WHY IS IT SO? Carbohydrates – What you eat matters

🍚 Why Do Carbohydrates and Large Portions Matter?

• Bilkul Online | Sunday Special

A large meal asks the digestive system to process more food, and that can leave us feeling physically heavy and less energetic for a while. The effect can be stronger when the meal is rich in refined carbohydrates such as white rice, bread, sweets or sugary drinks.

Carbohydrates are broken down into glucose, which raises blood sugar and triggers the release of insulin. After a carbohydrate-heavy meal, changes in glucose and several hormones and metabolic signals can contribute to feelings of tiredness in some people.

But carbohydrates aren’t automatically the culprit. The amount and type matter. A balanced meal containing whole grains, vegetables, protein and healthy fats generally produces a different metabolic response from a very large meal dominated by refined carbohydrates.

And there is another simple factor: portion size. The bigger the meal, the more likely you are to feel full, heavy and ready to slow down.

💡 Bilkul Simply

It’s not that carbohydrates “make us sleepy.” A very large, carbohydrate-heavy meal can make the post-lunch slump feel stronger.

(Every week, we take a closer look at something we experience, see or wonder about in everyday life—and uncover the simple science, logic or story behind it. Because sometimes, the most interesting questions are the ones we rarely stop to ask)

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