|
All carbohydrates contain elements like
carbon, hydrogen and oxygen. Different carbohydrates are created
depending on how the above elements are arranged in the carbohydrate.
Simple carbohydrates such as sugar and honey are created by simple
arrangements of one or two of these basic units. Bread, potato,
rice and vegetables are more complex structured carbohydrates whereby
formed by many of these basic elements joined together. On the
other hand, the extent of processing the carbohydrates go through will
determine its refined form. The more processed the food is, the
more refined it becomes. In comparison with white rice and brown
rice, white rice is considered a refined form of complex carbohydrates
whereas brown rice is not so refined. When buying food, we
should buy food with unrefined complex carbohydrates such as whole
meal or whole grain if we are on a weight loss diet. For weight
loss, we do not have to omit carbohydrates from our diet, instead
choose more unrefined complex carbohydrates and less refined complex
and simple carbohydrates. This is because these carbohydrates go
through less processing and therefore they retain more vitamins,
minerals and fiber than other carbohydrates types which has gone
through more processing stages. As fiber gives food bulk, which
means you can eat less without feeling hungry, you can control the
quantity of food you eat and also control weight loss by not
overeating. Many refined carbohydrate foods also come with fat,
making weight gain easy.
|