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Physical and chemical structure of carbohydrates
Important of chemistry to our daily life
The effects of blood glucose on diabetic and non diabetic people
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Recommended: Physical and chemical structure of carbohydrates
Chemistry is vitally important in our understanding physiology. The molecule of my choice for this final exam is Carbohydrates. Carbohydrates are originated as the outcome of photosynthesis, the condensation of carbon dioxide that requires light energy and chlorophyll pigment. Carbohydrates are a huge source of something called metabolic energy, which can be found in plants which help feed our animals. Carbohydrates are found in sugars and starches but they have another purpose which is called cellulose which helps transport the compound ATP. Carbs are called saccharides and if they are considered sugars. The complexity of carbohydrates which are monosaccharides and complex carbs which consist of polysaccharides disaccharides and oligosaccharides. Carbohydrates represent the main source of energy for the human body. All carbs can be broken down into sugars and absorbed into our intestines and blood stream. Your body uses the glucose formed as fuel for energy. Different carbs digest and break down at different rates. When our blood sugar levels increase our pancreas pumps insulin into our blood stream. Simple carbs turn into glucose faster where complex carbs slowly turn into glucose. The foods we eat that contain carbohydrates cause our blood sugar levels to increase, transporter proteins push the glucose into our muscles, liver cells and fat where our bodies store or end up using the glucose. The cells in our bodies can’t directly use the glucose, so it has to be converted into molecules that cells then use as an energy source. One of the most important molecule for energy storing is the adenosine triphosphate known as ATP. When our cells contain oxygen it can then turn glucose into the ATP molecules using some chemical rea... ... middle of paper ... ...gy from. Without carbs your body cant store fat, that is why people end up going on no carb diets. Throughout the process of glycolysis glucose is converted into carbon dioxide and water, making a big quantity of ATP which is what makes energy. Glycogen is found in animals liver as an emergency energy supply. The sugars that basis the structures of DNA and RNA are ribose and deoxyribose which are other important carbohydrates. When we drink milk the carbohydrate is lactose formed from glucose and galactose. Some ways our bodies can get carbohydrates can be found in whole grains, vegetables and dry beans, sugars from fruits and natural foods are a healthy carbohydrate that our body processes fast. The bad carbohydrates we consume such as processed foods and empty calorie foods cause glucose to process slowly in our bodies.
The Structure and Function of Carbohydrates Large biological molecules are called macromolecules, there are giant molecules (polymers) made up of repeating units (monomers). Carbohydrates are one of the main classes of biological molecules. Macromolecule units (monomers) are joined together by condensation reactions and hydrolysis reactions split macromolecules down into their individual units. Carbohydrates are molecules that contain elements of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen. Carbohydrates have a 2:1 hydrogen to oxygen ratio, there are twice as many hydrogen atoms as oxygen atoms (the same proportion as in water).
Carbohydrates are split into two main groups. The simple sugars and the starches. Simple sugars contain fructose, glucose and lactose. All three sugars can be found in most fruits. The starches are found in bread, rice, some fruits, some vegetables, and potatoes. Carbohydrates are mainly tasked with providing your body energy. However, in some instances where the body lacks enough fibre, the carbohydrates can be broken down to provide a replacement for fibre.
Glucose is needed to create the body’s source of energy, ATP, and is found in carbohydrates. Since heterotrophs are unable to produce the food, or glucose, they need for cellular respiration, they obtain this food by consuming autotrophs or other heterotrophs. When a carbohydrate is consumed it begins its journey by traveling through several digestive organs, including the stomach and the small intestine, where it is broken down into the glucose the body needs to create energy. An organ is composed of different tissues that have come together to function in a coordinated manner (textbook page 20, para 7). Therefore digestive organs are organs that work together to breakdown food into the nutrients needed for the organism to function. Once the carbohydrate has been broken down into glucose, through a process of absorption, it enters the blood stream and is transported to cells where it undergoes a chemical process where the glucose is converted to
The body breaks down various carbohydrate foods (whether simple or complex) into glucose, which is used easily for energy or saved away in muscles and fat stores for later use. Carbs are the body’s preferred, No. 1 energy source. However, they aren’t the only macronutrient that supplies energy to cells. This is why it’s possible to follow a low-carb diet and still have enough energy, endurance and muscular strength. However, special care should be taken in relation to Refined and processed carbs which release glucose (sugar) into the bloodstream more quickly, leading to symptoms like low energy levels, cravings, overeating, weight gain and brain fog. Eating lots of processed/fast carbs can also increase risk for insulin resistance and diabetes. “Slow carbs” like veggies, whole pieces of fruit, ancient grains and legumes provide a slower release of glucose and better supply of energy for our cells that lasts for
The primary method to control gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is through dietary regulation. The most effective method to control GDM via diet is through carbohydrate restriction and/or selectivity. It is recommended that pregnant women with GDM reduce their carbohydrate intake to 40% of the total caloric intake or can maintain a 60% carbohydrate intake but those carbohydrates must all come from low glycemic index foods. Examples of low glycemic foods are apples, spinach, black beans, split peas, oatmeal, and quinoa. Additional suggestions are to eat complex carbohydrates instead of simple, refined sugars. Eat small, frequent meals and snack often in between meals in order to maintain constant glucose levels throughout the day.
Diabetes is chronic metabolic disease characterized by high blood glucose and insulin resistance resulting in hyperglycaemia and affects approximately 347 million people worldwide (WHO, 2013). Prevention and treatment often include being physically active, maintaining a healthy body weight, eating a healthy diet and avoiding saturated fat and tobacco use (WHO, 2013). However, studies have recently shown that carbohydrate consumption may be a risk factor for the development of the disease. The quality of carbohydrates has been of particular interest in many studies because of the rate of digestion and blood glucose response (Manuel-y-Keenoy et al, 2012). Carbohydrates that cause a rapid elevation in blood glucose (high GI) may have unfavorable metabolic effects compared to carbohydrates that cause a slow elevation in blood glucose (low GI) (Similia et al, 2011). The increased consumption of refined foods worldwide has been seen to have an affect on diabetes risk. In western population, the increased consumption of sugar-sweetened beverage has seen an associated increase in the rate of diabetes (Malik & Hu, 2012). In many Asian populations, a high consumption of refined grains, particularly white rice and noodles, has been reported to be associated with a higher risk of type 2 diabetes (Zuniga et al, 2014). However, foods high in fiber are thought to decrease the risk of type 2 diabetes (Weickert & Pfeiffer, 2008). There is ongoing research into gene-environment interactions and the way carbohydrate restriction has a varied effect on diabetes risk based on genetic variability . Although type 2 diabetes risk may be increased by consuming high GI, high GL and refined carbohydrates, consuming the right kind of carbohydrates su...
Carbohydrates are divided into two groups based on how complex their structure is.Monosaccharides is a simple carbohydrate because it has one simple sugar, disaccharides has a combination of two simple sugars.An example of disaccharides is lactose.Complex carbohydrates also known as polysaccharides are known to have multiple sugars.Polysaccharides are also used to store energy, an example of this starch.In addition, nutrients include proteins ,fats, minerals and vitamins.Multiple tests were taken like Benedict’s Solution, Lugol’s Solution, and Biuret’s Solution to test if the presence of a substance was there.
Since Egyptians described diabetes in their manuscript and Indian physicians identified diabetes around 1500 BC, lots of discoveries are made regarding the pathogenesis and the treatment of diabetes: new technologies are invented and used in the diagnosis and treatment of diabetes, type-1 and type-2 diabetes are differentiated through time, lots of researches are done to find out a lasting solution to the devastating disease. Regardless of all the effort made diabetes type-1 remains incurable. It still continues to be one of the causes of death. The Genetics Home Reference web page noted the occurrence of type-1 diabetes in 10 to 20 per 100,000 people per year in the United States. By age 18, approximately 1 in 300 people in the United States develop type 1 diabetes. Worldwide, the number increases every year by 2 to 5 percent. (Genetics Home Reference, 2013)
Diabetes is a disorder that affects the way your body uses food for growth and energy. Carbohydrates play apart in diabetes. It is a biological compound containing carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen that is an important source of food and energy. When you eat, carbohydrates are broken down into a simple sugar called glucose. This is one of the main sources of fuel for your body. Those who have diabetes either do not have enough insulin or their cells have become insensitive to the effects of insulin. Insulin is a hormone produced in the pancreas that regulates the level of glucose in the blood. However, glucose does not get into the cells and it begins to build up in the blood. The buildup of glucose in the blood is the hallmark of diabetes.
One of the four molecules is carbohydrates. Carbohydrates are made out of CHO. The main building blocks are sugars (saccharides). What carbohydrates do for us is they store fuel for our cells. They are fast paced and energetic.
Significance of Carbohydrates: Massive distribution of carbohydrates in nature makes them indispensable for life. Carbohydrates like cellulose, pectin and starch serve as fundamental structural components by constituting 50-80% of dry weight of plants. Simple monomeric units such as glucose form oligosaccharides by means of a covalent connection known as glycosidic linkage. Additional linkage of these oligosaccharides results in the formation of long chain polysaccharides which not only play a pivotal role in the nutrition of humans and animals but also contribute as basic substrates in manufacturing of many fermentation products. Production of many industrial products like enzymes and antibiotics is carried through the
Complexity of compounds is the reason they must be absorbed long before the physical activity. Starch a main area of complex carbohydrates. It has several bonds. Starches are tightly bound carbon molecules and have several attaching elements. This bonding complexity is the reason starches are capable of retaining large amounts of energy. These compounds should be taken into an athlete's body prior to intense physical activity because an energy storage supply is necessary when simple compounds are completely oxidized.
Carbohydrates are the main source of glucose, which is a major fuel for all of the body's cells and the only source of energy for the brain and red cells. Except for fiber, which cannot be digested, both simple and complex carbohydrates are converted into glucose. The glucose is then either used directly to provide energy for the body, or stored in the liver for future use. When a person consumes more calories than the body is using, a portion of the carbohydrates consumed may also be stored in the body as fat.
Carbohydrate is a molecule that is made up of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen. Carbohydrates are sugar molecules and are classified by how many sugar molecules they contain. In this article, it talks about two main carbs, Simple carbs, and Complex carbs. Simple carbs are referred to as sugars which are single sugar molecules called monosaccharides or two monosaccharides joined together called disaccharides. Two common monosaccharides are glucose and fructose. While sucrose and lactose are two common disaccharides. Complex carbs contain two or more sugar molecules chains that are called oligosaccharides. Chains of more than ten monosaccharides linked together are called polysaccharides.
There are numerous metabolic diseases that affect people all around the world. One of the most common metabolic diseases is diabetes which involves carbohydrate metabolism. Carbohydrate metabolism starts with digestion in the small intestine where simple carbohydrates are absorbed into the blood stream (1). Blood sugar (glucose) concentrations are managed by three hormones: insulin, glucagon, and epinephrine. When glucose concentrations in the blood become elevated, insulin is secreted by the pancreas. Insulin stimulates the transfer of glucose into the cells, especially in the liver and muscle tissue, although other organs are also able to process glucose (2).