Carbohydrates, which is the common name for saccharides. Due to the structure of molecules, three groups are distinguished: monosaccharides, oligosaccharides, polysaccharides. In today’s article, we will discuss the first of them.
Explore … Simple sugars
Monosaccharides, known as simple sugars due to their simplest structure, are made of a single sugar molecule. This group includes, m.in:
- Glucose – called grape sugar, because it makes up about 20% of the fresh weight of grapes. It is mainly found in honey and juices of many vegetables and fruits. It serves as the primary source of energy in our body. After consuming grape sugar ingested from food, blood glucose levels rise rapidly. Very often, an increased level of this monosaccharide is associated with diabetes, again a deficiency is associated with hypoglycemia. Normal glucose levels range from 70 to 99 mg/dL.
- Fructose – is an ingredient of honey and fruit juices, hence it is commonly called fruit sugar. It is considered the sweetest of the naturally occurring sugars. When ingested in the human body, it is converted into glucose. Fructose is a component of sucrose, i.e. white food sugar.
- Galactose – is a component of lactose, i.e. milk sugar, and occurs in combinations with proteins and fats. After human consumption, it is also converted into glucose.
Explore … A few sugars
Several saccharides, or oligosaccharides, are formed by joining monosaccharide molecules with an O-glycosidic bond. The biologically most important group of oligosaccharides are disaccharides (disaccharides) made up of two molecules of simple sugars. Among the disaccharides, the most important are: sucrose, lactose and maltose.
Sucrose – is made of one molecule of glucose and one molecule of fructose. It is the main component of food sugar. It is found in large quantities in the sugar beet root. It is very often assigned to the group of simple sugars, but this is a completely wrong statement, because, as we know from the previous article, simple sugar is also known as monosaccharide, and sucrose is made of the aforementioned glucose and fructose. Excessive consumption of sucrose can result in, m.in,
- -Diabetes
- -Obesity
- – atherosclerosis of blood vessels
- – tooth decay
- -heart disease
Lactose – is made of one molecule of glucose and one molecule of galactose. It is a component of mammalian milk and has a nutritional function. It is found in milk, yoghurt, buttermilk, cheese, cottage cheese or cream. You often hear about lactose intolerance. This is mainly due to a deficiency of lactase, an enzyme of the small intestine that breaks down lactose into simple sugars. The main symptoms are:
- -Bloating
- -nausea
- -stomachache
- -colic
Maltose – is made of two glucose molecules. It is formed by the digestion of starch and glycogen. It is found in the nectar and pollen of some plants. It is almost three times less sweet than sucrose, but it is also used as a sweetener.
complex sugars
Polysaccharides (polysaccharides, complex sugars) are compounds made up of a large number of monosaccharides linked by O-glycosidic bonds. Thanks to their properties in the body, they can perform reserve functions such as starch and glycogen and building functions such as cellulose and chitin.
- Starch – is made of two polysaccharides: amylose and amylopectin, which consist of glucose molecules. It is a reserve material in plants. It is found, m.in, in cereal seeds and potato tubers. It can be found in potatoes, rice, pasta and other cereal products.
- Glycogen – is a spare sugar stored in the liver or skeletal muscles. This sugar is found in the liver (about 10% of its mass) and muscles (about 1% of its mass). The average glycogen supply in the human body is about 300 g. During exercise, our body uses three basic energy systems: the phosphagen system, anaerobic glycose, and oxygen glycose. The carbohydrates broken down in oxygen glycosis mainly come from muscle glycogen. When we train, its resources decrease, which contributes to a decrease in energy, so it is important to remember to properly replenish it after physical exertion.