DIET AND NUTRITION
prevention and treatment of osteoporosis.
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Carbohydrates |
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Carbohydrates are one of the three macronutrients that
have the ability to supply energy and build tissues. They are the most
abundant compounds available in the universe. They are of prime
importance in the human diet because they are the primary source of
energy for the body. Plants, through the process of photosynthesis, synthesize carbohydrates. They use some of the carbohydrates to meet their own metabolic needs such as synthesis of proteins. The rest is stored in the form of starch. Composition: Carbohydrates, like all organic compounds, are made up of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen. They get their name from its chemical nature. A carbohydrate means hydrates of carbon because the ratio of hydrogen: oxygen is 2:1 similar to that of water. Carbohydrates are nothing but simple sugars or polymers/combination of sugars, e.g. starch, which can be broken down to simple sugars. Classification: Carbohydrates are classified according to the number of basic sugar, or saccharide units making up their structure. Monosaccharide: they are the simplest form of carbohydrates, often called as simple (single) sugars since they cannot be broken down further. Important among them are glucose, fructose and galactose. |
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Name |
Food Sources |
Significance |
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Glucose (dextrose/grape sugar/corn sugar) |
Fruits such as grapes,
berries, and oranges and in some vegetables such as sweet corn and carrots |
It is the end product of disaccharide and polysaccharide digestion. It is the carbohydrate circulating in the blood. It is the ultimate body fuel in the cells to give energy. It is less sweet than cane sugar.
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| Fructose (Fruit sugar) | Ripe fruits, honey and
some vegetables |
It is the sweetest of simple sugars. It is changed to glucose in the liver and intestine. |
| Galactose | Is not found free in
nature but is produced in the body during the digestion of lactose (milk sugar) |
It is changed to glucose in the liver. It is synthesized in the mammary glands to make lactose or milk. It is the constituent of glycolipids and glycoproteins. |
Disaccharides: They are also known as double sugars composed of two monosaccharides linked together. They are split to simple sugars by acid hydrolysis or by digestive enzymes. The three main disaccharides of physiologic importance are sucrose, lactose and maltose.
Being seventy is not a sin.- Golda, quoted by David Reed, Readers digest, July 1971
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