Carbohydrates
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- Category: Science
- Date Submitted: 03/25/2011 10:55 PM
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What are carbohydrates?
Our bodies use carbohydrates as their main source of energy. Most carbohydrates come from plant sources. Your body either uses the carbohydrates right away, or converts it to fat to use later. There are three different types of carbohydrates-sugars and starches which we can digest and fiber which we don’t digest.
Chemical Structure and Composition
All carbohydrates are made up of the same basic components, carbon, hydrogen and oxygen. The dietary carbohydrates are found in three main types monosaccharide’s, disaccharides and polysaccharides.
Monosaccharide
The simplest form of carbohydrate, otherwise known as a monosaccharide, is made up of six carbon atoms, twelve hydrogens and six oxygens. The three monosaccharides important in nutrition all have the same numbers and kinds of atoms, but in different arrangements.
Glucose is commonly known as blood sugar and serves as an essential energy source for all the body’s activities.
* Essentially the base of every other kind of carbohydrate.
Fructose is the sweetest of the sugars and occurs naturally in fruit and honey. It is also used commercially in soft drinks, breakfast cereals and desserts.
Galactose rarely occurs naturally as a single sugar and has the same number and kinds of atoms as glucose and fructose, but in a different arrangement.
Disaccharides
Disaccharides are pairs of the three monosaccharides listed above. Glucose occurs in all three and the second member of the pair is either fructose, galactose or an additional glucose.
Maltose consists of two glucose atoms. Maltose is produced whenever starch breaks down. Maltose is only a minor component of a few foods and is most notably found in barley.
Sucrose is made up of fructose and glucose. Due to the fructose sucrose tastes sweet. When refined from the juices of sugarcane and sugar beets and after being granulated, sucrose forms table sugar.
Lactose is the combination of glucose and galactose and is...
Our bodies use carbohydrates as their main source of energy. Most carbohydrates come from plant sources. Your body either uses the carbohydrates right away, or converts it to fat to use later. There are three different types of carbohydrates-sugars and starches which we can digest and fiber which we don’t digest.
Chemical Structure and Composition
All carbohydrates are made up of the same basic components, carbon, hydrogen and oxygen. The dietary carbohydrates are found in three main types monosaccharide’s, disaccharides and polysaccharides.
Monosaccharide
The simplest form of carbohydrate, otherwise known as a monosaccharide, is made up of six carbon atoms, twelve hydrogens and six oxygens. The three monosaccharides important in nutrition all have the same numbers and kinds of atoms, but in different arrangements.
Glucose is commonly known as blood sugar and serves as an essential energy source for all the body’s activities.
* Essentially the base of every other kind of carbohydrate.
Fructose is the sweetest of the sugars and occurs naturally in fruit and honey. It is also used commercially in soft drinks, breakfast cereals and desserts.
Galactose rarely occurs naturally as a single sugar and has the same number and kinds of atoms as glucose and fructose, but in a different arrangement.
Disaccharides
Disaccharides are pairs of the three monosaccharides listed above. Glucose occurs in all three and the second member of the pair is either fructose, galactose or an additional glucose.
Maltose consists of two glucose atoms. Maltose is produced whenever starch breaks down. Maltose is only a minor component of a few foods and is most notably found in barley.
Sucrose is made up of fructose and glucose. Due to the fructose sucrose tastes sweet. When refined from the juices of sugarcane and sugar beets and after being granulated, sucrose forms table sugar.
Lactose is the combination of glucose and galactose and is...