Not all carbohydrates are created equally. Continuing my series on grossly oversimplifying FAQ:
This graph aims to explain the types of carbohydrates and how they effect the body.
Complexed: 🔷 Take a longer time for the body to break down, provide energy over a longer time.
🔷Soluble fiber: is soft and sticky, and absorbs water to form a gel-like substance inside the digestive system. It dissolves in water and aids digestion.
🔷Insoluble fibre: This is the type people think of as “roughage.” It’s the tough matter found in whole grains, nuts, and fruits and veggies (skins, stalks etc) that doesn’t dissolve in water and also aids digestion.
Sugars: 🔷 Sugars are simple carbohydrates, move quickly through the digestive system and provide a short, rapid burst of energy.
🔷Monosaccharides are the simplest, most basic units of carbohydrates and are made up of only one sugar unit.
🔷Disaccharides are just a pair of linked sugar molecules. They are formed when two monosaccharides are joined together
All carbohydrates provide the amount of same energy per gram just over different time frames.
There are no “bad” or “good” carbs. They just react differently in our bodies and provide energy in different ways.
As always this is a gross oversimplification with tonnes of underlying factors I’m not going into but should give you the basics.
If you’re finding these types of posts informative please let me know in the comments below and I’ll make them happen more often.
Love,
Belt.