Type 2 Diabetes - Understanding Complex Carbohydrates
When you have type 2 diabetes it is essential for you to understand what complex carbohydrates are so that you can manage your disease effectively.
A healthy nutritious diet is the key to managing your diabetes and knowing which foods groups you need to concentrate on is vital.
A carbohydrate is an organic compound that consists of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen.
These can be seen as hydrates of carbon, hence the name.
The term is common in biochemistry and it is a synonym of saccharide.
Carbohydrates (saccharides) are divided into four chemical groups and they are known as monosaccharides, disaccharides, oligosaccharides, and polysaccharides.
Generally, monosaccharides and disaccharides are smaller carbohydrates and are referred to as sugars.
The word saccharide comes from the Greek word that means sugar.
Following is a brief explanation about the four chemical groups:
When you have type 2 diabetes it is important to include complex carbs in your diet as these take longer to break down in your body, therefore, a slow digestion means that the sugar releases into your blood stream a lot slower, which will give you a constant level of energy.
On the other hand, simple carbs break down or digest too quickly in your system; these can be found in food products like honey, fruit juices, and sodas.
Following is a list of complex carbs you should include in your diet plan:
These types of food are a great source of fibre, vitamins, and minerals.
It is important to realise that once the food has been processed it is no longer classed as complex.
All starches are plant materials.
Starchy foods are a good source of energy that is especially beneficial for people trying to lose weight.
Starchy foods like potatoes, bread and pasta are not high in calories like most people are led to believe, it is what we add to these foods that are high in calories, like butter, sour cream or cheese.
Understanding complex carbohydrates when you have type 2 diabetes can be very beneficial to you so that you can manage diabetes and avoid the complications that are associated with this terrible disease.
A healthy nutritious diet is the key to managing your diabetes and knowing which foods groups you need to concentrate on is vital.
A carbohydrate is an organic compound that consists of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen.
These can be seen as hydrates of carbon, hence the name.
The term is common in biochemistry and it is a synonym of saccharide.
Carbohydrates (saccharides) are divided into four chemical groups and they are known as monosaccharides, disaccharides, oligosaccharides, and polysaccharides.
Generally, monosaccharides and disaccharides are smaller carbohydrates and are referred to as sugars.
The word saccharide comes from the Greek word that means sugar.
Following is a brief explanation about the four chemical groups:
- Monosaccharides - these are the simplest carbohydrates as they cannot be hydrolzed to smaller carbohydrates.
Monosaccharides are the major source of fuel for metabolism - Disacccharides - this is where two monosaccharides are joined to form a disaccharide where these are the simplest polysaccharides.
Examples of these are sucrose and lactose - Oligosaccharides and Polysaccharides - these two are composed of longer chains of monosaccharide units that are bound together by glycosidic bonds
When you have type 2 diabetes it is important to include complex carbs in your diet as these take longer to break down in your body, therefore, a slow digestion means that the sugar releases into your blood stream a lot slower, which will give you a constant level of energy.
On the other hand, simple carbs break down or digest too quickly in your system; these can be found in food products like honey, fruit juices, and sodas.
Following is a list of complex carbs you should include in your diet plan:
- Potatoes
- Legumes - beans, lentils and split peas
- Whole wheat or brown pasta
- Oatmeal
- Brown Rice
- Quinoa
- Barley
- Whole grains
These types of food are a great source of fibre, vitamins, and minerals.
It is important to realise that once the food has been processed it is no longer classed as complex.
All starches are plant materials.
Starchy foods are a good source of energy that is especially beneficial for people trying to lose weight.
Starchy foods like potatoes, bread and pasta are not high in calories like most people are led to believe, it is what we add to these foods that are high in calories, like butter, sour cream or cheese.
Understanding complex carbohydrates when you have type 2 diabetes can be very beneficial to you so that you can manage diabetes and avoid the complications that are associated with this terrible disease.
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