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Carbohydrate
Digestion
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Carbohydrates are natural organic substances including sugars, starch and cellulose. Carbs provide energy to the body. "Sugar" is not bad for health, and starches do not have always bad effects on blood glucose and lipids. So, it is not right to say that carbohydrates only have bad effects on our body. The digestion of a particular carbohydrate depends upon the complexity of the carb's molecular structure - the more complex this structure is, the harder the digestive system works to break it down in order to absorb it into the bloodstream. |
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The new theory about carbohydrate digestion and absorption has completely changed the way people used to think about dietary carbohydrates. It has been found that starches are not digested completely, and such indigestible carbohydrates are neutral bulking agents.
Carbs can be divided into four types; the first is monosaccharide, like glucose which is found in corn sugar, fructose that is found in fruit sugar and galactose; these type of carbs are rapidly digested; the second type of carb is disaccharides, like sucrose which is found in table sugar, lactose that is found in milk sugar and maltose; these are digested quite quickly. |
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The third type of carbs is polysaccharides, like starch, which takes long time to digest; and the fourth & the most complex carbs is cellulose which is indigestible plant fiber. The speed of
digestion is determined by the chemical nature & resistance
level of the carbohydrate. For example, a simple sugar is
much less resistant than a starch, and is metabolized or
digested much faster.
There are two types of carbohydrates: natural and manmade.
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Natural carbs are slow digesting carbs, but still it is
recommended to consume these carbs as they are a gift
bestowed on us by nature. Being
natural, they definitely serve as a better choice for deriving energy.
Natural carbs are a reservoir of fiber and nutrients. Some of the good
sources of natural carbs are wild rice, beans, fruits and red potatoes. Man made
carbs get digested quickly compared to natural carbs, as they hit the
bloodstream faster than the natural carbs. |
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The reason that can
be attributed to this fact is that the more the number of
processing steps a carb food has to go through, the more easily it gets digested in the
body. Man made carbs tend to trigger insulin release and the result is
that excess carbs get converted and then eventually get accumulated on
the body in the form of fats. Examples of man made fast digesting carbs
are white bread, white rice, mashed potatoes, cold cereals, fruit juices
etc. |
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