Carbohydrate

Complex carbohydrates are long chains. They have many sugars attached and are often folded into different shapes, normally for storage.

Your body uses carbohydrates to make glucose which is the fuel that gives you energy and helps keep everything going.

Carbohydrate

Carbohydrates are the body's main source of energy. They are easily digested and broken down into glucose, which the body uses to perform its numerous functions

Simple and refined carbohydrates contain no fiber and, once consumed, are dumped into the bloodstream in one go. This causes a spike in blood sugar levels, triggering the release of insulin, which causes the body to store sugar as fat.

Excess carbohydrates from food are converted to saturated fat which is stored in fat cells in adipose tissue (body fat). But this really only applies to refined carbohydrates, which have been stripped of their fiber, since unrefined carbohydrates tend to be converted to sugar in amounts that do not trigger the insulin response and can be readily utilized for energy in the body.

Carbohydrates have a powerful effect on behavior and psychology. The consumption of simple or refined carbohydrates leads, at first, to a peak in energy, accompanied by restlessness, loss of concentration, impatience, and the compulsion to act, or act out. These symptoms are followed by a crash in energy, accompanied by lethargy, sluggish thought processes, irritability and mood swings.

Once sugar has been consumed, any that has not been transported to the cells, or converted to glycogen and stored in the liver and muscles, is converted to fat within about 40 minutes after its ingestion.

Fruit juice is a form of carbohydrate. Most fruit juice contains no fiber and acts exactly like sugar in the body, causing a spike in blood sugar, followed by a crash. Fruit juice, apart from organic, contains high levels of pesticide residues and is pasteurized, depleting nutrients, such as vitamin-c, making it just another soft drink. Far better to eat the fruit since most of its nutrients are located in the flesh.