Complex carbohydrates contain sugar molecules in long chains and complex. Complex carbohydrates are found in foodies such as beans, peas, whole grains, vegetables.
Complex carbohydrates are known as starches and polysaccharides containing three or more sugars. Their longer structure leads to digested and absorbed slowly than simple carbs.
Complex carbs can be found in fruits, vegetables, legumes, and whole grains. Ever since it comes in their whole, unprocessed form, they lean to be a preferential source of fiber, essential vitamins, and minerals, and they amount to a number of health benefits.
1. Maintain Energy
Glucose provided by carbs is a source option energy in the body. Quickly spike of glucose in the form of consuming simple carbohydrates is disserved because it is much absorbed and can’t maintain energy requirements for the long term.
That’s why have to consume regularly. It is disturbing insulin levels in the body. Rather than simple carbohydrates, better input complex carbohydrates into their food because they burnout slower, keeping more sustain longer and reducing the risk of insulin levels.
2. Carry Out Weight
Commonly, high-fiber food is low in calories and tends to satiate more than unfiber food. Carrying out weight can be obtained from consuming sugarcane juice.
It is the benefit of sugarcane juice for weight loss. Both compounds from low calories and satiation can give reduce weight and/or drive a maintain weight.
3. Drive a Muscle Growth
Protein is essential to build muscles. The existence of carbohydrates is important to optimize growth and recovery. Eat after workouts recharge its supply of glycogen and put the body in anabolic condition, basically the process of the building of muscles.
To get the best result after workouts, a recommendation is to consume carbohydrates and protein with a ratio comparison of 3 or 4:1.
4. Set Blood Sugar
Complex carbohydrates absorb more slowly than simple carbohydrates due to maintaining blood sugar levels at a stable speed for a continuous period and unnatural spikes get diminished in a short time. They are ideal for diabetes type 2 patients as they arrange a spike in blood sugar after eating.
5. Support Brain Health
The brain use carbohydrates as fuel and without carbohydrate, we will feel headache and easily offended, difficult to concentrate and to get focus. Moreover, fiber-rich seeds have been linked to the decrease of cognitive interruption.
While folate found in oats and other seeds is important to the growth and function of the brain properly and finally goes to support mental health and welfare. Antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals supplied by complex carbohydrates are proven to protect from dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.
6. Back Digestive Health
The fiber found in complex carbohydrates increases health and intestine’s regularity, specifically due to a source of fiber undissolved “bulk-forming” that can be found in fibers in vegetables, nuts, and fruits making skin harder. The rich fiber in dietary is proven to protect from colon disease, hemorrhoids, and colorectal cancer.
7. Reduce the Risk of Death
A meta-analysis recently involving more than 400,000 participants found that the risk of death increased for those following a diet of high carbohydrates and those who follow a diet of low carbohydrates.
Dietary habits that provide 50 to 55%total energy of carbohydrates were associated with a low risk of death, within plant-based protein substitution for carbohydrates further reduces the risk of death.
Types of complex carbohydrates
There are 2 types of complex carbohydrates which are fiber and starch.
- Fiber
It may be soluble (dissolve in water) or insoluble. Soluble fibers help digestion slowly and soften stools, reducing the risk of heart health through lower cholesterol levels.
Insoluble fiber help bulk stools and move by the colon, and can help relieve or prevent constipation. Research shows that the intake of insoluble fiber or wholegrain can reduce resistance to the risk of insulin and diabetes type 2 in the amount of 20 to 30%.
Soluble fiber is found in oats, oranges, apples, barley, psyllium, flax seed, and beans. Insoluble fiber is found in seeds, nuts, and vegetables. We need both of them but eating a variety of foods with a lot of fiber is just enough without tracking the intake.
- Starch
Starch is used by plants as an energy store. It is found in nature like garbanzo beans, lentils, barley, corn, oats, and wheat. Some of the vegetables containing starch are carrots and potatoes.
It can add to foods during processing or preparation to thicken or stabilize them. It is digested by the body quickly. As result, starchy food like white bread and pasta can cause a spike in blood sugar. Some people need to modify intake their of carbohydrates.
For example, people with diabetes type 2 get hardly any metabolic carbohydrates and therefore get benefit from following modifying diet-rich fiber.
The body turn of carbohydrates consumed being simple sugar bring into the bloodstream. It has the health benefits of carbohydrates other controls weight.
The pancreas releases insulin hormones while blood sugar level rise. Sugar transported from the blood into cells might be used as an energy source needed for insulin.
Complex carbohydrates consist of much nutrients. It has high fiber and is digested slowly to give satiety. Besides being good for controlling weight, it is optimized for diabetic type 2 can arrange spike blood sugar after eating.
Fibre and starch are two kinds of complex carbohydrates. Fiber is essential to increase intestines’ regularity and control cholesterol. Starch is found in some of the same food as fiber. The difference is a specific food is considered more powdery like potatoes.
A complex carbohydrate is a key to long-term health. They make it easier to maintain a healthy weight and even help prevent diabetic type 2 and cardiovascular problems in the future.
The glycemic index (GI) measures how much a type of food increases blood sugar levels. The higher GI, the larger impact on blood sugar levels. We need low GI to manage blood sugar well. It is the health benefits of low GI bread.
Some of the factors give effects GI among the composition of nutrients, cooking method, ripeness, and food processing methods. GI can help to increase awareness of what is put on the plate, enhance weight loss, reduce blood sugar levels, and decrease cholesterol.
Foods processed in high carbohydrates and sugar are digested quickly with high GI, while high protein foods, fat, or fiber commonly have low GI.
Food with low carbohydrates doesn’t give GI including meat, fish, poultry, nuts, seeds, herbs, spices, and oil. Low GI is around 55 even lower, middle GI is about 56 -69 and the value of high GI is 70 even over.
Keep in mind that GI difference with GL (glycemic load) doesn’t consider the amount of food to eat, GL factors of carbohydrates in food estimate how it affects blood sugar levels.
For this reason, it is important to consider GI and GL when a choice of food to help and support blood sugar levels is healthy. Simple carbohydrates have GI higher than complex carbohydrates although some complex carbohydrates have the same too.
Food as naturally have rich in complex carbohydrates
Specific food as naturally have rich in complex carbohydrates, and many of them are plant food containing vitamins, and minerals.
- Quinoa, a good source of carbohydrates has a high protein, a source of vitamin B, and magnesium. This is another health benefit of black quinoa as a fiber source. Quinoa has been found to increase metabolism and reduce appetite, rendering it a good option when trying to drop weight loss.
- Legumes, including beans, peas, and lentils. This vegetable class is rich in complex carbohydrates and protein. It also supports the digestive system, helping to maintain a healthy weight.
- Root Vegetables, when roots growth in the underground, they absorb all nutrients from this field. Mean, not only full of complex carbohydrates but also full of vitamins A, C, and E, minerals such as magnesium and potassium. Parsnips, sweet potatoes, artichokes, and onions are part of root vegetables.
- Whole Grains, it is the highest complex carbohydrates. Whole grains are available in bread, rice, and pasta. It is important to distinguish wholegrain foods made from refined white flour like white bread because containing a simple carbohydrate can cause weight gain.
- Fruits, contain a mix of both simple and complex carbohydrates. Negative effects from simple carbohydrates are bigger than complex carbs level, as well as a number of vitamins and minerals. Besides having side effects, there are health benefits to having fruits for breakfast every day. Fruit is an alternative option to processing sweet food because sugar is natural and can’t cause fluctuation in blood sugar levels as happened to refined sugar.