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Carbohydrates

Carbohydrates provide sugars to our body, and sugars are the fundamental source of energy for almost all biological functions within the body. Each gram of carbohydrate yields 4 food calories¹.

Upon consumption, carbohydrates are broken down into sugars and let into the blood stream, thus raising the blood sugar level. The blood then transports the sugars to whichever parts of the body where it is required for energy.

Too much carbohydrates

If the blood sugar is unused by the body, the blood sugar level stays high posing threat to the body. The body therefore neutralises this by converting sugars into glycogen and fats, and storing them in the body for future use¹. This is why you gain weight on eating too much sugary food.

Fats are primarily stored in the outer layers of the body while glycogens are primarily stored in muscles and liver. This conversion and storage is in fact a great mechanism since you do not end up wasting calories simply because you don't want it now. It saves your life when food becomes scarce. It perhaps saved humanity during the early stages of evolution when food was scarce.

Too less carbohydrates

The deficiency of carbohydrates in human body (or lack of enough carbohydrates in the diet) shuns the body of its primary energy source and thus forces the body to rely on other energy reserves. There are two alternate reserves, both of which are stored in the body itself — fats and glycogen (glycogen is chain of sugars stored primarily in muscles).

Thus, carbohydrate deficiency initiates a reaction in the body in which fats and muscles are broken down to sugars to supply energy for biological functions. This is why those who want to loose fat consume a low sugar diet — the sugar deficiency initiates fat burning in the body. This burning of fats and glycogen is not dangerous if you have a great deal of them in your body. If not, you get leaner and leaner depleting both fats and muscles in the body until they basically run out.

Eventually, lack of carbohydrates in your body will result in the shutting down of biological functions within the body simply because of the lack of energy to run them.

Simple and complex carbs

Carbohydrates are of two types: simple and complex. Simple carbohydrates are fast digesting carbohydrates that release a sudden shot of sugars into the blood stream creating a blood sugar spike. Therefore simple carbohydrates are perfect to consume right before any physically intense activity. Simple carbohydrates can be found in white rice, corn, potatoes, pastries, bananas, sweet fruits, etc.

Complex carbohydrates are slow digesting carbohydrates that release consistent small amounts of sugars into the blood stream without creating any blood sugar spike. Therefore, complex carbohydrates are sensible energy source to sustain prolonged low-medium intensity work such as our daily activities. Complex carbohydrates can be found in brown rice, red rice, millets, ragi, maize, wheat, tapioca, yam, etc.

Carbohydrates aren't bad

The fitness and glamour industry has thrown a bad light on carbohydrates, making people treat them like an enemy. All nutrients are good because they serve a purpose in human body. Sugars and carbohydrates are the primary energy source for human body assisting various biological processes that are not just physical but psychological too. Add to this that the human body doesn't synthesis sugar and it needs to be fed using diet. Given these cases, it is stupid to be avert from carbohydrates unless you have a medically sound reason.

The culprit is the food culture and consumption pattern. Food rich in carbohydrates (especially sugars) are sweet to which human taste is naturally draw to; often forcing people to consume more than required. This raises the blood sugar level which when unused is converted to body fat. Thus you gain weight and carbohydrates get the bad name.

Carbohydrate requirement

The carbohydrate requirement of a person is determined by the energy requirement of your body and the energy reserves in your body. To simplify, it's three major factors —

• The work our body does at rest (called base metabolism), which varies from person to person, thus making it difficult to come at a general rate for all.
• The work we do in a day, which is also different, thus making it difficult to derive at an energy requirement for all. Even if it the work was the same, we burn different energy as per our metabolism.
• The current fitness goals of the person — if overweight, carbohydrates may be limited; and if underweight, carbohydrates may be increased.

The first two points correspond to energy requirement. Since they are impractical to measure for an average person and also varies from person to person, we cannot derive at a precise energy requirement for all. But by using averages and statistical models, the National Institute of Nutrition² of India recommends the following energy requirements.

Everyday calculation

Since we do not generally consume food by precise measurements of weight and calories, we need an acceptable practical method to judge the surplus and deficiency of our nutrients. This section aims to act as a guide.

A simple way is to watch your weight. If you are gaining weight beyond the healthy limit, you might be consuming more carbohydrates than your body needs. On the other hand, if you are underweight, include more of them.

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