What I Learned in Nutrition – Carbohydrates

Since I was in the Florida last week, I missed my third nutrition class. However, I did have class this past Monday! Monday we discussed CARBOHYDRATES! My favorite! 🙂 Here is some helpful info if you’ve ever wondered what really makes up carbohydrates.

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Carbohydrates or CHO are essential nutrients that make up the foundation of our diets. They are the most desirable source of energy for the body and supply fuel in the form of glucose.

There are two forms of Carbohydrates: Simple and Complex.

Simple CHOs contain a single unit of sugar and are called monosaccharides and disaccharides.

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Complex CHOs are long chains and branches of sugars linked together. These are in the form of Starch, glycogen, and fiber.

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starch is the storage form of glucose in plants
glycogen is the storage of glucose in humans and animals, found in the liver and muscle cells
fiber is part of the plant we eat but cannot digest and is in the form of soluble (dissolves in water) and insoluble (does not dissolve in water)

Fiber is important because it helps prevent constipation/diverticulitis and also helps prevent obesity, and also may prevent heart disease, diabetes, and cancer.

The latest Dietary Reference Intakes for carbohydrates recommends that we should consume a minimum amount of 130 grams of carbohydrates daily and 45-65% of your total daily calories should come from carbs.

Obviously, my favorite form of carbs are simple carbs (hello cakes and cookies!), but we should be aiming to eat mostly complex, since they provide the most nutrition. What is your favorite carb?

9 Comments

derryX

February 18, 2011 at 2:26 pm Reply

I am currently cutting carbs to get some quick weight loss, but once I start reintroducing carbs, I’m going to start with quinoa because it’s fairly protein rich.

But my favorite would be rice!
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Jen

February 18, 2011 at 2:33 pm Reply

quinoa is great, I love it! good luck with your weight loss! if you stick with healthy carbs, it shouldn’t be an issue. carbs have such a bad repuation but we need them for energy!

Kelly

February 18, 2011 at 5:00 pm Reply

Carbs are my favorite!! I eat a bagel pretty much every day. 🙂
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KathyP

February 18, 2011 at 8:21 pm Reply

Whole wheat is my favorite carb – whole wheat bread, whole wheat spaghetti, whole wheat matzos…

Christina @ Food.Fun.Fabulous.

February 18, 2011 at 10:07 pm Reply

I haven’t had it much lately but in college I would have popcorn a lot! I even got an old fashioned air popper 🙂
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Katie H.

February 19, 2011 at 11:14 am Reply

Great post! I love bagels and pasta. Yum. I try to limit the bagel intake though- I’m always so tired after I have one!
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