Contents:
- Medical Video: Effect of Carbohydrates on Blood Sugars
- Is that simple sugar?
- Examples of simple sugars that must be limited in your diet include:
- What is complex sugar?
- Examples of foods that contain complex sugars are:
- The more complex, the better
Medical Video: Effect of Carbohydrates on Blood Sugars
When you hear the word sugar, what is on your mind? Sugar? Yes, it is one type of sugar in a simple form.
In general, there are two types of sugar that you can find, namely simple sugars and complex sugars. Already know what are the differences between the two? Check out the review below.
Is that simple sugar?
Simple sugars are often called simple carbohydrates. All simple carbohydrates consist of only one (monosaccharide) or two sugar molecules (disaccharide). Because of its simple shape, this type of sugar is very quickly digested. When this simple sugar enters the bloodstream, this sugar will significantly increase blood sugar levels quickly.
A high surge in blood sugar in the body needs to be balanced with the production of the hormone insulin in the body. When the sugar spike is large, the body needs large amounts of insulin to balance the sugar in the blood.
In healthy people, the ability to metabolize sugar in the body can be overcome properly, although if it is too often it can increase the risk for insulin resistance. However, for diabetics, this is quite dangerous.
Because, people with diabetes mellitus have a disrupted insulin hormone condition, or there are also those who do not produce insulin. How do you set your blood sugar condition when there is an increase in sugar after too high a meal?
Therefore, diabetics are very obliged to regulate the incoming food so as not to cause hyperglycemia. Even though drugs or injections of insulin are provided, the choice of sugar is very important so as not to aggravate the work of the diabetics.
Reported on the Everyday Health page, Sandra Mayerowitz, MPH, RD, a nutritionist, says that all simple carbohydrate sources are not necessarily bad, it depends on what food you consume.
For example, fruit and vegetables. Both are sources of important vitamins and minerals that naturally contain simple carbohydrates or sugars. However, fruits and vegetables are significantly very different from other simple sources of sugar, such as cakes and cakes containing sugar or refined sugar.
Fiber in fruits and vegetables changes the way the body processes simple sugars in fruits and vegetables. Fiber in vegetables and fruit slows digestion, and makes both more similar to foods from complex sugars.
Examples of simple sugars that must be limited in your diet include:
- Soda
- Candy
- Painting
- Pastry
- Sweet drinks
- Energy drink
- Ice cream
- Soft drink
- Table sugar (sucrose)
You can consume simple sugar, but don't make simple sugar as your main carbohydrate source.
What is complex sugar?
Complex sugar or often called complex carbohydrates are sugars which have a longer series of structures than simple sugars. Because of this complex or long structure, the source of complex carbohydrates is longer to be broken down in the body.
Complex carbohydrates are structurally called polysaccharides, where these polysaccharides can contain more than 60,000 sugar molecules.
In the body, more than 60,000 sugar molecules must be broken down first into the simplest sugar molecule, which is to become a single molecule. If it has become a single molecule, then this sugar can be absorbed into the bloodstream. This condition makes complex carbohydrates gradually release glucose into the bloodstream and there is no surge of blood sugar levels suddenly increasing dramatically after eating.
Because of its nature that does not cause blood sugar spikes drastically and quickly after eating, complex sugars are a type of sugar that is safe especially for diabetics.
Examples of foods that contain complex sugars are:
- Bread
- Pasta
- Rice
- Potato
- Corn
- Barley
- Oatmeal
The more complex, the better
Increasingly complex carbohydrates contain more nutrients such as vitamins and minerals than simple carbohydrates. The level of fiber is higher and makes it full faster. No wonder if foods with increasingly complex sugars can help maintain weight.
Complex sugar is also one of the ideal food sources for people with diabetes mellitus, because it can prevent a significant surge in blood sugar after eating. The body's blood sugar condition is more stable.
