Carbohydrates and the hormone response to them

The best way to think about the human body when it comes to food is it to think of it as a machine. In fact, it is probably the finest machine ever designed and created. It has amazing and bewildering powers and capabilities. In general and in a simplistic sense, it actually requires little maintenance and is not very demanding in terms of up keep. All it needs is rest, range of motion, exercise, fuel and water. Weight Awareness is trying to draw attention to the fuel and water aspects to the body in this section. The water component is self explanatory and should not need much explanation, because humans are essentially waterproof bags of salt and water. When we move, exercise or just function in general, we use water. Therefore, we need to replace it daily. Ideally about 8 glasses of water a day is a very good mark or threshold. This amount will keep the body well hydrated in most conditions.

The food or fuel component is a different story. The body can make do with very little ‘good' food components and a lot of ‘junk'. The junk foods or too much of the good foods are what is primarily making people overweight. The junk foods are not the best energy source for the body, but the body will adapt and it uses what it is given to function. This is one of the amazing adaptabilities of the human body. A good way to think of food is that it is actually a drug for the body. When people think of a drug, they think of cause and effect. Take a drug and the body will experience some type of effect. Food actually behaves the same way in the body.

Different types of foods will actually cause different types of effects in the internal workings of the body; including the brain. A lot of these changes or ‘drug like effects' have to do with the blood sugar level. The body is constantly monitoring the level or concentration of blood glucose (sugar) because it is such an important fuel for the brain and red blood cells. The body actually likes to keep things even and consistent. This is especially true in terms of blood glucose. When it senses that there is not enough blood sugar (glucose), the body releases one of its own internal drugs (known as a hormone) to turn on the glucose creating internal mechanisms to restore the blood sugar to a more favorable level. When the body senses that the blood sugar level is too high, it will release another one of its own internal drugs (a different hormone) to turn on the glucose storing internal mechanisms to store the excess ‘energy'. The excess glucose will be absorbed by the liver, muscles and the fat cells of the body. When this happens, more fat is produced. This will lower the circulating concentration in the blood stream.

These ‘drugs' or hormones, when released into the blood stream actually effect not only the blood sugar level, but may also have effects on other tissues or cells to either be turned on or turned off. This is why the hormonal influences that occur primarily in response to the blood sugar levels are complicated. These hormones will influence many things at one time. These influences actually serve to drive the body's metabolism to either turn on overall or to slow down overall.