You carbohydrates can also be called carbohydrates or sugars, and they are the main source of energy for living beings, being present in different types of food. With the exception of honey, all carbohydrates are of vegetable origin, like the cereals (rice, wheat, oats etc.), the roots and tubers (potatoes, cassava, carrots, beets etc.), the legumes (beans, peas, soy etc.), the fruits (banana, mango, apple etc.) among many others.
In addition to serving as a source of energy, the carbohydratesalso have structural function, as they participate in the formation of some structures of living beings, such as the cellulose and the chitin. In addition, the carbohydrates participate in the structure of both DNA how much of the RNA.
Carbohydrates are the main energy source of living beings
You carbohydrates can be classified into three groups: monosaccharides, disaccharides and polysaccharides.
You monosaccharides are very simple sugars, and their main representatives are the glucose (manufactured by plants during photosynthesis), the fructose (found in honey) and the galactose (present in milk). Monosaccharides are water soluble.
You disaccharides are formed by the union of two monosaccharides, and their best known representatives are the sucrose and the lactose. Disaccharides are water soluble.
→sucrose: formed by a glucose molecule and a fructose molecule. THE sucrose it is the sugar that we consume at home, that we use in our coffee, juices, sweets, etc. This carbohydrate can be found mainly in sugarcane and sugar beet.
→Lactose: formed by a glucose molecule and a galactose molecule. It's the sugar found in milk, and is the main source of energy for the baby during breastfeeding.
You polysaccharides they are formed by the union of hundreds, even thousands, of monosaccharides and are not soluble in water. The best known examples of polysaccharides they are:
•Starch: main source of energy in our food. Plants use starch as an energy reserve, and that's why we can find it inside stems, but mainly in the roots, tubers and seeds.
•Cellulose: a cellulose is the main component of vegetable cell wall.
•chitin: main constituent of the exoskeleton (external skeleton) of arthropods, such as insects, arachnids, crustaceans, etc.
The main function of carbohydrates is to provide energy
As we have seen, the carbohydrates are essential for living beings, as in addition to serving as power supply, they are still part of the constitution of several important structures. That's why we should keep a balanced diet, because that way we can get all the nutrients necessary for the proper functioning of our body.
Take the opportunity to check out our video lesson on the subject:
