The following topic was actually a request from a few subscribers, and we would like to encourage more subscribers to make requests!

Carbohydrates can be very complex, but I will try to keep them simple for you. Now, if you didn’t catch the joke in that opening sentence, I’ll lay it out straight for you. There are two types of carbohydrates: complex carbohydrates and simple carbohydrates. “Slight pause for those of you to catch the joke.” Now, your body uses these carbohydrates to make glucose, which is then used as energy to keep you going. Don’t get the two confused because there is a difference between them.

Simple carbs are the quickest source of energy because they have less molecules and are digested quickly. They are typically found in brown sugar, corn syrup, and candy. Simple carbs lack few nutrients other than calories and aren’t ideal nutritional wise. Complex carbs, on the other hand, are made up of a string of molecules and require a longer time to be digested. They are found in grains, plants, and vegetables. Complex carbs have a higher nutritional value, and are rich in fiber, along with vitamins and minerals.

Now that you know the two types, I will talk about how they are used by your body. When you Eat carbohydrates, your body turns it into glucose. Glucose is used by your body as energy, and in high quantities glucose can be stored as fat. The one thing people don’t know about carbohydrates is that they would be useless without Insulin. Insulin is a hormone that enables your body to take the glucose from your blood stream to be used as energy, or stored as glycogen for later use. Insulin also tells your body to stop using fat as an energy source and inhibits the use of glycogen.

Hopefully I kept that simple enough to help inform you on the basics of carbohydrates. Unfortunately, there is a lot more to talk about when it comes to carbohydrates, and you will just have to wait until next time!

-Scott