THE CARBOHYDRATES

Carbohydrates are macronutrients, as well as fats and proteins.

---

Overview

Unfold the topic that arouses your interest.

Carbohydrates in general

The carbohydrates. Honestly, do you know what you're talking about? And if carbohydrates are sugar, what does the "of which sugar" in the ingredients declaration mean?

Quite simply, it's about the single or double sugars. Because it is these two that go quickly into the blood and cause insulin levels to skyrocket. While the multiple sugars (starch & dietary fibre) cause the blood sugar level to rise very slowly in comparison. Thus, we distinguish between the following carbohydrates

Simple sugars | monosaccharides

Dual sugars | disaccharides

Multiple sugars | polysaccharides

The first two are very low in nutrients in concentrated form. Household sugar, for example, whereas the single sugar in the fruit as fructose is very valuable if the whole fruit is eaten, including the peel and the core. This way, we not only consume the simple sugar, but also the fibre under the skin and the bitter substances in the core. And these are beneficial to health.

But what does the SGE say?

The SGE (Swiss Society for Nutrition) recommends a plate breakdown that contains 45-55% carbohydrates. This refers in particular to multiple sugars such as potatoes, cereals and pulses. Of course, this guideline depends on the individual constitution and may vary. Therefore, as always, your own body awareness is of particular importance.

However, carbohydrates are essential in every diet. They are an important energy supplier for our breathing, digestion and blood pressure. But also for the temperature regulation in our body and the energy supply in our muscles.

Let's take a closer look at the three different forms of carbohydrates:

Die Kohlenhydrate. Mal ehrlich, blickst Du da durch? Und wenn Kohlenhydrate Zucker sind, was bedeutet das «davon Zucker» in der Inhaltsdeklaration??⁠

Simple sugar / Monosaccharide

Simple sugars are further subdivided into

- Dextrose

- Fructose

- Mucilage sugar

This sugar causes the blood sugar level to shoot up quickly. Not only that, industrialisation has long since recognised its value and noticed how well this sugar can be used and sold in isolated form. Products become sweeter and tastier.

But what has this led to? Are you familiar with fatty liver? The disease that particularly affects alcoholics? Well, too much monosaccharide can also lead to fatty liver. And the use of monosaccharides in almost every ready-made product has led to the fact that nowadays even children suffer from fatty liver. This can be cured today. Contact me if you want advice on this.

Dual sugars / Disaccharide

Dual sugars also cause the blood sugar level to shoot up quickly. It is further subdivided into

Table sugar |Crystal sugar, cane sugar, whole cane sugar, beet sugar...

Malt sugar | Malt beer

Milk sugar/lactose | Milk and milk products

Lactose intolerance has fallen into disrepute. Those affected are often referred to as hobby allergy sufferers. However, this condition is not a disease but actually quite normal. As we get older, we lose the enzyme lactase. Lactase is jointly responsible for the metabolisation of milk sugar. Not only humans wean themselves off this enzyme after weaning, this is also the case with other mammals. This is why cows do not drink milk but only calves.

In old age, the tolerance decreases due to the degradation of the enzyme. If we also take evolutionary nutritional development into account, it has led to this enzyme becoming established in certain humans and continuing to be produced in old age. This explains why not all people tolerate lactose equally well.

Multiple sugars / Polysaccharide

Potatoes, cereals, whole grain products, legumes belong to the multiple sugars. Compared to the other two sugars, the blood sugar level rises only slowly because the individual sugar molecules must first be broken down. The multiple sugars are further subdivided into:

Starch | keeps you full longer and ensures a low blood sugar fluctuation.

Dietary fibres | are found exclusively in plant foods. They also provide fewer calories than foods low in fibre and inhibit the risk of fungal infections in the intestines. They also bind toxins and support their elimination. We further divide them into

Soluble dietary fibres | nuts & seeds

Insoluble dietary fibres | marginal layers of fruits, vegetables & grains

Sugar production

Sugar consumption today | According to the Swiss Federal Statistical Office, the sugar consumption per capita of an average citizen is 36kg in 2019. Since 2007, this trend is neither increasing nor decreasing. The value always ranges between 34kg and 45 kg/capita/year.

The maximum recommended amount according to the SGE is 50g/day for an adult and 30g/day for children. For a child, this would mean that with a fruit yoghurt (180g) and 50g of crunchy muesli, the maximum daily consumption would already have been reached.

Industrial process | As already mentioned above, at this latitude we enjoy beet sugar in a very isolated form. It goes through an intensive processing procedure:

Raw soft leaching | Using hot water, the raw juice is leached out.

Filtering | Milk of lime is added to filter out impurities and thus also to eliminate valuable vitamins.

Evaporation | In order to thicken the thin juice, the food, which is now already low in nutrients, undergoes an evaporation process.

Crystallisation | The sugar crystals are now formed by crystallisation at high temperature and low pressure.

We now have the brown sugar. A concentrated simple sugar with some traces of vitamins and minerals.

Refining | If the molasses is separated from the sugar crystals, we speak of refining. The white sugar is produced. We also know it as household sugar or crystal sugar. In this last step, the product loses any traces of nutrients.

Cane sugar undergoes a similar process. The difference lies in the food of origin. Cane sugar, raw cane sugar and whole cane sugar are not extracted from beets, but from sugar cane.

Labelling | The industry comes up with creative names for sugar. So it quickly becomes confusing for us how much sugar we actually consume. Here are a few examples:

Dextrose

Fructose

Gelling sugar

Barley malt extract

Invert sugar

Candy sugar

Caramel sugar

Lactose

Corn syrup

Maltose

Malt sugar

Lactose

Sucrose

Dextrose

Vanilla sugar

Fructose syrup

Glucose-fructose syrup

HFCS (high-fructose corn syrup)

Isoglucose

Caramel syrup

Corn syrup

Molasses

Starch syrup

...etc...

Voracious appetite | Who doesn't know this. The causes are different:

Fluctuation in blood sugar level: due to too much consumption of single and double sugars.

Overeating: Hunger is often misinterpreted as thirst or lack of nutrients. Tip: Drink 1 glass of water first and wait 20 minutes before eating.

Feelings: Influence our eating behaviour. For example, ice cream can alleviate lovesickness. Or snacking can soothe nervousness.

Routines: How far do habits drive you to snack? For example, dessert after the main meal.

Unbalanced intestinal flora: Certain bacteria and parasites can secrete messenger substances. If the intestinal flora is out of balance, the "bad" bacteria dominate our eating behaviour.

Reduction tips and alternatives

Reduction tips | There are simple tips on how to reduce or replace household sugar:

- Replace sweet drinks with unsweetened tea or infused water.

- Replace fruit yoghurt with plain yoghurt and add ripe fruit (even pureed).

- Replace sugared granola with homemade granola or oatmeal

- Replace sweets with energy balls

- Replace chocolate with homemade chocolate

- Replace convenience foods with freshly cooked meals or have them delivered (e.g. - --- Hello Fresh or other delivery services).

- Start your day with a sugar-free diet

- Incorporate more exercise. The hormone seratonin is fuelled by exercise, providing feelings of happiness and relieving sugar cravings.

- Ban white sugar from the kitchen and replace it with alternatives such as pear syrup, date syrup or homemade date paste

...and much more!

Alternative sugars | Alternative sugars are a good substitute for table sugar. However, they are still sugar and should be consumed in bulk. The difference with alternative sugar is that the nutrients have not been washed out. Here are a few examples:

▽Agave syrup

low glycaemic index in comparison.

▽Maple syrup

high glycaemic index but brings potassium, iron & magnesium.

▽Date syrup & date paste

My favourite and full of magnesium, potassium, iron, folic acid, zinc, calcium and vitamin A. It also becomes alkaline. Can be made easily by yourself.

▽Honey

Not vegan. It is said to have many healing properties. Contains potassium, magnesium, calcium, B vitamins, vitamin C and enzymes.

▽Coconut blossom sugar.

Low glycaemic index. Contains iron, magnesium, zinc, potassium and fibre inulin.

▽Rice syrup

Fructose-free and low glycaemic index. Contains potassium, iron & magnesium

▽Stevia

Not interesting as an industrial product. But very valuable as a plant in your own garden, because the leaves do not affect blood sugar and are rich in vitamin C and minerals.

---

xoxo your good-life coach Claudia 💋