Sugary foods, like soda and candy, don't usually have fiber and typically contain "empty calories. Eating too many empty-calorie foods can also make a person more likely to be overweight or obese.
These foods can also cause tooth decay. After you eat food that has carbohydrates in it, your blood sugar goes up. As far as controlling your diabetes is concerned, your goal is to balance the insulin in your body and the exercise you do with the carbs you eat. Balancing insulin, physical activity, and carb intake keeps your blood sugar levels in a healthy range. Following a meal plan helps you keep track of your carb intake. You and your diabetes health care team will come up with a meal plan that includes general guidelines for your carbohydrate intake.
Your meal plan will take into account your age, size, weight goal, exercise level, medications, and other medical issues. The meal plan will also include the foods you like to eat — so let your health care team know what these are. If you're not sure how many carbohydrates a food contains, check the label or ask your doctor or nutritionist.
Also, check the labels of diet foods before you chow down because these products may be low in fat, but could contain extra sugar. For example, both rice and soft drink will be broken down to simple sugars in your digestive system.
The pancreas secretes a hormone called insulin, which helps the glucose to move from your blood into the cells. Our brain, muscles and nervous system all rely on glucose as their main fuel to make energy. The body converts excess glucose from food into glycogen.
Glycogen acts as a storage form of glucose within the muscle tissue and the liver. Its role is to supplement blood glucose levels if they drop between meals especially overnight or during physical activity. The glycaemic index GI is a way of ranking carbohydrate-containing foods based on how slowly or quickly they are digested and increase blood glucose levels over a period of time — usually two hours.
The GI uses glucose or white bread as a reference food — it has a GI score of Carbohydrate-containing foods are then compared with this reference to assign their GI. This ensures all foods compared have the same amount of carbohydrate, gram for gram. Carbohydrates that break down quickly during digestion have a higher glycaemic index.
These high GI carbohydrates, such as a baked potato, release their glucose into the blood quickly. Carbohydrates that break down slowly, such as oats, release glucose gradually into the bloodstream.
They have low glycaemic indexes. The blood glucose response is slower and flatter. Low GI foods prolong digestion due to their slow breakdown and may help with feeling full. These ranges, along with some example foods, include:. These are examples of nutrition content claims and general level health claims, allowed by Food Standards Australia New Zealand under Standard 1.
The Low GI Symbol and claims about the relationship of a low GI product and its effect on health is only available to packaged food products that meet strict nutritional and testing criteria. This labelling is not compulsory for food companies to follow, so not all products that are eligible will display the symbol or make a claim. This is often the case for smaller companies who may not have the money to go through the necessary processes to be given the label. The amount of the carbohydrate-containing food you eat affects your blood glucose levels.
For example, even though pasta has a low GI, a large serving can still cause the blood glucose levels to rise more rapidly than a smaller serving. This is what is called the glycaemic load GL. GL is based on the idea that a high GI food consumed in small quantities would give the same effect on blood glucose levels as larger quantities of a low GI food. Using a pasta example:. Here is another example, where both foods contain the same amount of carbohydrate but their GIs are different:.
Eating low GI foods two hours before endurance events, such as long-distance running, may improve exercise capacity. Moderate to high GI foods may be most beneficial during the first 24 hours of recovery after an event to rapidly replenish muscle fuel stores glycogen. The GI can be considered when choosing foods and drinks consistent with the Australian Guide to Healthy Eating , but there are limitations.
Contact a health care provider if you have questions about your health. Carbohydrates Also called: Carbs. On this page Basics Summary Start Here. Learn More Related Issues Specifics. See, Play and Learn No links available. Research Clinical Trials Journal Articles.
Resources Find an Expert. What are carbohydrates? What are the different types of carbohydrates? There are three main types of carbohydrates: Sugars. They are also called simple carbohydrates because they are in the most basic form. They can be added to foods, such as the sugar in candy, desserts, processed foods, and regular soda. They also include the kinds of sugar that are found naturally in fruits, vegetables, and milk. They are complex carbohydrates, which are made of lots of simple sugars strung together.
Your body needs to break starches down into sugars to use them for energy. Starches include bread, cereal, and pasta. They also include certain vegetables, like potatoes, peas, and corn.
It is also a complex carbohydrate. Your body cannot break down most fibers, so eating foods with fiber can help you feel full and make you less likely to overeat. Diets high in fiber have other health benefits. They may help prevent stomach or intestinal problems, such as constipation.
They may also help lower cholesterol and blood sugar.
0コメント