The Role of Carbohydrates in Your Diet

Carbohydrates form the basis of much of the world's diet and they should be respected as the inimitable energy providers they are.

Carbohydrates are found in almost all plant products but they are not present in significant amounts in animal products, except milk. The prime objective of carbohydrates is to supply energy to the body. Once eaten they are broken down into glucose and used to fuel brain functioning and to power the lungs, heart, liver, nerves and kidneys, produce hormones and enzymes and produce new cells and remove old ones.

There are two basic types of carbohydrates: complex and simple. Complex carbohydrates are broken down slowly to release glucose into the blood over a long period of time. Examples of complex carbohydrates are cereals and grains, such as pasta, rice and mixed grains, and root vegetables such as potatoes and sweet potatoes. Simple carbohydrates are broken down relatively quickly and hence release larger amounts of glucose into the blood in a short period of time. Examples of simple carbohydrates are honey, malt, sugar and glucose itself.

Energy can be obtained from proteins and fats, but carbohydrates are a more reliable source for several reasons. Most importantly, proteins need to be 'spared' for bodily growth and repair. Good-quality carbohydrates are easier to break down and do not yield the side effects of a high-fat, high-protein diet, such as halitosis and flatulence.

Traditionally, carbohydrates were seen as either good (starches) or bad (sugars), but this simplistic view has been reassessed. Today, carbohydrates are divided into three groups:

• Monosaccharide's - These are single sugars such as glucose often found in sports energy drinks and fructose or fruit sugars.
• Disaccharides - These are double sugars such as sucrose. Put simply, mono- and disaccharides are sweet and soluble - seen when you dissolve sugar into hot drinks.
• Poly saccharides - Polysaccharides are more complex structures and are found in starches and fibers. They either store energy or can be broken down and used for digestion, passing through the body as roughage.