What are Carbohydrates ?

Carbohydrates are the principal source of energy for the body. Foods we eat contain two types of carbohydrates - simple and complex.

The simple or refined carbohydrates include : sugar white flour, sweets, chocolates, cakes etc. and are poor in fibre content. The complex or natural carbohydrate include whole-grains, vegetables, beans and fruits and are rich in fibre -content.

Which carbohydrate is better among the two? Kindly explain.

Upto the middle of 1900's about 40 percent of our energy intake came from such fibre-rich natural carbohydrates as vegetables, whole-grain, cereals and fresh fruits. In those days, obesity was not so common. Today, only about 20 percent of the average Indian's daily energy intake comes from natural carbohydrates. Fibre-rich carbohydrates have been replaced by refined carbohydrates which are often enriched with sugar, salt and fat. As a result, the incidence of obesity and associated killer diseases has risen dramatically. Because of this, the trend is now back to liberal use of natural carbohydrates in a balanced diet. There are of course, many good reason why you should eat generous amount of fresh fruits, vegetables and whole grain products.

In addition to being rich in stomach-filling bulk in the form of water and fibre, natural carbohydrates are rich in essential nutrients. Although carbohydrate foods do not contain all the essential amino acids ( the building blocks of protein) the protein they supply in a balanced diet are enough to form a complete protein that reduced your need for fat-rich animal protein.