To provide enough energy every day, our body needs fuel. We can receive this fuel in different ways with our food. An important fuel supplier is carbohydrates.

Carbohydrates are a collective noun for starch and sugars. You can divide sugar into natural sugars like lactose, fructose and saccharine. Glucose is being made from these carbohydrates in our body. Glucose serves as fuel to be able to walk, talk and think – we need it for all our bodily functions. Every person has glucose in their blood. People also call it blood sugar.

It is advised that half of your meal should consist of carbohydrates. The best thing to do is not to use products that are rich in saccharine, because they are rich in fat. You should choose products that contain starch instead of the group of sugars. You will find starch in bread, potatoes, peas and beans, whole-wheat products, pasta and rice. Starch supplies us with the materials for glucose, just as sugars do but it is a more complex process of digestion and hence allows us to really use more of the sugars we receive from eating it, without storing too much fat as we spend also more energy generating them and burn calories to do so.

For diabetics, since they have to watch over the levels of blood sugar, this means they need to watch the levels of all carbohydrates (not just sugar) because they all are a source for glucose in the blood.

Energy

Firstly the body uses carbohydrates as an energy source. They can be stored for a limited time in the form of glycogen. Extra energy is needed for that: the basic metabolism is being raised with five to ten percent. Other carbohydrates can be stored as fat, but this mechanism is limited for the human body. That doesn't mean that it is not possible to get fat from eating too many carbohydrates. Fat is usually in food. When there are too much calories by eating many carbohydrates, the body will store the extra glucose it needs as fat in the form of fat tissue.

When you get too many calories from carbohydrates at once, the rest that is not immediately required as energy will be stored as fat. Carbohydrates that are being digested quickly (called simple sugars or simple carbohydrates) will be stored as fat because the body doesn't have enough time to burn the calories. Foods that contain simple sugars are for instance: fruit, fruit juices, candy and cookies, cake and soda drinks. You will have to avoid these simple sugars as much as possible.

Complex Carbohydrates

Carbohydrates that are digested by the body in a longer period of time (called complex carbohydrates) have a smaller chance to be stored as fat and usually contain many food fibers. Sports people like body builders prefer this source of carbohydrates. Foods that contain complex carbohydrates are for instance: rice, oatmeal, pasta, grain, whole wheat bread and potatoes.

Blood sugar

Carbohydrates also have an influence on your blood sugar, the level of glycogen supply and the production of insulin. If you take simple carbohydrates (sugars, candy) your blood sugar level will rise relatively quickly to drop even faster. As a result of this you will feel tired and sleepy, and this also will make you long for more sugars and carbohydrates. People with diabetes usually have a blood sugar level that is too high, which doesn't mean that someone with diabetes mellitus is not supposed to eat carbohydrates. Carbohydrates have an important place in a balanced meal (Not only for people with diabetes mellitus) it just means you need to be more careful about which carbs you eat and when, and with what – to prevent fluctuations in your blood sugar..

A few pointers:

• One gram of carbohydrates gives you 4 kilocalories.
• Avoid simple carbohydrates. Put differently: avoid products that are full of refined sugars, like: soda drinks and sweets. They contain empty calories and no other important nutrients.
• Take your carbohydrates from natural, 'clean' foods like brown bread, potatoes, rice and fruit.
• Eat complex carbohydrates (bread and potatoes) as well as the simple carbohydrates (fruit).