Carbohydrates
Carbohydrates A class of organic chemical compounds, consisting mainly of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen, one of the most widely distributed organic materials in nature, is found in plant and animal tissues, an essential component of living organisms.
These compounds are one of the necessary nutrients necessary for the human body, since the intervention of the digestive system to be analyzed and the extraction of nutrients to serve the body, the benefits of carbohydrates in the generation of energy in the short term; Carbohydrates are the main source of energy in the human body. When they are not available, the body must dissolve and burn some of the stored fats to obtain an alternative source of energy.
Carbohydrates are one of the most important sources of energy in the body. The digestive system converts carbohydrates into a type of sugar. It facilitates the absorption of the walls of the intestines. The body then uses its glucose stock to provide energy for the cells, organs and tissues to function. Glucose is absorbed by the intestine into the gastrointestinal tract, where it is transferred to the liver to stay there for a short period before pumping it into the bloodstream to transport it to various parts and muscles of the body.
The human body has the ability to use glucose as soon as it enters the digestive system, in addition to its ability to store glucose in the liver and muscle in limited quantities to be used at the time when the need for the body in the case of consumption of excess amount of it, where it must consume carbohydrates after entering the body shortly Do not exceed one or two days.
Where carbohydrates exist in food
Carbohydrates are found in various types of food, and the most important sources available to them:
- Fruits of all kinds, as well as fruit juices.
- Vegetables of various kinds, especially starch-rich, such as potatoes and maize.
- Cereals, such as bread, rice, and wheat.
- Milk and dairy products, such as milk, cheese and ice cream.
- Legumes, and the most famous types of beans, chickpeas and others.
- All manufactured sweets, which are rich in sugars and added carbohydrates, including sugar, pancakes and others.
Types of carbohydrates in nature
There are four carbohydrates are as follows:
- Simple sugars Monosaccharides, also known as monosaccharides, are simple compounds that represent the building blocks of carbohydrate blocks. Sugar found in most fruits and honey, as well as some other compounds (such as vitamin C), is considered to be a simple sugars.
- One of the most common types of glucose (the main sugar in the human bloodstream), fructose (or fruit sugar), and galactose (which is usually found in combination with other types of sugar). Monocrystals are responsible for providing organisms with a very large portion of their energy.
- Double sugars : Disaccharides: This group consists of two molecules united together, the most prominent examples of table sugar, the type of sugar that enters most types of food in humans, which is composed of one molecule of glucose and another of fructose combined, and most of this sugar Which is commercially spread either from cane sugar or other fruit known as sugar beet. Lactose (sugar in milk and dairy products) is another common type of double sugars. When animals consume this type of carbohydrate, they need to break down the bonds between their molecules before consuming it. The human body is not able to consume the whole sugar molecule in its full form, To its original components first.
- Polysaccharides are very few Many species can be obtained by destroying the most complex compounds of polycystic sugars. Carbohydrates are very rare in nature, and if found, they are usually found in plants and trees.
- Polysaccharides are numerous (Polysaccharide) These carbohydrates are composed at the atomic level of highly complex molecules, with one molecule consisting of about 10,000 monocrystalline compounds combined. This class is known for its extreme size and structural complexity and tends to dissolve in water.
- Most of the carbohydrates present in nature and in the building of organic matter or living organisms are made up of many sugars. For example, starch found in plants is a kind of a compound found in plant branches and seeds, and is an essential component of bread and many types of food. This group also includes cellulose (the basic building block in almost all plant species, one of the most abundant polysaccharides in nature), pentosans (found in wood and husks of nuts), and copious sugars in ivory, insect crusts, shell shells, Mollusks and so on.
Carbohydrate categories in human diet
Carbohydrates are found in all types of food and can be divided into three main categories: sugar, starch and fiber, where each type of food contains varying proportions. It is as follows:
- Sugars : Natural sugar in vegetables, fruit, milk and its derivatives is one of the healthy choices of human beings. It provides the body with the energy necessary to move the tissues and the body to function.
- Of the foods that contain the sugar multiplier sweets, sugars and soft drinks, as these foods provide the body with calories, but do not provide it with nutrients.
- Starch : Consists of very long strings of simple sugars, and when entered into the body is broken down to simple types of sugars to be absorbed and digested. Starch is a complex carbohydrate, found in some types of vegetables, including peas, beans and corn, and is also found in bread and cereal foods.
- Dietary fiber : The body does not provide any kind of calories or energy, because the human stomach is unable to digest or break down to the simple compounds that make up, and its main role in facilitating digestive processes. Foods containing fiber are plants, including peas, beans, walnuts, and whole grains, which are rich sources of dietary fiber.