Nutrition and Your Body: Your Body on Carbohydrates
up tired But she ate a bagel with peanut butter and a banana and kale smoothie for breakfast She headed to her race knowing she had eaten just how her coach taught her In the moments before the starting whistle blows Lucy's mind is focused Her body feels energized When Lucy crosses the finish line she is in first place The changes in Lucy's body happened because of the carbohydrates in her breakfast Carbohydrates commonly called carbs are nutrients found in certain foods Carbs provide the body with energy The body's central nervous system kidneys brain and muscles need carbs to function HOW CARBS WORK There are two main types of carbs simple and complex Simple carbs are sugars Complex carbs can be grouped into starches and fibers The body breaks down carbs into sugar during digestion This type of sugar is called glucose First the glucose travels to the small intestine Then it is 6
Bread is a common source of carbs absorbed into the bloodstream When people eat carbs glucose levels in the blood rise As glucose levels rise the pancreas makes a hormone called insulin Insulin tells cells in the muscles liver tissues and fat to absorb the glucose These cells 7
HIGH AND LOW either store glucose as BLOOD SUGAR fat or use it for energy One of the body's most important functions is right away Then regulating glucose levels in glucose levels in the the blood If levels soar or drop too much there can blood drop back to the be side effects If glucose usual level levels stay too high the body becomes hyperglycemic The body also Symptoms include blurry has a system to keep vision tiredness and frequent urination If glucose levels blood sugar levels sink too low the body becomes hypoglycemic from dropping too Symptoms include dizziness low The pancreas irritability and confusion makes a hormone If either problem goes on too long a person may have called glucagon This eye kidney nerve and hormone tells the liver heart problems to change fat into glucose Then the glucose is released back into the bloodstream for use This process makes sure the body has enough blood sugar to keep all of its parts running 8
GOOD AND BAD CARBS In one sense the more carbs a person eats the more energy he or she will have But that's not the whole story Carbs are digested at different rates The body breaks down simple carbs quickly Glucose and energy levels rise quickly Then they suddenly drop With the fall in blood sugar hunger and tiredness can return Many foods with simple carbs also have added sugar This sugar does not occur naturally in foods It DIABETES Many people's bodies naturally regulate blood sugar But some people have diabetes This disease causes trouble with insulin There are two types of diabetes People with type 1 diabetes aren't able to make enough insulin Their immune systems destroy insulin producing cells People who suffer from type 2 diabetes resist the effects of insulin Their bodies need to make more insulin to keep blood glucose levels normal In both cases people with diabetes may take daily shots of insulin to stay healthy is added to the food during processing 9
