Carbohydrates in food are an everyday talking point: one person says to avoid them, another piles a mountain of rice onto the plate without a second thought. The reality is calmer: carbohydrates are the body’s main fuel, and an adult needs them every day. Below, we look at how many carbohydrates you actually need per day, why cutting them out completely is a bad idea, and which foods provide more and which less.
Why carbohydrates in food are necessary
In principle, the human body can synthesize glucose on its own from other organic compounds, such as proteins. That is why carbohydrates are not strictly classed as essential nutrients. But that doesn’t mean you can leave them out of your diet.
Studies have shown that a carbohydrate-free diet forces the body to intensively oxidize endogenous fats. As a result, toxic ketone bodies accumulate in the body, blood pH drops and acidosis develops. Oxygen deficiency may follow. When carbohydrates are scarce, the body also starts using muscle proteins to produce energy — in other words, the very muscle you built in training.
On top of that, this way of eating is expensive. In practice, a carbohydrate-free menu means plenty of meat, fish, eggs and seeds — a menu that is hardly wallet-friendly.
Carbohydrates in food: how much you need per day
Carbohydrates should provide 55–60% of your daily food energy. This refers to the amount the body actually absorbs. Because food always contains some unabsorbable carbohydrates too — cellulose, for example, which passes through the digestive tract untouched — an adult is advised to consume roughly 300–400 g of carbohydrates per day.
A high physical training load raises the requirement noticeably. If your total daily energy requirement is 3500 kcal — a typical figure for someone who trains seriously — your body needs about 500 g of carbohydrates. That means a bowl of oat flakes in the morning, rice for lunch and potatoes in the evening; not one slice of bread a day.
What happens when the amount gets out of hand? Eating too many carbohydrates increases body weight, and with it the amount of adipose tissue. The reason is simple: carbohydrate and fat metabolism are closely intertwined, and excess carbohydrates are channeled straight into fat synthesis. The body doesn’t throw fuel away — it stores it.
Fast and slow carbohydrates in food
Carbohydrates are not one uniform group. Food contains several types: monosaccharides (glucose, fructose, galactose), disaccharides (sucrose, lactose, maltose), polysaccharides (starch, cellulose, pectins) and sugar alcohols (xylitol, sorbitol, mannitol). Each of them plays its own role in the body.
Glucose — grape sugar — is absorbed fastest. Fructose, which comes from fruit, is a little slower. Sucrose, or beet or cane sugar, is also among the easily digestible ones. Excessive consumption of sucrose is in fact one of the main causes of obesity — it is the “hidden sugar” we get from cakes, drinks and ready-made foods.
Starch is a different story. It is digested and absorbed much more slowly, keeps your blood sugar level steady and releases energy gradually. That is why oat flakes in the morning keep you working at full capacity until twelve o’clock, while a bag of candy after lunch makes you hungry again an hour later.
An excessive amount of carbohydrates in your diet doesn’t just mean a risk of obesity. It also changes the body’s reactivity — it increases the sensitivity of cells and tissues and can cause symptoms of hypersensitivity.
Carbohydrate content of foods
To make planning easier, here is the carbohydrate content of typical foods as a percentage (rounded):
- pork — 0%
- beef — 0%
- Baltic herring — 0%
- cheese — 0.5%
- quark — 4%
- milk — 5%
- cabbage — 4%
- peas — 6%
- potato — 16%
- orange — 9%
- apples — 8%
- raisins — 60%
- corn flakes — 80%
- oat flakes — 60%
- white bread — 40%
- bread — 40%
- rice — 75%
- semolina — 55%
- barley meal — 60%
- chocolate — 55%
- honey — 80%
- sugar — 100%
The practical takeaway: meat and fish give you practically no carbohydrates at all. Your daily 300–400 g comes from grains, potatoes, fruit and dairy products. Sugar and honey are 80–100% carbohydrates — a small amount quickly fills a large part of your daily limit.
FAQ
Can you cut carbohydrates out of your diet completely?
In theory, yes: the body can also synthesize glucose from protein. In practice, it isn’t worth it. Acidosis develops, ketone bodies build up and the body starts breaking down muscle protein. Over the long term, this is a bad idea for your health.
How many carbohydrates does an athlete need?
If your daily energy requirement is 3500 kcal, that works out to roughly 500 g of carbohydrates a day. For an average person, 300–400 g is enough.
Why is starch better than sugar?
Starch is absorbed more slowly and keeps blood sugar steady. Sucrose is absorbed quickly and gives a short burst of energy, and any excess goes towards fat synthesis.
You’ll find more carbohydrates here: https://turg.fitness.ee/et
Author: M.M.
Source: WHO – healthy eating.
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