0 Carbohydrate source of energy in the body

Definition

     Carbohydrates come from the Greek word "glukus" which means "sweet". Hydrogen, carbon and oxygen compounds which are also the name of carbohydrates. They are the primary source of energy in the body. They are the perfect fuel our efforts.
     One class diagram carbohydrates into two families:
- Simple sugars: they are directly absorbed by the body. There are hydrolyzed by the salivary and digestive enzymes. This is particularly the case of monosaccharides such as glucose, fructose and galactose but also disaccharides.
- Complex sugars (polysaccharides): They will undergo further hydrolysis. This is the case of starch and glycogen, which is manufactured by our body (gluconeogenesis) and stored in the liver and muscles. Its sugar reserve rights.

Carbohydrates

energy role

     Carbohydrates, essential for the functioning of the muscles and brain, is the source of energy quickly used by the body and are involved in protein anabolism. So carbohydrates are essentially energy role. Provided by the diet, they are broken down into glucose which will be distributed throughout the body. Part is stored as glycogen in the liver and muscles that serve as reserve.

Plastic role

    Some carbohydrates have a role called "constitution". They go into the composition of human body tissues: cartilage, Nucleic acids, mucus, antigenic substances.

Where do you find carbs?
     Carbohydrates are the most abundant in living matter organic constituents. Their main source is the plant community. They are mostly found in dried fruits, fresh fruits, cereals, bread, honey, whole sugar, tubers, milk, etc. ...
     Foods in which we find most of carbohydrates are:
- Pasta: 75% (75 grams of carbohydrates per 100 g of pasta)
- Pulses: 59%
- Bread: 50%
- Banana: 30%
- Rice: 22%
- Potato: 20%

Energy intake

     Our daily requirement of carbohydrates is 4 grams per kg of body weight per day. 1 gram of carbohydrate provides 4 calories or 17 kj.
     In a balanced diet, energy intake should include 50% carbohydrates. This represents an average of 220 to 250 grams of carbohydrates per day, two thirds of which serve the unique needs of the nervous system that is glucodépendant. The proportion of carbohydrates in the diet helps maintain carbohydrate reserves of the body (liver and muscle glycogen) to a stable level
500 g.

Special cases
  For athletes, carbohydrates should represent at least 55% of the total caloric intake. Sports performance are dependent on carbohydrate reserves of sports, and how they are managed. Any food strategy is put in place before, during and after sporting event.

     The premature infant, infants and children have higher than adult energy needs. Needs directly related ave growth. It is estimated that premature babies need 15 grams of carbohydrate per kg per day, we believe that 8-10 g per kg per day enough for children. At 4 years, its contribution must be rammené to 5 g per kg per day.

     The elderly retain an appetite for sweet foods but tend to reduce their intake of complex carbohydrates. We must therefore ensure that the daily intake of carbohydrate mostly come from complex carbohydrates.

Blood sugar
 The sugar is the amount of sugar in the blood. You should know that the concentration of sugar in the blood almost no changes, that is to say quon always between 0.8 g and 1 g of sugar in 1 liter of blood. Below this range, it is hypoglycemia, above, in hyperglycemia.

     When blood sugar rises, the pancreas into action by secreting its main hormone, insulin has the effect of lowering blood sugar levels to normal. The slowly absorbed carbohydrates cause a slow and gradual rise in blood sugar. In contrast, consumption of sugars often causes hyperglycemia with a relatively high insulin secretion that can trigger a reaction secondary hypoglycemia.