Carbohydrates are the body's source of fuel, giving the body energy to be active and to carryon its daily metabolic activities. Carbohydrates contain four calories per gram of weight. Simple carbohydrates are found in simple sugars, such as table sugar, honey, corn syrup, sorghum, date sugar, molasses, brown sugar, powdered sugar, turbinado sugar, and any substance that ends in ose (for example, glucose and fructose).



Complex carbohydrates are cereals, breads, pastas, and vegetables. Fruit contains both simple and complex carbohydrates. Simple carbohydrates are rapidly digested; complex carbohydrates are digested more slowly.

Fats

Fat contains a more concentrated source of calories (with nine calories per gram) than do carbohydrates or protein. Fats carry vitamins and important or essential fatty acids. Examples of fatty foods include butter and margarine, cream, salad dressings, oils, and lard. Some foods, such as avocados, olives, and certain nuts, contain large amounts of fat.

There are five terms in the language of fat that you should know. The American Heart Association recommends the use of monounsaturated fats in controlling heart disease.

Cholesterol is a fatlike alcohol found in animal fats and oils. Most of it is developed in the liver, but it can also be absorbed from the diet. Cholesterol is blamed for much of the heart disease in our culture. Recent research indicates that it is one of cholesterol's fats-Iow-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL) that is the bigger culprit. High-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol is the "good guy." Triglyceride in the body is affected by the cholesterol and saturated fat in the diet. When the blood sugar is lowered, the triglyceride level is usually lowered, too.