Thank you pstinard for your answer, you are absolutely right, carbohydrates are a great source of easily metabolized energy!
Carbohydrates are a class of nutrients that include sugars, starches and fibres. Carbohydrates, as the name suggests, are composed of Carbo-, carbon, and ¬–hydrates, water (H20, or hydrogen and oxygen). Sugars and starches can be digested and absorbed by the body and can provide energy. Fibres, on the other hand are not digested or absorbed by the body and do not directly provide energy. Fibres will remain in the digestive tract, where their functions exist.
Sugars are the most basic form of carbohydrates. They are the building blocks of starches and fibres. Examples of sugars include gluctose and fructose. Did you know glucose is the preferred energy source for the brain?
Starches are the next class of carbohydrates. They are more complex as they are many sugar molecules attached together. Starches are the energy storage form in plants. Glycogen is similar starches, but rather it is the carbohydrate energy storage form in animals.
Fibres are the final class of carbohydrates. Their role in plants is a structural one, providing the “rigid” structure required for plant cells. Fibres can be grouped into different classes: Soluble (absorb water, such as psyllium) or Insoluble (attract or cling to water, such as cellulose), and Fermentable (utilized by the colonic bacteria) or Non-fermentable (not utilized by the colonic bacteria).
But if carbohydrates are not considered essential, why do we use them? First let’s look at what essential means. Essential means the body cannot manufacture or cannot manufacture in sufficient quantities required. Non-essential means that the body can either manufacture sufficient quantities of the nutrient or it is not required for survival. Does non-essential therefore mean not important or beneficial? No. In fact, we consume many beneficial nutrients every day that are not considered essential (think Metamucil for those of us who suffer from constipation).
What kind of roles can carbohydrates play in the body? MANY! Here some examples, just to name a few:
Energy: As we talked about, starches are an excellent source of readily available energy in the body. They provide the same level of energy as protein (about 4 kcal/g). Protein is also suitable energy source, but it is involved in so many other tissues and pathways in the body, it would not be utilizing it for its best abilities…. And I have an analogy for that
If you were building a campfire, you could do so using kindling and firewood, or you could do so with bunches of $100 bills. Both will burn. But if you burn the money, then you can't use it for buying things (like using protein for other important roles in the body).... Same goes for energy in the body..... Eliminating carbs and replacing them with fat and protein is possible, but why would you do that.... it's expensive and wasteful.
Satiety: Satiety is the feeling of fullness. After you eat food your stomach expands. This sends a signal to the brain letting you know you’re full. For some dogs (and yes Labs, I’m looking at you) they eat too fast and therefore the satiety sensation doesn’t have time to sink in. Not feeling full can lead to overeating and weight gain. Fibres can play a role here. As I talked about, some absorb water. Psyllium for example can absorb 10x its own weight in water forming a gel. This can help to provide that feeling of fullness that some dogs need.
Gastrointestinal Health: Fibres are not digested and absorbed by the body, which means they remain in the GI tract. This means all their beneficial roles are located here! From promoting GI motility (movement of food through the GI tract) to scraping away dead GI cells, to promoting a beneficial bacteria population in the colon, different types of fibres can contribute to GI health in a variety of different ways.
Texture: Carbohydrates are critical in achieving the final texture of a kibble, which is extra important for dogs and cats. While people rely very heavily on taste to decide if a food is palatable (humans have 9,000 taste buds and 2-10million olfactory cells), dogs and cats rely more heavily on smell mouth feel to decide if a food is palatable (dogs and cats have 1700 and 500 taste buds, and 80-220million and 60-70 million olfactory cells respectively).
Can anyone think of any other benefits of carbohydrates we could touch on?
Ashley
