[Ronin]

Hi Bookwormy!

I endorse Eddy's statements. Carbohydrates cover a broad range of vegetable products from simple sugars to wood. Basically, anything that is a Carbon/Hydrogen/Oxygen molocule produced by a plant.

One measure of the carbohydrate world is speed at which the carbohydrate is absorbed into the blood stream. Simple sugars are very rapidly absorbed, while very complex chains are totally non-digestable (a.k.a., fiber) while still technically carbohydrates.

In the final analysis, it is all about finding a balance. There are products/foods that provide very rapid digestion and therefore very quick energy and others that are slower to digest and tend to reduce/delay spikes in BG levels.

In addition to diet, exercise/exertion is a tool to manage your BG levels. The body uses carbohydrates as fuel for muscle and other cell functions (including your brain cells which consume a lot of energy) the key is to time both the type and portion sizes of carbohydrates to what you are going to, or just have done. There is a window where, depending on the amount of activity being accomplished, the body will scarf up the carbs with abandon leaving less to be stored in the liver with the overflow that the liver cannot store being shuttled off to fat cells as long term storage.

Back to Eddy's comments: focus on slow to digest carb sources and increase your activity levels at the same time make your portion sizes smaller (Americans, in particular, generally overeat by huge amounts). Reserve the fast digesting carbs to immediately prior to or during vigorous exercise periods.