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Carbohydrates are basic energy producers. They
come from a variety of foods like bread, pasta, rice, potatoes,
fruit and vegetables. These are complex carbohydrates
releasing energy into the bloodstream, our basic energy
providers. Other energy producers are cakes, sweets and sugar.
These are simple carbohydrates. All of these
foods break down into sugar to produce Glucose
for our fuel but some foods do it more quickly than others, e.g.,
cakes and sweets. If the energy from these foods is not used up
then it will be stored as fat.
If we work on
reducing the amount of quick releasing energy carbohydrates, we
will gain more valuable energy from our food as it slowly releases
the Glucose we need. An alternative way of rating
your Carbohydrates can be by their Glycemic Index.
This is the rate at which Carbohydrates are broken down into Glucose.
The higher the Glycemic rating the quicker the
Carbohydrate is broken down and therefore reaches
your bloodstream. When you pay attention to this there will in
turn be a drop in the level of insulin produced.
Insulin
stores incoming nutrients in appropriate cells. If we
didn't have Insulin then cells would not be fed
and they would starve to death. When we eat a lot of quickly absorbed
Carbohydrates and simple sugars, a lot of Insulin is required
to distribute the amount we are eating. The Insulin then stores
the excess energy as body fat.
Insulin
also regulates hormones in our body which become unbalanced
due to the intake of high Glycemic Indexed Carbohydrates
which cause the over secretion of Insulin. As we get
older our Insulin levels become less able to process the incoming
sugars. Therefore, we store more body fat and
are more likely to suffer from Diabetes.
It is very important
to maintain your Carbohydrate levels. If the body has no Carbohydrates
at all then it starts to find energy from other sources other
than fat and this can cause nausea and fatigue.
Some low
carb diets, like the Atkins diet, encourage
you to replace your Carbohydrates with more protein and more dairy
products, even encouraging you to have as much as you like, however
this is a very unhealthy, unbalanced way of eating.
The reason why
you see so many people turning to these diets is because they
produce weight loss results fast, if only for
the short term. Also, if you are starving the body of vital energy
it may start to feed itself from living muscle and this is going
against what you are trying to achieve.
A Carbohydrate
exclusion diet is not a healthy one but a diet which adapts your
carbohydrate intake via the Glycemic Index, may
be a better alternative.
carbohydrates
Carbohydrates provide
fuel for the body. There are two forms of carbohydrates
- complex and simple. Complex carbohydrates
are foods like bread, pasta, rice and potatoes, they can also
be found in vegetables like broccoli.
Water
Without water
the body will die in just a few days. It is essential for basic
survival. You should drink about 8 glasses of water a
day, as it is very important to remain hydrated.
Protein
Protein is essential for growth and repair
of the body. Our bodies derive protein from amino acids,
which are found in all meats, fish and also in dairy products
like milk, cheese and eggs. It can also be found in some vegetables.
Minerals
Minerals help in
body maintenance as well as controlling health in general.
The minerals in
the body are all in balance with each other, if there are depleted
reserves of one then the others will be affected.
One should be able
to gain all essential minerals from a well balanced diet
but modern methods of processing food and over cooking can dramatically
reduce the foods vitamin and mineral content.
Therefore, it is often recommended that supplements should be
taken in addition to a healthy diet. This will ensure that the
body gets its daily recommnended intake of vitmains and minerals.
Vitamins
These are micronutrients that are essential in keeping us healthy.
The body cannot produce these micronutrients
in sufficient amounts to keep us healthy. We therefore have to
maintain our stores from fruit and vegetables where they are plentiful.
If we don't have
enough of these vitamins supplied through our diet then we will
start developing illnesses and diseases. Our immune system
is dependent on the ingestion of such nutrients.
Fat
Fat helps to keep
us warm when there are dramatic changes in our body temperature.
It also protects the vital organs by creating
a protective layer around them.
In our food there
are two main types of fat, saturated
and unsaturated fats. Unsaturated fats
are a necessary part of a well balanced diet and it is found in
olive oil, fish oils and nuts, these essential fats help in the
fight against heart disease.
Fibre
Fibre is made up of a number of complex carbohydrates
and it is not digested when we eat it. It is only found in the
cell walls of plants.
Fibre is essential
for healthy bowel function. As it travels through the digestive
system it absorbs a lot of water, making the waste matter larger
and softer. This makes the waste easier and quicker to pass.
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