Nutrition rules >>>> The harm and benefits of refined carbohydrates

The harm and benefits of refined carbohydrates.

When we talk about refined food, we mean products that have undergone technological purification from some ballast substances, but when we talk about refined carbohydrates, we are talking about the complexity and simplicity of the chemical structures of carbohydrates. Substances called “Carbohydrates”. Are distinguished and grouped according to their chemical structure. Simple carbohydrates have a design that allows the body to absorb them the fastest (in the process of metabolism, such carbohydrates do not require particularly complex biochemical reactions and are absorbed by the body almost completely). Chemically more complex carbohydrates, getting into the body, require "several stages of processing" (first they are broken down to intermediate substances, and then converted into the very simple carbohydrates that the body quickly utilizes).

Chemists divide carbohydrates into simple and complex ones, and nutritionists group carbohydrates according to the degree of harmfulness: harmful and useful. But this division is rather arbitrary. Complex carbohydrates (they are also useful) are attractive to humans because the body needs time to process them, which means that they will not get into the bloodstream and to the final goal immediately, but gradually, they will not have time to form surpluses and overload organs and tissues with them. Simple carbohydrates (under the slogan "Harmful!" and bearing the name - refined carbohydrates) are very quickly absorbed, which means that with their excessive consumption, the body in a short period of time will receive an excess amount of substances that will begin to deposit (put aside). A group of simple (harmful) refined carbohydrate squite diverse - these are monosaccharides (galactose, glucose, xylose, mannose, fructose, etc.), but two elements of this group are of interest to humans; glucose and fructose. Easily digestible carbohydrates also include oligosaccharides, which break down into monosaccharides: sucrose (common sugar), maltose (malt sugar), lactose (milk sugar).

What is the harm of simple carbohydrates? All carbohydrates in the process of digestion are broken down to simple structures - monosaccharides (glucose, fructose and others). Some of them are not absorbed by the human body at all and are removed from it. But not glucose! To metabolize glucose, the body needs insulin, a hormone produced by the pancreas. Each time it enters the body, glucose requires a portion of insulin and forces the pancreas to secrete it. But the capabilities of the pancreas are somewhat limited, and frequent requests for the secretion of the hormone insulin begin to "wear out" the functions of the secretion of the pancreas, which eventually fails and leads to either pancreatitis or diabetes mellitus. In addition, excess glucose in the form of glycogen is deposited in tissues and organs (liver, muscle tissue, etc.)

Not all simple carbohydrates are bad. For example, fructose is absorbed by the body for the most part without the participation of the hormone insulin (only a very small part of it is converted into glucose), which makes it possible not to waste the capacity of the pancreas, and also helps patients with diabetes mellitus to receive carbohydrates in the required amount. By its taste, fructose is sweeter than glucose, which makes it possible with its participation to make no less sweet, but much less harmful confectionery products. Glucose is mostly found in sweet fruits with pits, while fructose is overwhelmingly found in sweet fruits with seeds. These facts indicate that you should not give up all the simple (harmful refined carbohydrates) en masse, but you need to be choosy when choosing sweets and give preference to natural carbohydrate-containing foods grown by nature.