carbohydrate

A carbohydrate is an organic compound that is made of hydrogen, carbon, and oxygen. Most carbohydrates have twice as much hydrogen as oxygen and carbon.

In chemistry, a compound is a pure substance of two or more elements stuck together. An organic compound is a compound that contains hydrogen and carbon (hydrocarbons).

Carbohydrates are extremely important to life and neither plants nor animals would be able to survive without them. Fortunately, carbohydrates are abundant in nature.

Both the cell walls of plants and the tissues of animals are made partly out of carbohydrates. Additionally, both plants and animals use carbohydrates to produce and store energy. Without carbohydrates, neither plant nor animal cells could function and both would quickly die.

Carbohydrates come from green plants as a product of the process known as photosynthesis in which plants combine carbon dioxide and water. Typically, animals get their carbohydrates by eating the plants, eating the fruits and vegetables of the plant, or eating other animals.

It is very common in nutritional discussions to shorten carbohydrates to carbs.

The first records of carbohydrate come from around 1865. It combines the combining form carbo-, which indicates something contains carbon, and the word hydrate, which indicates something contains or was made from water.

A healthy consumption of carbohydrates is an important part of nutrition. The right amount of carbohydrates varies from person to person, but when you take in the right balance, you’ll give your brain energy to think with, you’ll help ease digestion, and you’ll protect your body against diseases like heart disease and diabetes.

In regions where healthy foods are plentiful, people don’t usually have to worry about getting enough carbohydrates in their diet because many different foods contain them, including rice, beans, potatoes, milk, and oranges. Instead people often have to worry about eating too many carbohydrates or getting carbohydrates from too many foods with high amounts of fat and sugar, either of which can lead to many health problems, including excessive weight gain.

For example, both an orange and a three-layer chocolate cake contain carbohydrates, but one of these foods contains a large number of carbohydrates and saturated fats (hint: it isn’t the orange). For most people, the occasional piece of chocolate cake is a yummy treat, but eating oranges regularly is the healthier choice.

You can usually recognize which foods you eat contain carbohydrates by checking if there is an -ose word in the ingredients. Glucose, fructose, and lactose are some common carbohydrates that are found in foods such as fruits or milk. We often use the words sugar, starch, and fiber to refer to the types of carbohydrates found in our foods.

This tweet shows some common foods such as bread, rice, and beans that contain a significant amount of carbohydrates.

The role of #carbohyrates in health & disease is a common topic of discussion. New #AJCN meta-analysis of microbiome accessible carbohydrates finds improved glycemic control, lipids, weight & inflammatory markers with increased intakes in people with T2DM https://t.co/C0B3VhzniO pic.twitter.com/awLfv2W8tU

— Food Choice (@foodchoice_work) March 19, 2021

Carbohydrates are in many of the foods we eat, and we need them to survive.

my favorite meal always has at least 3 carbohydrates

— marta (@zabidavilalomas) August 24, 2020

Avoid refined white carbohydrates such as white bread, pasta, rice and sweets. They cause the insulin levels to spike and cause break outs.

— AcneSkinSite (@AcneSkinSite) November 21, 2016

• carbon
• hydrogen
• oxygen
• organic compound
• digestion
• heart disease
• diabetes
• energy
• photosynthesis

True or False?

When eaten in the right amounts, carbohydrates are an important part of nutrition.