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Carbohydrates

What are carbohydrates?

Carbohydrates are the collective name for sugars and starch. More than 50% of the energy that our bodies obtain from our food comes from the sugars and starch that we consume. For a healthy diet, and especially for diabetics, it is extremely important to take enough carbohydrates. If you take less sugar, it is advisable to make up for it with other foods containing carbohydrates.
Carbohydrates therefore fulfil an important task, for they are our human fuel.
 

Types of carbohydrate

Carbohydrates are divided into 3 groups, according to their molecular structure.

1. Monosaccharides (= simple carbohydrates): these are the simplest carbohydrate molecules. The commonest monosaccharides are glucose (grape sugar), fructose (fruit sugar), galactose and tagatose. These are sugars that are naturally contained in fruit.

2. Disaccharides (= double carbohydrates): these carbohydrates are made up of two monosaccharide molecules. The disaccharide group includes sucrose (sugar = combination of glucose & fructose), lactose (milk sugar = combination of glucose & galactose) and maltose (malt sugar = combination of glucose & glucose). They are found chiefly in pastries, sweets, soft drinks, chocolate, etc.

3. Polysaccharides: Polysaccharides (also known as complex carbohydrates) are made up of several monosaccharide molecules (generally glucose). You will find them in bread, pasta, potatoes, rice and leguminous plants.
 

Glycaemic index (GI)

Simple carbohydrates provide fast energy and multiple carbohydrates release energy more slowly. The glycaemic index of food indicates the speed with which it causes the blood sugar level to increase. Foods with a high GI value include sugar, sweet corn, potatoes, white bread, pumpkins, turnips,…. Some foods with low GI values are apples, cabbage, strawberries, lentils, grapefruit and soya beans. For diabetics who have bad regulation of their blood sugar level, it is extremely important to know the GI of the carbohydrates consumed. Below you will find a graph on which you can compare the GIs of the various sweeteners.