The low-carb craze that threatened to wipe bakeries off the map and force fruit farmers into bankruptcy is finally over. Once again we can sip smoothies and enjoy a plate of pasta without the fear of carb-loathers arguing in favor of bacon-wrapped, bun-less double cheeseburgers.
You weren't fooled, though. You've always known carbs are your muscles' best fuel and without enough, your 5k race would be more like a three-mile death march. But not all carbs are created equal. Some will give you a boost of energy while others can wipe you out. What's best? Read on to learn how to make carbs work for you.
Body's Best Fuel
Of the three major nutrients your body uses for energy--carbohydrates, fat and protein --carbs are the most easily accessible form of fuel. During digestion, carbs are broken down into glucose (the most basic sugar molecule), quickly absorbed into the bloodstream (protein and fat molecules take longer to convert to blood sugar) and picked up by your body's other cells to metabolize into energy. Glucose that isn't used immediately is turned into glycogen and stored in the muscles for the short-term, or converted to body fat for the longer-term.
Carbs are commonly categorized as "simple" or "complex". Made of a single sugar molecule or two linked together, simple carbohydrates include lactose (milk sugar), fructose (fruit sugar) and sucrose (table sugar). Complex carbohydrates such as starch and fiber in grains and other plants are long strings of sugar molecules.
Years ago, some people claimed simple carbs were bad and complex carbs were good. But in reality, it's far more complicated. Whether or not a carbohydrate food has much health value has more to do with the nutrients it contains and the amount of processing it has undergone, than with the length of its sugar chain.
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via active.com
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