Enerzona - Understanding Carbohydrates

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Knowing carbohydrates

What eicosanoids are

KNOWING YOUR CARBOHYDRATES

Carbohydrates or sugars are not indispensable elements for our bodies. In fact, there are no essential sugars, i.e. sugars that must be consumed to avoid deficiencies. However, they are important constituents and supplement a proper diet, which must contain proteins and lipids that are at least partly made up of essential elements.

They are a source of energy for the body and may be used immediately or may be stored - mainly in muscle tissue and in the liver - in the form of glycogen. If, however, excessive amounts are ingested, they may contribute to adipose tissue.

They are found in various foods and are identified, on the basis of molecular length, as: polysaccharides (such as flour and potato starch), which are the longest; oligosaccharides (such as maltodextrins) with few molecules; disaccharides (such as sucrose, regular cooking sugar, and lactose) with two molecules; monosaccharides (such as glucose, grape sugar, fructose and many fruit sugars) with a single molecule.

Whatever the dietary origins of carbohydrates, all are assimilated in the form of glucose, which raises glycaemia, i.e. the level of glucose in the blood. Therefore, eating a plate of pasta is the equivalent of consuming a cup of sugar.

However, one important parameter has changed: the glycaemic index, which expresses the speed with which carbohydrates reach the bloodstream after having been assimilated. The higher this index, the faster those particular sugars pass into the bloodstream.

Prior to 1981, the year in which studies on the glycaemic index began, it was believed that our bodies digested and absorbed carbohydrates on the basis of their complexities: first the simpler sugars, then the more complex, such as starches, meaning that monosaccharides and disaccharides rapidly raised glycaemia, with the polysaccharides acting more slowly. Nowadays, it is recognised that certain simple sugars do not raise glycaemia any faster than certain complex carbohydrates do. For example, baked potatoes (starches, and hence complex) have a significantly higher glycaemic index (121) than common cooking sugar (92); pasta (79) is assimilated much faster than a simple sugar such as fructose (32).

The insulin response depends on the quantity of sugar in the blood, which is why the glycaemic load is important in the Zone: insulin response must be controlled and remain modest if we do not wish to encourage the onset of problems of various types such as weight gain or cardiovascular diseases.

But even more important is the evaluation and consideration of the glycaemic load that, in addition to the glycaemic food index, takes into account the density of the carbohydrates present in a given volume. Hence, if one eats a low glycaemic index food, to achieve the same glycaemic load, one might eat more of a food with a higher glycaemic index. The higher the glycaemic load, the faster carbohydrates reach the bloodstream, suddenly raising glycaemia; the higher the glycaemia levels, the more insulin is released from the pancreas, whereby an abrupt drop in the blood glucose level occurs, thus resulting in a state of hypoglycaemia with the accompanying sensation of hunger and restlessness. Ultimately, with uncontrolled consumption of high glycaemic-load carbohydrates, there are two principal undesired side effects: overproduction of insulin and the sensation of hunger.

The Zone method prefers low glycaemic-load carbohydrates because they induce a gradual and moderate insulin response. It is for this reason that carbohydrates are divided into positive and negative, depending on their glycaemic load. For example, almost all vegetables except potatoes and carrots and almost all fruit except bananas belong to the positive carbohydrates. On the other hand, all vegetables and fruit exempted from the previous list and bread, pasta, rice and starchy foods in general are negative.

This does not mean that carbohydrates on the negative list may not be eaten, but it does indicate that they should be handled with caution and care because excessive amounts may have serious repercussions on insulin production. Fibre and fats influence the glycaemic index, as their presence slows carbohydrate absorption. It is for this reason that, for the Zone, wholemeal cereals are to be preferred over refined cereals and, furthermore, it is better to eat pasta with sauces rather than without, since the latter causes greater weight gain.

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