All the food we eat is eventually turned into glucose, which is sugar.
This gives us our energy.
Carbohydrates are important because they convert to sugar easier than protein or fat.
Virtually every part of our body needs glucose to function properly.
For example, our brain uses about two thirds of the glucose the body makes and the rest goes to feed the other cells.
This is part of nature - plant and animal life contains essential sugars called saccharides.
This is nature's way of providing us with the energy we need.
That is why not all carbohydrates are bad as they are essential for the body to function properly.
The Good Carbohydrates The good carbohydrates come from fruit and vegetables.
Most fruit and vegetables are good because they not only supply essential sugars but they also supply fiber, vitamins, minerals and proteins.
Other important sources of carbohydrates are foods like bread, pasta and rice.
These are all good things to eat but, as we know, we can have too much of a good thing.
That is when carbohydrates can turn bad, because if we are taking in more than we are expending, we put on weight.
This why they have been given such a bad name - too many will make us fat unless we are active enough to get rid of the excess.
Some foods have a different effect on the body.
Fruit is a simple carbohydrate because it contains one sugar, fructose, which breaks down quickly and gives us a quick supply of energy.
That is why we pick up quickly when we eat it.
That can work against us if we ate nothing but fruit because we would have to eat it all the time to supply more energy.
On the other hand, food like whole grain bread is a complex carbohydrate, because it has more than one sugar, which takes longer to break down in the body.
This means energy is being supplied over a longer period of time so that we do not need to eat as often and generally, we feel more satisfied.
The Really Bad Carbohydrates The really bad carbohydrates are the ones found in sugary drinks like soda and fruit drinks, white sugar and white flour.
These break down quickly and have very little nutrient value.
They give the body a sudden surge of blood sugar, which the body has to control by releasing insulin.
Insulin is a hormone that lowers the blood sugar but also stores fat and creates hunger.
This starts us on the whole cycle again because we are looking for food a couple of hours later.
So, unless we are burning it off with exercise, these types of food will add to our weight.
The best thing to do is to eat the good carbohydrates most of the time and occasionally have some of the bad.
At the same time, we need to do enough exercise to get rid of any excess.