Carb Commando - Complex Carbohydrates

Complex Carbohydrates

Complex carbohydrates in a nutshell

There are two basic forms of carbohydrates, comlex and simple. The simple carbs are made up of one, two, or three sugar units that are linked together to form single molecules. Complex carbohydrates, instead, are made up of hundreds or even thousands of sugar units. The simple kind can be recognized by their sweetness while complex carbohydrates are never sweet to the taste.

Complex carbohydrates can also in turn be divided into two main groups that are high fiber and low fiber. High fiber complex carbohydrates cannot be digested by the human digestive system as we do not have the enzymes to properly break down the cellulose. But we can, and should consume foods that are high in fiber like broccoli and lettuce. Eating these have been shown to lower risk of hypertension, cancer, arthritis, and diabetes. Low fiber food with complex carbohydrates are bananas, squash, tomatoes, allcereals and grains, potatoes, and rice.

Low-fiber complex carbs represent a threat to your health only if they are consumed to quantites that are too large and replace the calories that would ordinarily come from proteins. The types of carbohydrates you consume should depend on your health. Complex carbs that are high in fiber are great sources of necessary vitamins and minerals and some enzymes when they are eaten raw. Carbohydrates present a problem only when they are processed and stripped of their nutritional value and provide only empty calories.

Why reduce carbs?

A diet consisting of large amounts of carbs can cause the pancreas to produce huge amounts of insulin and if this happens over the course of years it can cause the insulin receptors in the body to become insulin resistant, which can lead to high blood sugar. high blood sugar is the result of massive amounts of sugar stored as fat and that leads to obesity. Too much insulin can also cause hypertension.

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