 Carbohydrates, also called glucides, are substances composed by carbon and water. They are mainly contained in food of vegetable origin. The simplest glucides have a sweet taste and the greek etymon "glucos" just means sweet.
They are essential constituents of our body.
Primary source of energy, they are crucial for the nervous system and they also have a plastic function (allow the construction of new living matter).
According to the chemical structure, carbohydrates are divided into: monosaccharides, oligosaccharides and polysaccharides.
The mono- and oligosaccharides, commonly called sugars, are simple carbohydrates.
From the nutritional point of view the most important monosaccharide is glucose.
In particular, glucose is the form in which the other sugars must be processed to be useful to the body.
Glucose is absorbed quickly and circulates in the blood in a concentration that is kept constant by a complex set of factors (insulin, physical activity, nutrition, stress…).
This concentration is called glycaemia and in pathological conditions may result in serious disturbances.
The oligosaccharides derive from the combination of molecules (2 to 10) of monosaccharides.
The most important oligosaccharide is the saccharose (cane sugar or beet sugar).
The polysaccharides are chains of monosaccharides and differ in vegetable ones (starches and fibres) and animal ones (glycogen).
The most important polysaccharide is starch.
In the last decade to the Mediterranean diet, very rich in carbohydrates, people have preferred some food models low in carbohydrates.
For the body the consequences of an extreme reduction of carbohydrates are serious as those that are associated with an excessive consumption.
Aiming at a right balance, let’s try to:
- prefer fibres, that are contained in vegetables and in fruits (but pay attention at the sugary ones);
- watch our eating with the starches, contained in bread, pasta and rice:
- limit ourselves with food containing sugar or glucose syrup, with sweets in one word, that, however, become totally recommended after an intense sport.
arininchi
19/08/2008
alimentazione 
crescere un bambino 
salute 
|
Read, play and have fun! 
