CARBOIDRATI: quali fonti alimentari abbiamo a disposizione? - IoBoscoVivo Srl

CARBOHYDRATES: what food sources do we have available?

Carbohydrates are a macronutrient available in a huge variety of foods and among the various food groups, the one that we all usually identify first as a source of carbohydrates is certainly the group of Cereals and derivatives in which tubers are also included.

This broad category of foods includes various cereals such as wheat, rice, corn, barley, sorghum, millet, oats, rye and spelt but also tubers such as potatoes and Jerusalem artichokes. This category also includes those that are defined as pseudocereals which, although not belonging to the graminaceae family, produce seeds capable of being transformed into flours with a high nutritional profile and among these, the most consumed in the West are buckwheat, quinoa and amaranth.

All foods belonging to this group are characterized by the presence of starch, but they also provide B vitamins, proteins, unsaturated fats, minerals and fibre.

In reality, another category of foods rich in carbohydrates is represented by legumes : these foods are in fact not only an excellent source of vegetable proteins as we have seen in a previous article, but also have a notable amount of carbohydrates as well as fiber and other nutrients.

However, returning to the class of cereals and derivatives, a distinction that seems necessary to make is based on the presence or absence of gluten.

First of all, gluten is defined as a protein complex that originates from the union, during mixing with water, of two protein fractions, gliadin and glutenin, present in some cereals such as wheat, rye, barley, oats. Prolamins are protein fractions that make up gluten, responsible for the toxic effect in celiac individuals, and specifically we recognize gliadin in wheat, secalin in rye, hordein in barley and avenin from oats. The digestion of prolamins in sensitive subjects (celiacs) determines an enormous immune response that generates an inflammatory state of the intestinal mucosa which can also become very serious, causing the flattening of the intestinal villi and compromising the absorption of nutrients: celiac disease.

In Italy it is estimated that approximately 1% of the population suffers from celiac disease. The therapeutic approach for those suffering from celiac disease is essentially dietary and takes the form of completely eliminating gluten. There are several gluten-free products on the market: the labeling of these products follows European Regulation 41/2009, which states in art. 3 (Composition and labeling of products intended for gluten-intolerant people), paragraph 2 "... is permitted the mention gluten-free if the gluten content does not exceed 20mg/kg in food products as sold to the final consumer". Therefore, the company has the right to write "gluten-free" on the product that has these characteristics and it is not a certification. Gluten-free dietary foods recognized by the AiC (Italian Celiac Association) have the "barred ear" license, a symbol on the label that allows them to be easily recognized.

There are just as many naturally gluten-free foods that can be consumed by everyone on a daily basis so as to be able to cover the daily requirement. As regards cereals, based on the presence or absence of gluten we can distinguish:

  • Gluten-free cereals and derivatives: such as white or brown rice, semi-brown rice, Venere rice, basmati rice, red rice, wild rice, corn, millet, buckwheat, sorghum, quinoa and amaranth.
  • Cereals and derivatives with gluten : durum wheat flour, 0, 00, wholemeal or semi-wholemeal wheat flour (flour 1 and 2), spelled, barley, rye and oats.

Tubers also fall into the category of naturally gluten-free foods. Although it may happen that you see the words "gluten-free" for example on some packets of chips, leading you to believe that the product may therefore be different from others, it is good to know that potatoes in general, being tubers, are part of the group of naturally gluten-free foods. of gluten and therefore unless flour is added during processing, they are ALWAYS to be considered gluten-free!

In the preparation of our IoBoscoVivo wellness cream soups, in addition to our shiitake mushroom, we have chosen to use chickpea flour so as to create a healthy product starting from raw materials considered naturally gluten-free and so as to make it suitable for everyone!

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