Slow carbohydrates
One of the main carbohydrates that we need in nutrition are polysaccharides of vegetable origin, including starch. Some pseudo-scientific articles try to expose starch as the main culprit in weight gain. However, it is not. It is polysaccharides (including starch), in contrast to mono-, di- and other oligosaccharides, which are slowly absorbed from the gastrointestinal tract and allow us to work in a balanced manner for our metabolism. Starch refers to slow carbohydrates due to the fact that it is digested slowly enough and does not increase blood glucose levels as quickly as normal sugar does. The less processed the starch was subjected to before use (heating or the so-called modification), the better for our metabolism. That is why it is not recommended to cook too long vegetable products containing starch as the main source of nutritional value.
It is polysaccharides that are used in nutrition by the normal microflora of our intestines. It is starch found in cereals, vegetables and many fruits and gives them nutritional properties. And it was starch that constituted the main food of our ancestors for hundreds of thousands of years! Do not worry that you will gain weight from eating starch-containing foods ... With a properly formulated diet, carbohydrates (and in particular starch) should become the main energy suppliers. Thus, slow carbohydrates are our main energy suppliers for life.
Fast carbohydrates
As mentioned above, there is another kind of carbohydrates: mono- and disaccharides. These include ordinary sugar (sucrose, grape sugar), glucose, fructose, etc. Of these carbohydrates requires particularly careful control of disaccharide sucrose, which is on our table in the sugar bowl. Actually sucrose consists of two molecules - glucose and fructose and when digested in the digestive tract on them and disintegrates.
Sucrose is absorbed quickly and is able to saturate the blood with glucose, which does not always coincide with the physiological capabilities of our body. When glucose or fructose enters our body with food and in the absence of immediate need for them, we are able to translate their surpluses into a special polysaccharide of animal origin - glycogen. In cases where glycogen stores in our body are filled, the mechanism of transfer of glucose into fat is triggered. This situation can arise with the rapid absorption of these monosaccharides in the intestine, when the rate of their consumption by tissues and organs becomes less than the rate of its assimilation. Monosugars (glucose or fructose) are quickly absorbed, therefore they are called "fast carbohydrates".
In spite of the fact that fructose does not load the insulin mechanism of carbohydrate metabolism, but also like glucose is capable, when surplus pass into adipose tissue. The calories of glucose and fructose are exactly the same. That's why replacing sucrose (edible sugar) with fructose will not prevent obesity! In the US, switching to the use of fructose in place of sucrose provoked a sharp increase in the incidence of obesity at the end of the last century. Now you understand that both fructose and glucose are monosaccharides, which are easily and quickly absorbed into the blood - these are fast carbohydrates. Thus, the presence of fast carbohydrates in our diet is not desirable in large quantities. When studying the composition of the purchased products, you can see the presence of these components in it. Attention should also be paid to the content in the product of modified starch, which is already partially processed polysaccharide with a higher rate of digestion than natural.
The rate of digestion of carbohydrates is reflected in the so-called glycemic index of foods. It shows how quickly various foods can saturate our blood with carbohydrates.
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