Understanding Carbohydrates

Carbohydrates or commonly referred to as carbs in many sectors have certainly enjoyed the center stage when it comes to news and opinions especially within the diet and bodybuilding sectors. The main problem is that one may take an opinion based on carbohydrates as the truth when it may not necessarily be as true as the author may well lead us to believe.

From a factual perspective carbohydrates are organic compounds that consist of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen, and are a food based source of energy for the body and all living organisms. Additionally the nutrients derived from carbohydrates are not essential for human beings, and alternative sources of energy can be accessed, such as that of protein and fats. Although the mere mention of that will certainly spark debate amongst a variety of industry players with respect to carbohydrates themselves. In having mentioned that it is also true that people do in fact prefer carbohydrates as a form of energy, and one of the main advantages of this source of energy is that these nutrients can be a source of fiber and energy for the body, especially when considering the variety of unrefined plant foods, which also lack the fat content of processed and many protein related foods.

Carbs are essentially described by the chemist as macronutrients made up of or consisting of simple and double sugars being that of Monosaccharides and Disaccharides respectively, with the additional make up consisting of Polysaccharides, which are essentially starch and fiber. One of the main compositions, within monosacharides here is that of glucose , which is required by most cells in the body as a fuel source; in terms of the human brain and central nervous system, glucose is the exclusive source of energy. In so far as the disaccharides component is concerned within carbohydrates, the most well known component is that of sucrose which is processes within the digestive process into fructose and glucose. And when considering the polysaccharides we come across three important elements for nutrition of the human body, which include starch, glycogen and fibers. The main aspect being that of glycogen for humans, as it acts as the storage for the energy which is utilized by the human body. The starch aspect provides that these polysaccharides are made up of hundreds of glucose units, which when broken down are used within the energy requirements of the body, with the fibers mainly consisting of chains of polysaccharides that cannot be broken down by the digestive system and will pass through the body with providing little to no nutritional value.

Based upon the above analysis of what and how the body uses these nutrients one can certainly deduce that this macro nutrient is indeed necessary and beneficial to the human body, however the key importance here is that moderation is exercised within the intake thereof. This may be especially true in the case of not getting any significant exercise or workouts, however for those utilizing excessive energy within their exercising routines can certainly afford a higher intake.

Carbohydrates are certainly a highly debated macro nutrient and food type, which can be viewed from various opinions. Visit Sport and Supplements for more information on and proven products within this nutrition category.

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