Carbohydrates

There are four different forms of carbohydrates: fibres, sugars and the less easily pronounceable oligosaccharides and polysaccharides. Except for fibers they all provide us with energy.

I sea pasta contains 15 grams of carbohydrates per 100g, which are mainly polysaccharides; alginate, some fucoidans and lamarin. Therefore, I sea pasta gives you energy even a long time after consumption, without giving high sugar peaks.

I sea bacon contains 21,2 grams of carbohydrates per 100g, which are mainly carrageenans, agar and xylans.

Sugars

The main sugar in our nutrition is glucose, which is not good for your health when you consume it in high portions. High glucose peaks in the blood lead to very high amounts of insulin released to get this glucose level down again (which is called a high glycemic index). However, if you expose your body to high glucose peaks very often, the cells producing insulin can stop functioning or the cells that have to take up glucose malfunction. Luckily, I sea pasta and I sea bacon contain no sugars at all!

However, to make sure your brain gets fuel, you do need some sugars in your nutrition. Besides plain sugar molecules (=monosaccharides), other forms of sugars are dissacharides, which are two sugar molecules bound together. These have a lower glycemic index, as it takes your body longer to break them down.

Oligosaccharides

Oligosaccharides are longer chains of sugar containing 3 to 9 molecules, with an even lower glycemic index

Polysaccharides

Polysaccharides are very long chains of carbohydrates, of at least 9 molecules. These are broken down the slowest and therefore have the lowest glycemic index.

Fibres

Fibres are a form of carbohydrates that is indigestible in the intestines. That means that they cannot deliver energy by take up of glucose, but they reach the intestines entirely. Once there, three things can happen:

• They form a bulk by attracting water, which makes the stool more viscous. That helps to prevent you from constipation and will ease up our stool.
• They are fermented by bacteria in the large intestine. That results in the formation of substances, short chain fatty acids, that have many beneficial functions: increasing insulin release, promote cholesterol synthesis, increase metabolism and help the immune system.
• Some fibres can result in the growth of favorable bacteria, which are important for your stool, for getting energy out of nutrients and for the improvement of the immune system. These are called prebiotics.

I sea pasta is high in fibre, as it contains 30,5 grams of fibre per 100 grams dried weight, which mainly are the alginates and fucoidans. And I sea bacon is even higher in fibre, as it contains 7 grams more fibre per 100 grams dried weight than I sea pasta: 37,5 grams in total! I sea bacon mainly contains the alginates, agars and carrageenans.