Carbohydrates in the Diet - Essay Example

Intro: Once a frenzy in the diet world, carbohydrates were crazed over for a while in the news. The debate raged on if they were actually good for your body or not, and if so, what kinds of “carbs” to eat and which ones to best avoid. People were worried about which of these molecules to include in their diet, and which ones should be avoided. All of this fuss was caused by carbohydrates, also know as saccharides. These molecules are among the most abundant molecules, and are usually formed by a straight chain formation. These numerous molecules provide many key uses in biological life, and help many different processes necessary for life. They help store energy, and can also be used as pieces of animal and plant anatomy. Saccharides also play pivotal roles in many other biological processes, such as their impact on the immune system, fertilization, and many other bodily processes. Saccharides can be divided into two different groups based on their structure and length of their chains. A molecule could be a monosaccharide, which is a basic carbohydrate group member. A molecule, however, could be classified as a polysaccharide, which is a complex chain of carbohydrates that is much larger than a monosaccharide chain. These groups can then be classified depending on their structure, and where certain other groups of molecules or atoms are arranged or placed on the saccharide chain. These groups can also be classified by the number of carbon atoms that are present in the chain of the saccharide molecule. Body: Carbohydrates, also know as saccharides, get their name from the Greek word meaning “sugar” ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbohydrates). These saccharides are simple molecules, shape into a straight chain aldehyde or ketone, and then have many various hydroxyl groups added to the aldehyde or ketone chain. Also known was carbs, these molecules are the most found organic molecule, and help out in many different biological processes. Carbohydrates help store and transport energy in the forms of starch and glycogen and also make up some of the various structure components of living organisms, such as cellulose in plants and chitin in animals. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbohydrates). Also, carbs have important roles in many different biological processes, such as their role in “in the functioning of the immune system, fertilization, pathogenesis, blood clotting, and development.”(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbohydrates). These important molecules help out body work the way it does, and are very important in these different biological processed that our body needs for life. Saccharides are also involved in the catabolic processes of Glycolysis and the citric acid cycle, two very important process that are necessary for many organisms to have life. Carbohydrates are divided into a few main different groups, the Monosaccharides, disaccharides, and the polysaccharides. Monosaccharides, such as glucose, galaclose, and fructose, are all almost able to be linked together in “limitless ways” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbohydrates), and are the basic molecule of saccharides. One of the other categories of saccharides is the disaccharides. When two different Monosaccharides are joined together they from a disaccharide, such as sucrose or lactose. However, when more than two saccharides join together them become known as polysaccharides. These include starch, glycogen, or cellulose, and may reach “many thousands of units in length” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbohydrates). Monosaccharides, also know as simple sugars (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbohydratesv), are the basic units of carbs. They are “are straight-chain aldehydes or ketones with many hydroxyl groups added, usually one on each carbon atom that is not part of the aldehyde or ketone functional group”, with the “formula of an unmodified monosaccharide is (C·H2O)n, where n is any number of three or greater”( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbohydrates). Monosaccharides are split into three different groups based off of their unique and different characteristics. The first way to classify Monosaccharides is by the placement of its carbonyl group. If the carbonyl group is an aldehyde, then the monosaccharide is a aldose, and if the carboyl group is a ketone, then the carbohydrate is a ketose.( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbohydrates). Monosaccharides are also classified by the number of carbon atoms they have, and by their chiral handedness. The disaccharides are formed when two Monosaccharides are joined together. The disaccharides are the simplest of the polysaccharides, the many chained saccharides. The two monosaccharides are joined together by a covalent glycosidic, which forms during “a dehydration reaction, resulting in the loss of a hydrogen atom from one monosaccharide and a hydroxyl group from the other”. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbohydrates). This gives us the unmodified form of a disaccharide being C12H22O11. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbohydrates). One of the specifically notable disaccharides is sucrose. This is the main molecule in which energy and carbohydrates are transported in plants. It is composed of one glucose and one fructose molecule. Other important disaccharides include lactose, which is a “disaccharide composed of one galactose molecule and one glucose molecule, occurs naturally only in milk.”(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbohydrates). In the world of nutrition, carbs are very important molecules. They are the most common source of energy, and this energy is needed in the formation of proteins and fats. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbohydrates). Based on recent nutrition evidence “for risk of heart disease and obesity, the Institute of Medicine recommends that American and Canadian adults get between 40-65% of dietary energy from carbohydrates. The Food and Agriculture Organization and World Health Organization jointly recommend that national dietary guidelines set a goal of 55-75% of total energy from carbohydrates, but only 10% should be from Free sugars(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbohydrates). Carbohydrates can be also classified as being either simple or complex, depending on if they are monosaccharide or polysaccharide. New guidelines “generally recommend that complex carbohydrates and nutrient-rich simple carbohydrates such as fruit and dairy products should make up the bulk of carbohydrate consumption. The USDAs Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2005 dispenses with the simple/complex distinction, instead recommending fiber-rich foods and whole grains.” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbohydrates). Conclusion: While many people may have tried to rid their diets of these important molecules, nutritionists have found that these molecules are very important in many different biological process, and the formation of many important body parts. To completely rid these important molecules from your diet means you would need to make sure you were receiving the molecules from another source, as to keep your body healthy. Being the most abundant molecules, carbohydrates are very important to many different organisms. They play an important role in both the Krebs cycle and Glycolysis, two very important processes that are needed for energy and life. Without the important actions of carbohydrates these process would not work as well, or possibly at all, leaving people without much needed energy. Most energy is taken from, or stored in these important molecules, and should take in proper amounts. Carbs are also important in the structures of different organisms, such as their importance in the structure of plants and animals. They also play many vital roles in the biological processes of humans as well, and are important in the storage and use of energy. Without these important molecules, which are the most abundant molecules in the world, many processes would be left lacking. These are very important molecules, and should be kept part of everybody’s diets. Read More