Research Paper On Carbohydrates

Carbohydrates

1. Introduction

Carbohydrates are one of the three micronutrients in our daily diet (fat and protein being the others).They exist in many forms and mainly found in starchy foods such as bread , pasta and rice as well as in some beverages, e.g fruit juices and sugar sweetened drinks . Carbohydrates represent the most important source of energy for the body and are vital for balance d diet. Progress in scientific research has showed divers functions of carbohydrates in body and their function in the promotion of good health.

2. What are carbohydrates?

The building block of carbohydrates are sugar and they can be combined on how many sugar units are combined in one molecule. Glucose , fructose , maltose are examples among the

Sucrose or table sugar (a disaccharide) is a common example of a simple carbohydrate. Complex carbohydrates contain three or more sugar units linked in a chain, with most containing hundreds to thousands of sugar units. They are digested by enzymes to release the simple sugars. Starch, for example, is a polymer of glucose units and is typically broken down to glucose. Cellulose is also a polymer of glucose but it cannot be digested by most organisms.

Doctors and scientists aonce believed that eating complex carbohydrates instead of sugar would help maintain lower blood pressure. Numerous studies suggest that both sugar and starches produce an unpredictable range of glycemic and insulinemic responses. While other studies reveal that many complex carbohydrates such as those found in bread, rice, and potatoes have glycemic indices similar to or higher than simple carbohydrates

such as sucrose.

Sucrose, for example, has a glycemic index lower than expected because the sucrose molecule is half fructose, which has little effect on blood

Fluctuation in healthy glucose levels (fasting person: 40 and 80mg per decilitre of blood; shortly after a meal approximately 140mg per decilitre of blood) will lead to trouble in carrying out life processes or can cease to function completely at extreme levels. Respiratory system (needed to create energy for all body functions) is affected by fluctuation of glucose levels. We would not be able to survive without glucoregulation because it is one of the factors considered in a cells optimum environment. This is why an efficient homeostatic control mechanism that moderates blood glucose is needed to survive. High glucose levels diluted in the blood stream can be toxic and harmful, and low glucose levels inhibit the effective functioning of life