Carbohydrates

What are carbohydrates?

Carbohydrates are one of the main food groups. They are a form of sugar and are easily converted into energy by the body. There are two main types of carbohydrates; simple and complex. 

Ideally the majority of our carbohydrate intake should come from complex carbohydrates, as they are less refined and better for us. Complex carbohydrates are things like wholemeal bread, oats, brown pasta and basmati rice.

Complex carbohydrates release energy into the blood stream slower than the simple carbohydrates so that we avoid sugar spikes and have more sustainable energy levels.

While carbohydrates are important for energy, over eating them can cause unwanted and unhealthy weight gain if we aren't performing regular exercise.