Goals: Exercise Recovery & Repair | Lean & Ripped | Muscle Mass & Strength | Performance Enhancement | Weight Loss

“Carbohydrates are a staple of most diets, they aren’t all good or all bad.”

Carbohydrates are so named, because they contain carbon (explaining the ‘carbo’ part of the name), and hydrogen and oxygen in the same ratio as in water (water = hydro hence hydrated carbon = carbohydrates). However, the definition is incomplete as this leaves some (less important) carbohydrates out. Carbohydrates are divided chemical structurally into four types:

1. Monosaccharides
2. Disaccharides
3. Oligosaccharides
4. Polysaccharides

Monosaccharides (’simple sugars’)
Monosaccharides are compounds which cannot be hydrolyzed into simpler carbohydrates. For example: Glucose, Fructose and Galactose

Disaccharides
When hydrolyzed (digested in the intestines), a disaccharide molecule yields two molecules of monosaccharides thus; Maltose - 1 molecule of glucose + 1 molecule of glucose Sucrose - 1 molecule of glucose + 1 molecule of glucose Lactose - 1 molecule of glucose + 1 molecule of glucose Maltose does not occur naturally in the body but occurs as a product of digestion of starch. Lactose occurs in milk and sucrose is found in sugar cane, sweet potato, beet and so on.

Oligosaccharides
Oligosaccharides are compounds which on hydrolysis yield more than 2 but less than 7 molecules of monosaccharides

Polysaccharides
On hydrolysis , a polysaccharide molecule yields very large number (hundreds or even thousands) of monosaccharide molecules. For example: Glycogen, starch, cellulose, inulin.
All complex sugars are broken down into disaccharides in the GI Tract. Glucose, fructose and galactose are the three monosaccharides which are absorbed. Conversely, monosaccharides are converted into polysaccharide glycogen in the liver for storage. It’s to remember that excepting glucose no other form of monosaccharide is found in the blood. Glucose undergoes breakdown to provide energy for various functions in the body.
There are many hormones involved in regulation of blood sugar level:

1. Insulin
2. Glucagon
3. Growth Hormone
4. Cortisol
5. Adrenalin
6. Thyroid hormones
7. Estrogen (Partly)

Out of which only insulin is of interest to us (for right now). I will be explaining the importance of hormones and how to tweak them in the coming articles.

Insulin facilitates the entry of glucose into the cells of the body (muscles, body organs etc) insulin paves the way for the subsequent metabolization and utilization of glucose. It is well known that insulin is a member of a family of physiologically important compounds. Some well known members of the family are IGF1 and IGF2.

IGFs promote growth. Insulin has a remarkable growth promoting activity. There are various other functions that insulin performs like metabolism of Protein, Fats, Nucleic acid and Minerals. But we would stick to carbohydrate metabolism for now. Actions on metabolism:

1. Reduction of blood sugar levels and thus synthesis of glycogen in the tissues
2. It inhibits synthesis of glycogen from sources other than glucose
3. Insulin enhances peripheral utilization (oxidation) of glucose, causing blood sugar to fall
4. It prevents breakdown of glycogen

Protein Sparing Effect: The non essential amino acids can be synthesized provided the raw materials are available in the body. Intermediaries of glucose and fatty acids are such raw materials and the amine group can be obtained from transamination and deamination processes. Therefore, excess carbohydrates (the right ones!!) and fats (again the right ones!!) can reduce the need of food proteins. For this reason , carbohydrates and fats are called ‘protein sparers’.

Carbohydrates are a staple of most diets, they aren’t all good or all bad. Polysaccharides and Oligosaccharides promote health while monosaccharides and disaccharides, when eaten often and in large quantities, actually increase the risk for diabetes and coronary heart disease. As said earlier, disaccharides, monosaccharides included sugars such as fruit sugar (fructose), corn or grape sugar (dextrose or glucose), and table sugar (sucrose). Polysaccharides and Oligosaccharides (Complex carbohydrates) included everything made of three or more linked sugars. Simple sugars were considered bad and complex carbohydrates good. The picture is much more complicated than that.

As discussed earlier, the gastrointestinal tract handles all carbohydrates in much the same way - it breaks them down (or tries to break them down) into single sugar molecules, since only these are small enough to cross into the bloodstream. It also converts most digestible carbohydrates into glucose. But what tags them good or bad is the speed with which they are absorbed and the subsequent rise of insulin in order to control the glucose riot. The factor which tells us the speed of absorption of glucose from various carbohydrate sources and thus, the absorption of glucose into the working tissues or storage as fat, is called Glycemic Index (GI). To explain glycemic index, I would use the example of a speed-o-meter, imagine every carb meal comes with a speed-o-meter. This speed-o-meter dictates the speed with which the glucose will be obtained from the food article and absorbed into blood. In scientific term what is called glucose over spillage is when you eat excess of High Glycemic carbs, which suddenly reach into the blood. This causes an insulin spike, Since it is too much work for the insulin to control the raging ‘glucose riot’ body turns to desperate measures.

In order to clear the blood insulin starts doing whatever it can, storing this glucose into the tissues (as explained earlier, this included adipose tissue) and thus turning fit into fat and fat to ultrafat. Now this would suggest only eating carbs with low GI which is again not true. I always say “it’s not what you eat but when you eat”. It is recommended to eat low GI carbs through the day but high glycemic carbs post workout when your muscles are crying like a crack addict looking for a fix. The body stores all the high glycemic carbs as muscle glycogen in the golden hour after the workout, when you should have at least 100gm simple carbs and enough protein to your requirement (30gms min.)

Another term recently introduced is Glycemic Load(GL), this is the amount of carbs a particular food contains, e.g. Potato Fries (4oz) contain 33 gms of carbs, compared to 100gms of Brown bread contains 68 gms. So, Brown bread has a higher GL.

Other factors that influence how quickly the carbohydrates in food raise blood sugar include:

• Ripeness. Ripe fruits and vegetables tend to have more sugar than unripe ones, and so tend to have a higher glycemic index.
• Fiber content. Fiber hangs on to the starchy carbohydrates in food and delays immediate and swift attack by digestive enzymes. This slows the process of release of glucose into the bloodstream.
• Form of starch. Starch comes in many different arrangements. Some are easier to break into sugar molecules than others. The starch in potatoes, sweet potatoes, beet root for example, are digested and absorbed into the bloodstream relatively quickly.
• Physical structure. Finely ground grains are more hurriedly digested, and thus have a higher glycemic index, than more thickly ground grain.
• Fat/acid content. The more fat or acid a food contains, the slower its carbohydrates are converted to sugar and absorbed into the bloodstream.

Sources of High/ Medium and Low GI Foods:
http://www.mendosa.com/gilists.htm can help you find out GI and GL of your favorite foods. Happy eating and exercising,

Approved by Mandeep Sodhi, Fitness Consultant and Personal Trainer