Refined carbohydrates are caloric-type macronutrients, which are useful to the body to support the physiological mechanisms that require the use of energy; refined carbohydrates are also synonymous with: refined carbon hydrates, refined carbohydrates, refined glycides and refined sugars.
Refined carbohydrates are a group of molecules, simple or complex, obtained thanks to the processing (extracts or hydrolysates or synthesized) of vegetable raw materials; their production, which requires special technologies and rather delicate chemical-physical processes, occurs mainly at the level of the food industry.
Refined carbohydrates: what are they?
Let's start by specifying that, contrary to what is often read on the net, the term "carbohydrate" is NOT synonymous with starch, just as the term "sugar" is NOT attributable only to that of the table! Carbohydrates, sugars, carbohydrates, glycides and carbon hydrates are SYNONYMS and the only distinction can be made differentiating them into SIMPLE and COMPLEX (an approximate distinction that refers to the ease with which they are digested and to the speed with which they are metabolized) or, even better, cataloging them in monosaccharides, oligosaccharides (from 2 to 10 molecules of monosaccharides bound together) and polysaccharides (+ of 10 molecules of monosaccharides bound together). Moreover, always on the net, it is not uncommon to run into articles or manuscripts that misunderstand the chemical nature of the molecule with the prevailing food source it belongs to, namely: cereals, potatoes, chestnuts and legumes become synonymous with "complex carbohydrates", while table sugar, honey, sweet foods and (at best ...) fruit replace the term "sugars". Definitely incorrect!
That being said, let us try to frame with greater accuracy and precision what are the refined carbohydrates present in the most consumed products.
Simple refined carbohydrates
Sucrose : among the molecules belonging to this category, it is the most widespread in food handled by man. Saccharose (table sugar) is a simple glucose (very fast to digest and metabolize) consisting of a molecule of glucose and one of fructose which (logically) belongs to the category of disaccharides. Sucrose is also present in foods that are NOT manufactured by the food industry, including honey, some fruits, etc. However, the presence of sucrose in nature is extremely limited. The fact remains that, to date, sucrose represents an extremely important "slice" of refined carbohydrates because, thanks to its industrial extraction from beet or sugar cane, it has become the most commonly used sweetener by man. It has a fairly high glycemic index, which negatively affects the release of insulin, and significantly increases the risk of tooth decay. Furthermore, even if it is not said that what I will expose really affects the metabolism, it is curious to note that: sucrose has a dextrorotatory rotatory power, while the equimolecular mixture of glucose + fructose (obtained by hydrolysis thereof) has a levorotatory rotatory power, almost were a synthetic molecule with INNATURAL characteristics (irony is allowed!).
Fructose : fructose, despite being simple glucose (monosaccharide) naturally present in nature in fruit, vegetables and honey, is currently extracted from plants and retailed in crystallized form, mostly as a sucrose sweetener substitute; obviously it is a purely commercial idea that has nothing to do with health. In fact, despite having a lower glycemic and insulin index than glucose and sucrose, in considerable doses (but not out of the ordinary), fructose not only stimulates the release of insulin, but is rapidly converted into fatty acids. Moreover, some in-depth analysis showed that the abuse of fructose is particularly harmful in the nephrological environment and (if consumed regularly) negatively affects the energy metabolism of obese subjects. Fructose could be used intelligently at lower doses than sucrose because it has a greater sweetening power.
Glucose : glucose is another member of refined carbohydrates. It is naturally present in monomeric form in foods of vegetable origin (vegetables and fruits) and polymers both in foods of vegetable origin (cereals, legumes and tubers), and in foods of animal origin (liver and muscle glycogen). On the other hand, that of synthesis is frequently used as a sweetener and represents a widely used food additive, especially in the form of a syrupy hypertonic solution. Specifically, the glucose syrup obtained from the hydrolysis of corn starch and subsequent mixing in water has the highest glycemic and insulin index ever and a relative metabolic impact (if used regularly) to say the least harmful. It also increases the risk of tooth decay and does not have a sweetening power comparable to fructose or even to sucrose. NB . Despite having a very high glycemic - insulin index, glucose syrup is never taken alone, therefore the glycemic - insulin index of the food that contains it, or better, of the whole meal, is considered valid.
Semi-complex refined carbohydrates
Malto-dextrins : maltodextrins, which are naturally present in raw MA cooked or fermented foods, are produced and marketed mainly in the context of food supplements. They are glucose polymers (of various kinds) with a very low sweetening power and a glycemic - insulin index higher than one might expect; once it was a commonplace that the speed of entry into the bloodstream was linked exclusively to the complexity of the molecule, in reality, this is only one of the factors to be taken into account! Equally relevant are: the type of monosaccharide at the base of the polymer, the osmotic power of the mixture and the molecular surface that can be attacked by digestive enzymes (very broad in maltodextrins). These refined carbohydrates are ideal for dietary supplementation of cross-country sports with performances that engage the metabolism for more than an hour or in ordinary workouts in order to guarantee optimal physical recovery; in muscle-building sports, maltodextrins can be exploited for their pro-insulin effect IF taken before or together with a protein food, with the aim of obtaining the greatest possible increase in muscle mass.
Another food supplement similar to maltodextrins is the vitargo; read the article: Vitargo.
Complex refined carbohydrates
Starch : complex refined carbohydrates consist essentially of the starch family. Starches are all polymers of glucose but there are various types, which are extractable from various raw materials quite different from each other; starch is therefore a polysaccharide naturally present in: cereals, legumes, tubers (eg potatoes) and some fruits (eg chestnuts). However, there is a certain difference between natural and extracted starch; let's start by specifying that to properly digest a raw food containing starch it is necessary to cook it; in this way, the starch and other molecules undergo a partial hydrolysis which increases their digestibility and with it the glycemic index. The insulin peak is however preventable by eating cereals or potatoes WITHOUT depriving them of the coating, using the respective nutritional content in dietary fiber. On the contrary, by using the starch extract as a refined carbohydrate, it will acquire a speed of digestion and absorption such as to significantly increase the release of insulin compared to that of a raw food (without considering the poverty of the vitamin and saline intake attributable to a product refined starch or similar refined foods). Finally, we point out that starch DOES NOT have a significant sweetening power such as that of glucose which constitutes it but still represents a frequently used food additive, even if it acts as a thickener.
NB . Starches have different digestibility and absorption characteristics that vary according to the structure of the molecule itself.
