20/10/2021
Complex carbohydrates are considered low GI, as they are digested slower and more gradually.
What this means is that the the containing sugar- or glucose molecules- are released rather slower into our blood stream, and therefore not spiking our blood sugar levels drastically. This is beneficial for steady energy, concentration and mood.
You can think of carbs like a chain made out of sugar molecules. The connection between each sugar molecule is broken during digestion by our digestive enzymes, which leaves us with the separated sugar molecules. The speed of which the bondโs (connections) are broken is determined by the type of bonds and the overall structure of the carbohydrates. When the biochemical structure is rather complex, the cleavage (or separation) of those bonds (or connections) occurs more slowly, as those bondโs are not easily accessible. Therefore, the digestion process overall takes longer. Because the digestion is slower, the glucose molecules become freely more steady and also the uptake of the sugar into out blood occurs more gradually (glycemic index= how fast sugar is taken up into our blood stream). Therefore, the sugar levels (or blood glucose levels) also stay steady, supplying energy to our cells in the body more constant, which manifests as lesser hunger feeling, better concentration, mood and energy).
