Carbohydrates in human

nutrition

The origin of dietary

carbohydrates
Carbohydrate rich food come almost
exclusively from plants
Milk is the only animal deravative
that contains sygnificant amount of
carbohydrates

Carbohydrates..
Polyhydroxy aldehydes, ketones, alcohols, acids,
their simple deravatives and their polymers
having linkages of the acetal type
First link in the food chain
Photosynthesis plants store some of suns
energy (0.1%) in chemical bonds of CHO
CO2 + H2O CHO
All plant food have CHO
Only significant animal food to have Cho is milk
Energy source for man 8% eskimos; >70% some
3rd world countries

CHO functions
Energy all cells use
Some cells (RBC, brain) can use only
CHO until starvation sets in
Need for effective burning of fat
Spares protein from use for energy
Fiber - alternative form of CHO,
provides a number of benefits

Carbohydrates
Carbohydrates meets your body
energy needs
Feed your brain and nervous system
Keep your digestive system fit
Within calorie limits, help keep your
body lean
Together with fats and protein,
digestible carbohydrates add bulk to
food
Indigestible carbohydrates yield little

Cho differ by:

Type of building block (3 main ones)
Size (# of building blocks; 1 to 100s)
Links (chemical bonds) between
building blocks

CHO terminology

Saccharide = building block

Simple CHO = sugars
Mono (1) glucose, Galactose, Fructose
Di (2): Sucrose, Lactose, Trehalose
Polyols: Sorbitol, mannitol
Oligo saccharides tri (3) - 9
Maltodextrins, Raffinose, stachyose,
fructooligosaccharydes
Polysaccharides:
Starch amylose, amylopectin, modified starches
NSP
Cellulose, hemicellulose

 Fruit sugar found naturally in fruits

and honey
Sweetness of the sugars
High fructose corn syrup used as a
sweetener
Can be converted to glucose in the
liver

Galactose
Rarely occur as a single sugar
Monosaccharide in milk sugar
Can be converted to glucose in the
liver

Disaccharides
Pairs of mono. linked together
In order to be used by the body they
must be broken into single sugars

3 Disaccharides
Lactose Glucose + Galactose
Maltose Glucose + Glucose
Sucrose Glucose + Fructose

Lactose
Glucose + Galactose
Found in milk products
Lactose intollerance : inability to
break down lactose

Maltose
Glucose + Glucose
Appears where ever starch is being
broken down
Product of fermentation

Sucrose
Glucose + Fructose
Table sugar
Obtained from sugar beet and sugar
cane

From disaccharides to mono

saccharides
Hydrolysis: a molecule of water splits
to provide and H and a OH needed to
complete the resulting
monosaccharide

Polysaccharides
Composed of many monosaccharides
linked together
Three poly saccharides of major
importance in nutrition
Glycogen
Starches
Fiber - Cellulose

Glycogen
The storage form of glucose in
animals
Stored in liver and muscles, released
on demand
There is little glycogen in meat due
to rapid breakdown when the animal
is slaughtered
Highly branched molecule

Starch
The storage form of glucose in plants
3000 or more monosaccharides bound
together
Sources are weat, rice, yams, potatoes,
peas, and beans
Digestible by humans
Can be
Highly branched
unbranched

Fiber - Cellulose
The fiber that forms the basic
structure of plants
Human digestive enzymes cannot
break down fiber
Most fibers pass through the body
without providing energy

Fiber
Bacteria can break down some of the
fibers
Insoluble fiber: not fermented by
intestinal bacteria
Soluble fiber: fermented by intestinal
bacteria

Soluble fiber
Soluble fibers dissolve in water
Form jels (viscous)
Easily digested by bacteria in the
human colon
Found in barley, legumes, fruits,
oats, vegetables
Are associated with lower risk of
chronic diseases
Add a pleasing consistency to foods

Insoluble fiber
Do not dissolve in water
Less easily fermented
The outer layers of whole grains
contain such as cellulose and
hemicelluloses
These fibers retain their structure
and texture even after cooking
Aids in the digestive system and
ease elimination