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Benefits of Carbohydrates

Detailed Health Benefits of Carbohydrates

You should think of the main benefits of carbohydrates being related to the fast absorption and conversion to energy that they enable. When you consume a carbohydrate it is rapidly broken down by the enzymes in your stomach into simple sugars. This is broken down further into glucose which is absorbed through the intestinal walls. Once that occurs the glucose is either immediately used to produce energy for our muscles and cells with the assistance of insulin, stored for later use in the muscles in the form of glycogen, or converted into fat.

If you’ve ever wanted to lose weight you have probably heard that cutting too many calories out of your diet can be dangerous. You might also have heard that this is because our body starts to consume muscle tissue instead of fat. The reason this happens is that our bodies use glucose available from carbohydrates first, glycogen stored in the muscles second, and finally if it still needs energy (you’re being active) it will consume protein from your own muscles. This is why low or zero carb diets can be dangerous. You are depriving your body of one of the most immediate energy sources it has and if you end up being more active than the stores you do have you’ll be burning muscle not fat. This can lead to serious problems like heart damage resulting in death.

Eating carbohydrates that have a higher GI (Glycemic Index) means they can be absorbed and distributed in the blood stream faster. If you over eat these foods you will get a blood sugar spike which can lead to various side effects and some serious health problems if it occurs often. In fact, you can see just how fast our bodies can consume carbohydrates, convert them into glucose, and use them for energy if you ever see a diabetic get low on their blood sugar. Almost immediately their low blood sugar will be reversed with the ingestion of sugars or carbohydrates.