Carbohydrates

CARBOHYDRATES IN OUR DIET

As I talked briefly about protein in my last post, I thought I would quickly mentioned the other big buzz word to do with diets. Carbohydrates, What are they ?  do I need them ? where do we get them ?

What are carbohydrates ? Without going into to much detail and writing a book on them, put simply carbohydrates are sugars and starches that basically provide our bodies with energy. The liver then breaks the carbs down into glycogen which is stored and used as our bodies need it.

Do I need them ? Yes we do need them to function how we were made to, without enough carbs we are going to feel tired mentally and physically. We need to get the right amount of carbs for our bodies to be fueled properly. The average persons carbohydrate intake should be approximately between 50 to 70% of there diet.  This will vary according to every individuals exercise activity, but 50 to 70% is a rough guide. If you are an athlete then you made need a bit more than this. If you were an athlete you would probably have access to a nutritionist for advice on the right amount of carbs you should be consuming for the level of your sport.

So where do we get these carbohydrates ? Well there are 2 types of carbs, the simple carbs which our bodies will absorb quickly and these are found in fruit, white bread, pasta and cakes. The best of these simple carbs is fruit especially if you are counting the calories. So don’t rush out and buy loads of cakes to get your simple carbs because you will also be getting lots of calories to grow that waistline and no other nutritional benefit. Complex carbs take a longer time for our bodies to digest and these are found in foods such as potatoes, vegetables, brown rice and whole grain foods.

So carbohydrates are quite important for us to consume as we all need energy to get through our normal everyday lives. But again I think if we are all eating a healthy balanced diet we should be consuming the right foods for a normal intake of carbs needed for our body to function how it is supposed to.