Why Do We Need Carbohydrates?

With so many different medical experts and dieticians, it's sometimes hard to decide what a person should be eating. This argument is common regarding carbohydrates--but perhaps it would be easier to know how many of them to eat if more people knew what they did.

Purpose

• Carbohydrates provide the body with energy. Whether it's swimming, running, jumping, or even something as simple as breathing, the body needs carbohydrates to keep going.

Types

• There are two different types of carbohydrates: simple and complex. Other terms for these are sugars and starches.

Sugars

• Sugars are simple carbohydrates that are absorbed relatively quickly and give the body bursts of energy. Sugars can be found in sodas and cookies, as well as in a variety of fruits.

Starches

• Starches are complex carbohydrates that take longer for the body to digest, and therefore release energy over a longer period. Starches are found in foods such as breads, cereals and pastas.

Balance

• Although a person can get energy from both forms of carbohydrates, a balance should be found between them. The body can only use so many simple carbohydrates at a time, and they often lack important vitamins. Complex carbohydrates shouldn't be over-indulged in because that can lead to unhealthy amounts of fat.