Chapter 4: Carbohydrates
Student Learning Outcomes
1. Explain how carbohydrates are created and their role in a healthy dietary pattern
2. Identify the basic structures of the major carbohydrates: monosaccharides,
disaccharides, and polysaccharides
3. Describe food sources of carbohydrates and list some alternative sweeteners
4. Explain how carbohydrates are taken in and used by the body, including the process of
digestion, absorption, metabolism, and glucose regulation
5. List the functions of carbohydrates in the body, the results of inadequate carbohydrate
intake, and the beneficial effects of fiber
6. State the RDA for carbohydrate and guidelines for carbohydrate intake
7. Identify the consequences of diabetes and explain appropriate lifestyle behaviors that
will reduce the adverse effects of this chronic disease
Fact Check: Are artificial sweeteners safe?
Artificial sweeteners are growing in popularity and often referred to as high-intensity
sweeteners, sugar alternatives, and sugar substitutes. They are regulated by the Food and Drug
Administration (FDA) as food additives. Each sweetener must be reviewed and approved by the
FDA before being marketed for sale. Yet much controversy remains regarding the safety of
artificial sweeteners.
Section 4.1 Concepts: Carbohydrates-Our Most Important Energy Source
1. Why are carbohydrates considered our most valuable energy source?
2. What are the main components needed for photosynthesis?
Carbohydrates
Provide 4 kcal per gram
Glycogen is a carbohydrate made of multiple glucose molecules
● Highly branched structure
● Storage form of glucose in humans
● Synthesized (and stored) in the liver and muscles
Section 4.2 Concepts: Forms of Carbohydrate
1. What are the specific names and definitions of the monosaccharides and disaccharides,
and what happens to them when they are digested and absorbed?
2. What is a polysaccharide and what are the differences between the plant
polysaccharides?
3. What is the name of the storage form of glucose? Where is the compound located in the
body?
4. What makes fiber a very different kind of carbohydrate, and what is the difference
between soluble, insoluble, and functional fiber?
Monosaccharides
Glucose
, ● Major monosaccharide in the body
● In table sugar bonded to fructose; also known as dextrose
● In bloodstream, called blood sugar or blood glucose
● From digestion of starches and sucrose
● Source of fuel for cells
Fructose (Fruit Sugar)
● Component of the disaccharide sucrose
● In fruit, honey, and high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS)
● HFCS in highly processed foods
● Converted into glucose in the liver
● Excess may form fat
Galactose
● Bonded to glucose in lactose (milk sugar)
● Converted to glucose in liver
● Made from glucose in the mammary gland during milk production
Disaccharides
Formed by bonding of two monosaccharides
Also known as simple sugars
Sucrose (Glucose + Fructose)
● Found in sugarcane, sugar beets, honey, maple syrup
Lactose (Galactose + Glucose)
● Milk products
Maltose (Glucose + Glucose)
● Fermentation: Conversion of carbohydrates to alcohols, acids, and
● Alcoholic beverage production
Polysaccharides
● Complex carbohydrates: Containing many glucose units, from 10 to 1,000 or more
● Starch: Storage form of carbohydrates in plants
● Resistant Starch: Type of starch that is fermented by gut bacteria in the large intestine
● Glycogen: Storage form of carbohydrates in humans
● Fiber: Cannot be digested by humans
Polysaccharides: Starch
Starch: 1,000 or more glucose units
Amylose
● Long, straight-chain
● 20% of starch in vegetables, beans, breads, pasta, and rice
Amylopectin
● Highly branched chain
● 80% of starch in foods
Polysaccharides: Glycogen
Student Learning Outcomes
1. Explain how carbohydrates are created and their role in a healthy dietary pattern
2. Identify the basic structures of the major carbohydrates: monosaccharides,
disaccharides, and polysaccharides
3. Describe food sources of carbohydrates and list some alternative sweeteners
4. Explain how carbohydrates are taken in and used by the body, including the process of
digestion, absorption, metabolism, and glucose regulation
5. List the functions of carbohydrates in the body, the results of inadequate carbohydrate
intake, and the beneficial effects of fiber
6. State the RDA for carbohydrate and guidelines for carbohydrate intake
7. Identify the consequences of diabetes and explain appropriate lifestyle behaviors that
will reduce the adverse effects of this chronic disease
Fact Check: Are artificial sweeteners safe?
Artificial sweeteners are growing in popularity and often referred to as high-intensity
sweeteners, sugar alternatives, and sugar substitutes. They are regulated by the Food and Drug
Administration (FDA) as food additives. Each sweetener must be reviewed and approved by the
FDA before being marketed for sale. Yet much controversy remains regarding the safety of
artificial sweeteners.
Section 4.1 Concepts: Carbohydrates-Our Most Important Energy Source
1. Why are carbohydrates considered our most valuable energy source?
2. What are the main components needed for photosynthesis?
Carbohydrates
Provide 4 kcal per gram
Glycogen is a carbohydrate made of multiple glucose molecules
● Highly branched structure
● Storage form of glucose in humans
● Synthesized (and stored) in the liver and muscles
Section 4.2 Concepts: Forms of Carbohydrate
1. What are the specific names and definitions of the monosaccharides and disaccharides,
and what happens to them when they are digested and absorbed?
2. What is a polysaccharide and what are the differences between the plant
polysaccharides?
3. What is the name of the storage form of glucose? Where is the compound located in the
body?
4. What makes fiber a very different kind of carbohydrate, and what is the difference
between soluble, insoluble, and functional fiber?
Monosaccharides
Glucose
, ● Major monosaccharide in the body
● In table sugar bonded to fructose; also known as dextrose
● In bloodstream, called blood sugar or blood glucose
● From digestion of starches and sucrose
● Source of fuel for cells
Fructose (Fruit Sugar)
● Component of the disaccharide sucrose
● In fruit, honey, and high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS)
● HFCS in highly processed foods
● Converted into glucose in the liver
● Excess may form fat
Galactose
● Bonded to glucose in lactose (milk sugar)
● Converted to glucose in liver
● Made from glucose in the mammary gland during milk production
Disaccharides
Formed by bonding of two monosaccharides
Also known as simple sugars
Sucrose (Glucose + Fructose)
● Found in sugarcane, sugar beets, honey, maple syrup
Lactose (Galactose + Glucose)
● Milk products
Maltose (Glucose + Glucose)
● Fermentation: Conversion of carbohydrates to alcohols, acids, and
● Alcoholic beverage production
Polysaccharides
● Complex carbohydrates: Containing many glucose units, from 10 to 1,000 or more
● Starch: Storage form of carbohydrates in plants
● Resistant Starch: Type of starch that is fermented by gut bacteria in the large intestine
● Glycogen: Storage form of carbohydrates in humans
● Fiber: Cannot be digested by humans
Polysaccharides: Starch
Starch: 1,000 or more glucose units
Amylose
● Long, straight-chain
● 20% of starch in vegetables, beans, breads, pasta, and rice
Amylopectin
● Highly branched chain
● 80% of starch in foods
Polysaccharides: Glycogen
