Carbohydrates food

The body requires a source of energy in order to function as the carbohydrates is the important as well as the basic source of energy.The term carbohydrates refers to a combination of organic compounds which made up of three elements namely carbon,hydrogen and oxygen.Carbohydrates are normally a plant based product.They are normally plant product food in the form of three types of compounds called sugars,starches and fibre.All these carbohydrates are made up of some basic simple units.A example of such basic unit is glucose.

As example the sugarcane which are commonly use in our house is made up of two basic units namely glucose and fructose.On the other hand if we talk about the complex carbohydrates,then it is fibre which is like the starch which is made up of a large number of basic units.The fibre which is a combination of glucose unit in cellulose.The type of carbohydrates which digest in human body such as sugar and starches are known as available carbohydrates and the carbohydrates like fibre which cannot digest in human body and comes out through stool is known as non available carbohydrates.

The main function of Carbohydrates are-:

     (a)    The main function of carbohydrates is to provide energy to human body.in a diet of normal middle class family,the 60 to 70 percent calories comes through Carbohydrates as it is the cheapest source of energy.It is required to note that 1gm of carbohydrates 04 kcal of energy.

    (b)   The carbohydrates help the protein to perform its basic role of body building.If we are not providing the sufficient carbohydrates to our body then our  protein intake goes for its secondary role which is to provide energy in our body.So if we take the sufficient required amount of carbohydrates to provide energy in human body then it support our protein intake to fulfill its role of body building as it is commonly known as the (protein) body building food.

   (c)    The sufficient intake of carbohydrates also help the fats to perform its function.If the carbohydrates intake is low then it forced the fats to break down into energy and if the carbohydrates intake is sufficient then the fat can easily perform its job.                                                                        

The digestion,absorption and utilisation of carbohydrates-:

     The digestion of carbohydrates start from our mouth.The saliva which are produced in our mouth contains an enzyme called amylase which is used to break the starch into smaller units.The main place where the carbohydrates digest in our body is small intestine.The main carbohydrate digesting enzyme present in the small intestine is an amylase which is secreted by the pancreas.These enzyme help to convert the starch in a smaller units.The next step in the digestion of carbohydrates which is in small intestine where the three main enzymes are found which are responsible for complete the process of digestion.These enzymes  used to break down the sugar into the simple basic units such as the glucose,fructose and galactose.

After this the bloodstream carry all the sugar unit to the various tissues and cells available in our body and then it directly converted into glucose.Some amount of glucose remains in the blood as blood sugar and is drawn upon by the body cells when it is needed.In our body the glucose is used or burnt in the form of energy.The extra glucose which is not burnt to release energy is converted in glycogen which is stored in the liver an muscles and when the excess amount of glycogen is stored in body then it stored in the form of fat.This glycogen is burnt and release energy in such condition when the intake of carbohydrates in the body is low.

The best carbs is fibre-:Fibre is a non available carbohydrates as obtained from plant product or  indigestible like cellulose.Fiber also helps in the easy elimination of unabsorbed food in the form of stool from the body.The fibre present in stool holds a lot of water which makes the stool softer and hence helps in their easy elimination.This fibre is useful for preventing or relieving constipation.So,it is important to eat a diet having a high amount of fibre such as brown rice,brown bread,green leaf vegetables etc.Fibre also help to prevention of many diseases like piles,diabetes and heart disease also.