How to understand carbohydrates/sugars and starches/.

Essential nutrients: carbohydrates, fats, proteins, minerals, vitamins and water that must be supplied to the body in specified amounts. Foods: the sources of nutrients, provide energy to help build, repair and maintain tissue and regulate body processes. Malnutrition: results from deficiency, excess or imbalance of required nutrients.

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

1. Major source of food energy: 4 kcal/g; composed of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen. Monosaccharides: simplest form of carbohydrate a/ Glucose/dextrose/ found chiefly in fruits and vegetables; oxidized for immediate energy. b/ Fructose found in honey and fruits c/ Galactose is not free in nature; part of milk sugar
2. Disaccharides: double sugars. a/ Sucrose found in table sugar, syrups and some fruits and vegetables. b/ Lactose found in milk. c/ Maltose as intermediate product in the hydrolysis of starch.
3. Polysaccharides: composed of many glucose molecules. a/ Starch found in cereal grains, potatoes, root vegetables and legumes. b/ Glycogen is synthesized and stored in the liver and skeletal muscles. c/ Cellulose, hemi cellulose, pectins, gums and mucilages are indigestible polysaccharides.
4. Dietary fiber: includes several polysaccharides plus other substances that are not digestible by GI enzymes. a/ Dietary fibres/roughage/ holds water so that stools are soft and bulky; increases motility of the small and large intestine and decreases transit time; reduces intra luminal pressure in the colon. b/ Sources- wheat bran, unrefined cereals, whole wheat, raw fruits and vegetables, dried fruits.
5. Functions of carbohydrates: a/ Cheapest and most abundant source of energy; only source of energy for central nervous system. b/ To spare protein for tissue building when sufficient carbohydrate is present. c/ Necessary for the complete oxidation of fats. Dietary sources: grains, fruits, vegetables, nuts, milk, sugars/" empty calories," contain few nutrients/.