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Sports medicine and nutrition specialist Heidi Skolnik explains how the body uses carbohydrates. Watch Heidi Skolnik's video for tips and information on active nutrition.
The body uses carbohydrates for several different functions to begin with your body actually when you first it eat it, it's the most basic level doesn't really care if you are eating jelly beans or stir fry but I'll get back to that later. Right. It does matter in the end. When you first take in that carbohydrate your body is going to digest into its most basic component a glucose molecule, and that can either then get stored in your liver as glycogen.
It gets used for fuel for your brain, or it could get stored in your muscles as glycogen that's only going to be utilized if you're exercising and moving. As you utilize it you need to replace it, and so that's the different ways in which your body uses the carbohydrates at a very basic level for energy, but when the way the body cares as whether it is simple or complex or nutrient which is the most important, then at a cellular level your body cares if you're giving it some of the nutrients like vitamin C for your tissues, or it's fruits which is going to carry, and vegetables which is going to carry all these wonderful nutrients as well, as energy.
Heidi Skolnik, MS, CDN, FACSM, has influenced millions on nutrition and health for more than 25 years. Heidi is the sports nutrition consultant to numerous institutions and was with the New York Giants Football Team for 18 years.
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