Jake: Hey, I’m Jake of Body by Jake and here is your nutrition tip of the day. This one comes from Brenda, Dr. P. and she asked: what’s a carbohydrate and what does it do to my body?
Dr. P.: Ah, so a carbohydrate is one of the three macronutrients: fats, proteins, carbohydrates. There are four calories in one gram of carbohydrate. It is an energy source, food.
Carbohydrates are like potatoes, rice, yams, oatmeal, oat flakes, oat puffs, your vegetables, your fruits. These are all different types of sugars and carbohydrates that supply us with an energy source.
What does it do? It makes our muscles move. How does it help us? It helps us move. Which, moving is important, and then it is, and we’re not just sitting. Carbohydrates are important. And fats and proteins you look for balances and all of them, but remember what each one does.
Protein is for tissue repair. It fixes muscle tissue. Fat is an energy source, just a different metabolic pathway than carbohydrate. And carbohydrate is a sugar, used as an energy source, affecting our insulin response. Basically managing this thing we have called the pancreas.
Jake: Beautiful. Dr. P. Thank you, buddy. Have a great day.
