Carbohydrates: All about them

Carbohydrates are the most puzzling and mysterious ones when we talk about macro-nutrients. The fact that most people are seen talking Fats and Proteins don't very often bring Carbs in discussion establishes the obscurity of the topic.Here, I have tried to throw some light on the topic to clear the gloom.

What are Carbohydrates?

More than a macro-nutrient, carbohydrates are hydrated carbon molecules i.e a combination of carbon, hydrogen & oxygen.Does that even matter? Not really, unless you want to dive deep into the chemistry of it's molecules but it's important to know that they are nothing more than plain and straightforward molecules.

Carbohydrates are the primary source of energy for our body.They are made up of glucose which is needed by our body to produce energy particles(molecules) called ATP in the body.

Types of Carbohydrates

1. Simple carbohydrates (Take almost no time to get absorbed in the bloodstream)
2. Complex carbohydrates (Breakdown happens gradually and then absorption in bloodstream)

I  hope the above diagram is self explanatory but in case of any doubts you can always use the comment section of the post.

Noteworthy: 

Simple carbohydrates are readily available glucose.When consumed, they are instantly absorbed into the blood stream giving out surplus energy all at once unlike the complex carbohydrates which have to be broken down into simple carbohydrates(happens gradually) before they get absorbed into the blood.

Look at the depiction below for a better understanding:

Sensing the rise in blood glucose level, pancreas release Insulin which instantly binds to the Insulin receptors present in different cells all in the body(muscle tissues etc.). This promotes glucose intake into those cells to produce ATP(energy molecules) decreasing the level of glucose flowing free in the bloodstream.

How do we gain fat from carbohydrates?

"Excess amount of carbohydrates already absorbed into the blood and not up taken by the cells are converted into fats." Really? 

Fundamentally not but effectually, yes it happens.

• We get fat when our fat cells(adipose tissue)  grow in size.
• Fat cells have something called triglycerides in them. More the number of triglycerides more the size of the cell.

This is a typical fat cell

• Now, when you eat simple carbohydrates, you receive all the glucose directly into your blood stream in just no time. 
• Some amount of that glucose is kept in the bloodstream to meet energy expenditures.The rest flows around looking for absorption into the cells. 
• This excess glucose is stored in 2 places as Glycogen(storage form of glucose)
• Muscle tissues
• Liver
• What happens when both Muscle tissues' and Liver's glycogen store gets full and you still have glucose left in your blood stream?
• This glucose accumulates into the blood resulting in more insulin secretion by the pancreas.
• Increase in Insulin and satiated glycogen stores result in uptake of glucose by the fat cells underneath.
• What happens in fat cells?

• This is how the fat cells grow with increase in triglycerides.

Why Prefer Complex carbohydrates over Simple carbohydrates?

Complex carbohydrates consist of mostly natural dietary fibers and take time to get digested. 

This results in slow release of glucose and does not spike insulin to the level simple carbohydrates do.In most cases the energy is released gradually and at no point of time there is excess glucose in the blood which has to be absorbed by the fat cells and the slow release of glucose keeps the energy requirements of the body satisfied for a longer time.