Understanding nutrition - Sugars |
Neuropiraterie - Nutrition | |||
Écrit par NHA | |||
Jeudi, 24 Juin 2010 22:43 | |||
Tags NHAR2 - nutrition - sugar - diabetes - metabolic syndrome - glycemic index - glycemic load - fructose There are no translations available.
Understanding Sugars Basics about carbohydrates and the Glycemic Index
Common types of carbs are starches, sugars, cellulose, and gums. One of the basic foodstuffs (proteins, vitamins & minerals and fat are the others); carbohydrates are more readily used for energy production than are fats and proteins. Carbs can be classified as either a simple carbohydrate or a complex carbohydrate. Usually (but not always) their complexity determines the speed with which they can be broken down. Complex carbohydrates are foods of plant origin consisting of 3 or more simple sugars bound together. Compared to most monosaccharides, complex carbs require a prolonged enzymatic process for digestion and thus provide a slow, even and ideal flow of energy. This avoids fluctuations in glucose (blood sugar) levels which can affect energy. Complex carbs usually also contain fiber and many vitamins & minerals. (Fiber is mainly the indigestible type of complex carb (polysaccharide) that makes up plants' cell walls; cellulose, hemicellulose, pectin, and a variety of gums, mucilages, and algal polysaccharides. It is an important part of the diet that stimulates the gut and enhances digestion.)
Digested carbohydrate enters the circulatory system in the form of monosaccharides, primarily glucose. Before they can be absorbed into the bloodstream, polysaccharides and disaccharides must be broken down into monosaccharides by specific enzymes during the digestive process either in the gut or in the liver. Fructose and galactose There's been some confusion about fructose lately, with (false) claims that it could provoke metabolic syndrome in the same way sucrose (table sugar) does. However, there are a lot of misunderstandings about it: Galactose is also eventually converted to glucose in the liver.
GI is determined by consuming a food with 50 grams of carbohydrates and seeing how fast the blood sugar responds in the body, compared to how fast 3 tablespoons of pure glucose would respond in the same test subject. GI is effectively a measure of carbohydrate complexity, because it is based on carb-release speed in vivo. The body delays carb release in different foods by various means, so a food that is absorbed by the gut quickly doesn't necessarily have a fast release rate (for example fructose). GI does not take into account the "serving size" of each food and the amount of carbohydrates "one serving" contains. To work out the Glycemic Load of any food, use this formula:
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Mise à jour le Samedi, 15 Février 2014 12:28 |