C6 H12 O6 AKA Carbohydrate
High School Chemistry 101
In case the title of this article looks gibberish to you, you aren’t the only one! This is the chemical structure of what makes a carbohydrate. I want to discuss this topic a bit more and try to shed some light on whether carbs are good or bad and some of the symptoms associated with too many carbs.
In layman’s terms, the C6 can be broken down to 6 carbon atoms. H12 means 12 hydrogen atoms. Lastly, O6 means 6 oxygen atoms. Those chemical structures can then be broken down into monosaccharides, disaccharides, and polysaccharides.
Without getting too heavy with a high school chemistry lesson- those are different variations that carbohydrates can break down into based on the type of carbohydrate. That can be from plant, animal sources like dairy or sweeteners.
Looking just a tad bit further… how else can a carbohydrate structure break down in our body? Well, interestingly it can break down into something called carbon dioxide and water.
Our body is fascinating in that when we breathe, our respirations exhale carbon dioxide from our body, as too much can be toxic to our blood chemistry. We can become acidotic or alkalotic based on how our body is trying to compensate at any given time. That isn’t important for now, the important thing is that we understand we breathe out excess carbon dioxide from our lungs.
The next important aspect to recall from this breakdown is water. We break up those hydrogen and oxygen molecules into the form of water.
Think about that for a moment.
The standard American diet (SAD for short) is composed of mainly empty and refined carbohydrates, fat, and minimal protein.
Cause and Effect
Do you know what happens when we have excess water in our system from the food we consume? We have a cellular shift of nutrients that our body uses to compensate for the lack of available nutrients. We then hold onto water, become bloated, experience fatigue, and increase our dehydration risk factors.
Not only that, but that cellular shift also causes our body to have a lower albumin level (amount of protein in the blood) and we can have swelling in our interstitial spaces (this surrounds our tissues and vessels).
It is not the ideal situation, but this is what excess amounts of carbohydrates do to our body- physiologically speaking.
There is another physiological manifestation that we experience, but this is more so related to our brain's response. Because of the chemical response carbohydrates have, it actually triggers a dopaminergic response. The same kind of response with hedonic behaviors like getting high from heroin, drinking alcohol, doing something with fear of getting caught, etc.
That response triggers the Mu receptor which is the same receptor morphine attaches to. Therefore, your little indulgence of biscuits and gravy triggers the same response in our body as to when we are given morphine or heroin. It becomes instantly gratifying and leaves us wanting more, and more, and more.
This is NOT witchcraft- rather it is a chemical breakdown of what happens in our body when we eat food!
Some individuals are visual learners. Some are audio learners. Some need to understand the biomechanics of what is actually happening in your body to figure out what is responsible for your symptoms.
The good, the bad, and the ugly
Now, not all carbohydrates are bad. The highly refined carbohydrates we eat on the daily basis like chips, ice cream, chocolate, pasta, bread, sweeteners, etc. are HIGHLY toxic to our bodies and provide little to no nutritional support.
Carbohydrates in the form of fruits and vegetables are much more tolerated and easily digestible for our bodies. Plus they are packed with mico, macro, and phytonutrients along with vitamins and minerals that our body REQUIRES to function normally.
Do you want to know where the route of all chronic disease processes lie?
Our diet.
Our diet is full of carbohydrates that provide no nutritional value to us.
How has our dietary guidance become so mundane and uninteresting?
Big food companies like Monsanto, Nestle, Pepsico, Danone, Kelloggs, Wrigley. They do not care about your health and welfare. They care about the bottom dollar. They are business after all.
But what about the FDA?
Have you ever heard of lobbyists that go to Washington and try to persuade congressmen to vote a certain way for an unofficial kickback?
Well, that doesn’t just happen in movies. It happens in real life. It becomes so convoluted and complicated that it is almost virtually untraceable. Unfortunately, it also becomes common practice, and many who are voted into office to maintain our welfare, turn their cheek, sell their morality, and distance themselves from reality all for a few extra bucks.
We have to be our own advocates for what we put in our bodies. Ask questions. Do your research. Look at nutritional labels. Eat real foods.
Stop putting garbage in you and your family's mouth. Demand a better future. We can control our chronic disease processes with foods.
We have to understand how food works and with our body to know where we are going. Fortunately, there are much smarter people out there in the world that have done this for all of us.
There is information overload with everything available to us. We need to stop looking at social media all the time, put down our phones, and sift through the garbage to find real, accurate information.
Always ask yourself, “what is the purpose of this meal?” Is it to satisfy a hedonic urge? Is it to provide comfort due to high levels of stress?
It should be to provide fuel for your body. Stop looking at food as an escape artist. Look at it for the functionality it provides and treat it as such.
Be strong. Be brave.
