The hiding of facts about carbohydrates has made it impossible for the understanding of what carbohydrates and their importance in our body. These are nutrients that the body needs for its functionality. They are among the four important nutrients which comprise of proteins, fats, water and carbohydrates.

The first fact about carbohydrates is that its name comes from the word carbo. The word means carbon which is a chemical element existing in compounds found in living things as well as some non-living things. The combination of carbo and hydrate, meaning water, forms the carbohydrate compound. All of the carbohydrates break down into sugar molecules after their digestion. The speed of breaking down varies with the different types of the foods containing the carbohydrates.

The second fact about carbohydrates is that they are the outstanding energy source for the body. With the carbohydrate acting as the small branches and twigs that you use to light the fire, fats, which are the second body energy source acts as the large logs that help keep the fire up. In every gram of carbohydrate you will find four calories.

Another fact about carbohydrates is that, depending on the amount of processing done on it, they can either be good carbohydrates or bad carbohydrates. For example, eating a fresh apple direct from the tree is full of minerals, enzymes, and vitamins which the body requires. On the other hand, eating an apple pie from a fast food restaurant contains extra sugar that is refined, preservatives and other less nutritious substances. The apple pie does contain a lot of useless calories because of being very processed. This makes it a bad carbohydrate for the body.

The other important fact about carbohydrates is its benefits. Apart from being the basic source of the body’s energy, it contains enzymes from vegetables and fresh fruits. The enzymes are required for proper digestion and metabolism activities of the body. The huge quantities of minerals and vitamins found in the vegetables and fresh fruits are required by the body. However, they are required in small quantities.

The essential fact about carbohydrates that many people tend to overlook is that they should not be consumed in large quantities. Large consumption results into fluctuations of your body’s energy making you feel tired and irritated most of the time. Balancing your intake of carbohydrates with little fat, fibre and proteins. There are two types of carbohydrates, complex carbohydrates and the simple carbohydrates. The complex carbohydrates are often referred to as starchy foods. They exist in natural as well as fined processed foods. The simple carbohydrates also referred to as sugars, do exist in the refined or natural food.

The other fact about carbohydrates is that the complex ones are the best in the provision of slow and sustainable energy release than the simple ones. The consumption of too much carbohydrates results in the gaining of weight. This is irrespective of what foods you take to gain energy from. Despite there being too much publicity about low carbohydrate diets, few grams carbohydrates contain fewer calories than proteins, alcohol and fats.