How do carbohydrates impact your health? - Richard J. Wood
How do carbohydrates impact your health? - Richard J. Wood
View full lesson: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/how-do-carb…
The things we eat and drink on a daily basis can impact our health in big ways. Too many carbohydrates, for instance, can lead to insulin resistance, which is a major contributor to cardiovascular disease and Type 2 Diabetes. But what are carbs, exactly? And what do they do to our bodies? Richard J. Wood explains.
Lesson by Richard J. Wood, animation by Qa’ed Mai.
Content
6.995 -> Which of these has
the least carbohydrates?
9.598 -> This roll of bread?
10.977 -> This bowl of rice?
12.327 -> Or this can of soda?
14.224 -> It's a trick question.
15.38 -> Although they may differ in fats,
vitamins, and other nutritional content,
19.689 -> when it comes to carbs,
they're pretty much the same.
23.051 -> So what exactly does that mean
for your diet?
26.323 -> First of all, carbohydrate is
the nutritional category for sugars
30.375 -> and molecules that your body breaks down
to make sugars.
34.48 -> Carbohydrates can be simple or complex
depending on their structure.
38.687 -> This is a simple sugar,
or monosaccharide.
42.611 -> Glucose, fructose,
and galactose are all simple sugars.
46.889 -> Link two of them together,
and you've got a disaccharide,
50.505 -> lactose, maltose, or sucrose.
55.254 -> Complex carbohydrates,
on the other hand,
57.517 -> have three or more simple sugars
strung together.
60.99 -> Complex carbohydrates with three
to ten linked sugars
64.33 -> are oligosaccharides.
66.257 -> Those with more than ten
are polysaccharides.
69.367 -> During digestion,
70.975 -> your body breaks down those
complex carbohydrates
74.052 -> into their monosaccharide building blocks,
76.906 -> which your cells can use for energy.
79.469 -> So when you eat
any carbohydrate-rich food,
82.331 -> the sugar level in your blood,
normally about a teaspoon, goes up.
87.238 -> But your digestive tract doesn't respond
to all carbohydrates the same.
91.965 -> Consider starch and fiber,
93.673 -> both polysaccharides,
95.23 -> both derived from plants,
96.892 -> both composed of hundreds to thousands
of monosaccharides joined together,
102.12 -> but they're joined together differently,
104.272 -> and that changes the effect
they have on your body.
107.205 -> In starches, which plants mostly store
for energy in roots and seeds,
111.884 -> glucose molecules are joined together
by alpha linkages,
115.708 -> most of which can be easily cleaved
by enzymes in your digestive tract.
120.488 -> But in fiber, the bonds between
monosaccharide molecules are beta bonds,
125.658 -> which your body can't break down.
127.876 -> Fiber can also trap some starches,
preventing them from being cleaved,
132.56 -> resulting in something called
resistant starch.
135.931 -> So foods high in starch,
like crackers and white bread,
139.852 -> are digested easily,
141.328 -> quickly releasing a whole bunch of glucose
into your blood,
144.774 -> exactly what would happen if you drank
something high in glucose, like soda.
148.972 -> These foods have a high glycemic index,
151.958 -> the amount that a particular food
raises the sugar level in your blood.
156.398 -> Soda and white bread have a similar
glycemic index
159.705 -> because they have a similar effect
on your blood sugar.
162.923 -> But when you eat foods high in fiber,
like vegetables, fruits, and whole grains,
167.414 -> those indigestible beta bonds slow
the release of glucose into the blood.
172.544 -> Those foods have a lower glycemic index,
174.988 -> and foods like eggs, cheese, and meats
have the lowest glycemic index.
180.759 -> When sugar moves from the digestive tract
to the blood stream,
184.164 -> your body kicks into action to transfer it
into your tissues
188.091 -> where it can be processed
and used for energy.
190.942 -> Insulin, a hormone
synthesized in the pancreas,
194.643 -> is one of the body's main tools
for sugar management.
197.936 -> When you eat and your blood sugar rises,
200.509 -> insulin is secreted into the blood.
203.173 -> It prompts your muscle and fat cells
to let glucose in
206.992 -> and jump starts the conversion
of sugar to energy.
210.777 -> The degree to which a unit
of insulin lowers the blood sugar
213.672 -> helps us understand something called
insulin sensitivity.
217.335 -> The more a given unit of insulin
lowers blood sugar,
220.992 -> the more sensitive you are to insulin.
223.115 -> If insulin sensitivity goes down,
that's known as insulin resistance.
227.549 -> The pancreas still sends out insulin,
229.763 -> but cells, especially muscle cells,
are less and less responsive to it,
234.864 -> so blood sugar fails to decrease,
237.139 -> and blood insulin continues to rise.
240.546 -> Chronically consuming
a lot of carbohydrates
243.951 -> may lead to insulin resistance,
246.255 -> and many scientists believe
that insulin resistance
249.214 -> leads to a serious condition
called metabolic syndrome.
253.465 -> That involves a constellation of symptoms,
255.6 -> including high blood sugar,
257.205 -> increased waist circumference,
259.033 -> and high blood pressure.
261.156 -> It increases the risk
of developing conditions,
263.465 -> like cardiovascular disease
265.261 -> and type II diabetes.
267.384 -> And its prevalence is rapidly increasing
all over the world.
271.935 -> As much as 32% of the population
in the U.S. has metabolic syndrome.
278.141 -> So let's get back to your diet.
280.088 -> Whether your food tastes sweet or not,
sugar is sugar,
284.319 -> and too many carbs can be a problem.
287.338 -> So maybe you'll want to take a pass
289.656 -> on that pasta sushi roll pita burrito
donut burger sandwich.
Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wxzc_2c6GMg