LESSON PREVIEW

1. Is it okay to skip meals if I have a heavy breakfast?

Answer: Yes but not too much because doing it consistently can negatively impact one’s health and lead to nutritional deficiencies.
2. Why should one eat every 2 – 3 hours even if not hungry? Won’t eating so often cause weight gain?
Answer: For weight management, it is important to keep the metabolism in equilibrium. Eating every 2-3 hours maintains body
processes and metabolism remains intact. This kind of eating pattern, she says, can also be beneficial for people on a weight loss plan
or those with diabetes.
3. Why do we have to eat banana, chikoo, and mango in moderation?
Answer: Mangoes and banana contain fructose (simple carbohydrate), and also high in fibre and other micro nutrients which have
many health benefits. However, too much consumption of these will get rapidly absorbed in the body and will interfere with the
blood glucose control, which will pose a risk in diabetic patients.

MAIN LESSON
Carbohydrate has 4 calories per gram. About 50 to 60 percent of your total daily calories should come from carbohydrate.
• Carbohydrate contains the most glucose and gives the quickest form of energy. Your body changes 100 percent of carbohydrate
into glucose.
Besides giving your body energy that it uses right away, your body can store carbohydrate in your liver. Your liver stores extra
carbohydrate as glycogen and releases it later, when your body needs it. However, there's a limit to the amount of glycogen your liver
can store. Once your liver has reached that limit, your body turns the extra carbohydrate into fat.
There are two types of carbohydrate:
1. Healthy carbs
2. Not-so- healthy carbs
Healthy carbs:

 Also called complex or slower-acting carbs. Includes multigrain bread, brown rice, lentils, and beans.
 This type of carbohydrate raises blood sugar slowly and lasts longer.
 This helps keep you from feeling hungry for a longer time and helps to keep blood sugar levels closer to normal.

Not-so-healthy carbs:

 Also known as simple or fast-acting carbs. Includes:

 candy
 cookies
 cake
 soda
 juice, and
 sweetened beverages.
 This type of carbohydrate raises blood sugar levels very quickly, but doesn't last very long. That's why these carbs work well to
correct low-blood sugar but don't satisfy hunger as well as healthy carbs.

When planning diets, you should consider the amount of carbohydrates in the food to be prepared and the contributions of other
nutrients in a given food. Bread, rice, corn, sweet potatoes, and white potatoes are important contributors from the vegetable-fruit
group to carbohydrate intake. Bananas, dried fruits, and beans are also relatively high in carbohydrates.

Most people consider carbohydrates as fattening and avoid them when they want to lose weight. However, it would be wise to cut
down on sugars and not totally avoid them while eating more of the complex form of carbohydrates.
CHECKING FOR UNDERSTANDING
Multiple Choice

1. a. Cancer
Rationale: It's true that too many calories from carbohydrates (carbs, for short) can lead to weight gain, obesity and increased risk for
diseases, including certain types of cancer like breast and colon cancer. And carbohydrates with a high glycemic index have
been linked to increased lung cancer risk.

2. a. Fat
Rationale: There are three main types of carbohydrates: Sugars, starches and fiber.

3. d. none of the above

Rationale: Naturally occurring sugars are found in milk (lactose) and fruit (fructose).

4. d. all of the above

Rationale: When you eat excess sugar, the extra insulin in your bloodstream can affect your arteries all over your body. It causes their
walls to get inflamed, grow thicker than normal and more stiff, this stresses your heart and damages it over time. This can
lead to heart disease, like heart failure, heart attacks, and strokes.

5. b. Fiber
Rationale: Dietary fiber, also known as roughage or bulk, includes the parts of plant foods your body can't digest or absorb. Unlike
other food components, such as fats, proteins or carbohydrates — which your body breaks down and absorbs — fiber isn't
digested by your body.

LESSON WRAP-UP
AL ACTIVITY