![]() On the other hand, refined starches used as a binding ingredient in foods such as biscuits, processed snack foods and sweets are extracted from their natural source – a process that strips off all the other nutrients – and are not very healthy because your body can digest them faster which may result in high blood sugar levels. These foods contain starch along with many other nutrients and your body digests them slower. In terms of starch, it’s naturally a part of many foods (wholegrains, pulses, root vegetables, pumpkins, courgettes etc) which belong in a healthy diet. ![]() The difference is that we can digest starch very well – your body breaks it down to single glucose molecules – whilst we cannot digest fibre. Complex carbohydrates usually mean starch and fibre. See our wallchart comparing smoothies and fresh juice here.īeware of fruit juices – unless they are freshly made, they undergo a pasteurisation process which destroys most of the goodness of the fruit and the result can be little more than just sweet water.Ĭomplex carbohydrates (polysaccharides) consist of many sugar molecules linked together in complex structures. They are best eaten raw, lightly cooked or blended in a smoothie (avoid canned). ![]() Fruit and vegetables are among the healthiest foods so there’s no need to limit their intake. But if fruit and vegetables are eaten fresh and whole they also supply a wealth of complex carbohydrates along with many other nutrients which slow down the speed of sugar absorption. Fruit and vegetables naturally contain fructose, a simple sugar. These carbohydrates are digested quickly and we should watch our intake – with the exception of fruit and vegetables. two sugar molecules linked together (disaccharides) – eg table sugar (sucrose, consisting of glucose and fructose) and milk sugar (lactose, consisting of glucose and galactose).single sugar molecules (monosaccharides) – eg glucose and fructose.Both simple and complex carbohydrates can be a part of a healthy diet. Depending on how many of these molecules are bound together, their different types and number, carbohydrates can be either simple or complex. Foods that release glucose quickly have a high GI, foods that release it slowly have a low GI and there’s a whole range of foods with a medium GI.Ī carbohydrate is a molecule containing carbon, oxygen and hydrogen. Based on this, a measurement of glucose-release speed has been devised called the ‘glycaemic index’ (GI). Some foods release it faster and some slower. As carbohydrates get digested, they release glucose into the bloodstream. ![]() When people talk about blood sugar levels, it always means the amount of glucose in the blood. Fibre is the only type of carbohydrate that cannot be converted to glucose and used as an energy source but it has other important functions. They are present in food in the form of sugar (simple carbohydrates), starch and fibre (complex carbohydrates).
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