, that gives us no energy, because our bodies can't break it down. But it's important and it's called dietary fiber. There are two kinds of dietary fiber. They are soluble fiber and insoluble fiber.
Soluble fiber, you might've guessed it from the name, it dissolves in water. It's believed to support the health of the intestinal walls and it helps to regulate cholesterol levels. Insoluble fiber doesn't dissolve in water, but instead it absorbs water,like a sponge. Since it absorbs water, it acts as a stool softener. It prevents us from getting constipated. By the way, fiber is also a polysaccharide. But our bodies can't break these bonds, so
it doesn't give us any energy.
Now, both types of fiber are found in fruits and veggies. When we choose things like brown rice over white
rice, or when we choose whole grain bread over white bread, we're basically making a choice that increases
the amount of fiber that's connected to our starchy carbohydrates. And this is better for our health, and will also prevent us from getting hungry again too quickly. So it's a good thing to do. Go for the foods that are rich in fiber.
No comments:
Post a Comment