Complex Carbs

[Juka865]

I see so many people talking about how no its good its complex carbsssss... Well what are they and what foods contain them? Im getting sick of some of my diet and I figure If I knew what has complex carbs and if they are healthy for you then I can broaden some of my food selections hehe like oatmeal. I was on a low carb diet but lately Ive been slowly taking in more and more I prolly 80 -100 carbs a day on avg and im still loosing a decent amount of weight. I think its cause im laying off the fatty shit. Well anyways any input would be great about them and what foods are good to eat them. And by complex does it mean that they take longer to burn off ? Cause If i dont lift or excercise enuff would this effect me worse then having reg. carbs? Im confused help a fella out thx~

[nickc]

Glucose and fructose (simple carbs) are made up of just a single molecule and are digested and absorbed into the blood stream very quickly as they require no breakdown or digestion. These are known as monosaccharides

Glycogen and starch (complex carbs) are made up of many monosaccharides (simple carbs) joined together, this means they take longer to break down and digest than a simple carb like glucose. The result is a slow steady release of glucose into the bloodstream.

The benefit of complex carbs over simple carbs is like it says above “slow steady release of glucose into the bloodstream”. This is because glucose levels in the blood have to remain at certain levels. When you consume simple carbs it causes a high level of glucose to quickly enter the blood stream, Insulin is then released to lower this high level, but it temporarily lowers it to a lower level than before you ate the simple carb. So for example after eating a chocolate bar you feel satisfied then soon after you feel hungry again. Compare this to a bowl of oats (which is a complex carb) this releases glucose slowly into the blood and you will feel satisfied for longer.

Sources of complex carbs are rice, pasta potato, oats, bread (wholemeal) .

they dont take longer to burn off, they take longer to enter the blood stream.

You should try and make all of your carbs complex carbs except straight after your workout when your blood sugar levels will be lower, this means you want to quickly get them back up so simple carbs are ideal here.

HTH

Nick

[Scrumhalf]

Originally posted by nickc

Sources of complex carbs are rice, pasta potato, oats, bread (wholemeal) .


Nick

Excellent post, Nickc!

Make sure your rice is brown rice, not white rice. White rice is a highly processed version of brown rice, but the processing removes much of the fiber and nutrients.

Brown rice gets absorbed more slowly than white rice and the extra fiber is very good for you as well.

[nickc]

yeah sorry i should have pointed that out

[Juka865]

thx alot guys