Make the right choices when it comes to consuming carbs!
Emphasize fiber-rich fruits and vegetables. Aim for whole fresh, frozen and canned fruits and vegetables without added sugar. Other options are fruit juices and dried fruits, which are concentrated sources of natural sugar and therefore have more calories.
Choose whole grains. Whole grains are better sources than refined grains of fiber and other important nutrients, such as B vitamins.
Eat more legumes. Legumes — which include beans, peas and lentils — are among the most versatile and nutritious foods available. They are typically low in fat and high in folate, potassium, iron and magnesium, and they contain beneficial fats and fiber.
Limit added sugars. Added sugar probably isn’t harmful in small amounts. But there’s no health advantage to consuming any amount of added sugar. The Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommends that less than 10 percent of calories you consume every day come from added sugar.
- Some benefits of eating healthy carbs are
- They are a good source of energy
- Can help prevent disease
- Can help with weight loss
There are 3 main types of carbohydrate:
- Sugar. Sugar is the simplest form of carbohydrate and occurs naturally in some foods, including fruits, vegetables, milk and milk products. Types of sugar include fruit sugar (fructose), table sugar (sucrose) and milk sugar (lactose).
- Starch. Starch is a complex carbohydrate, meaning it is made of many sugar units bonded together. Starch occurs naturally in vegetables, grains, and cooked dry beans and peas.
- Fibre. Fibre also is a complex carbohydrate. It occurs naturally in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and cooked dry beans and peas.
Also known as motor proteins, contractile proteins regulate the strength and speed of heart and muscle contractions. These proteins are actin and myosin. Contractile proteins can cause heart complications if they produce severe contractions. This completes the list of 8 types of protein.
Located on the outer part of the cells, receptor proteins control the substances that enter and leave the cells, including water and nutrients. Some receptors activate enzymes, while others stimulate endocrine glands to secrete epinephrine and insulin to regulate blood sugar levels.
Transport proteins carry vital materials to the cells. Haemoglobin, for example, carries oxygen to body tissues from the lungs. Serum albumin carries fats in your bloodstream, while myoglobin absorbs oxygen from haemoglobin and then releases it to the muscles. Calbindin is another transport protein that facilitates the absorption of calcium from the intestinal walls.
Storage proteins mainly store mineral ions such as potassium in your body. Iron, for example, is an ion required for the formation of hemoglobin, the main structural component of red blood cells. Ferritin — a storage protein — regulates and guards against the adverse effects of excess iron in your body. Ovalbumin and casein are storage proteins found in breast milk and egg whites, respectively, that play a huge role in embryonic development.
Antibodies, or immunoglobulin, are a core part of your immune system, keeping diseases at bay. Antibodies are formed in the white blood cells and attack bacteria, viruses and other harmful microorganisms, rendering them inactive.