Nutrition 101 -- Carbohydrates

“Is butter a carb?” - Mean Girls (answer: no)

Carbohydrates are molecules containing carbon (carbo-) and water (-hydrate) that our bodies use primarily for energy production or energy storage.

The way that the carbon molecules are arranged determines what type of carbohydrate it is & how our body utilizes that particular type of carb.

There are two main categories of carbs: simple carbohydrates and complex carbohydrates… each with several sub-categories, of course!

Let’s dive in…

SIMPLE CARB - MONOSACCHARIDE: Six carbon molecules arranged in a ring formation to form a single sugar unit (mono meaning single + saccharide meaning sugar unit).

There are 3 types of monosaccharides: glucose, fructose and galactose. These 3 are the building blocks of all other types of carbohydrate.

Glucose is the preferred form of sugar for making ATP (aka cellular energy). Fructose & galactose both convert into glucose for energy production within your cells.

Let’s repeat that — your body uses GLUCOSE (aka SUGAR aka CARBS) to make the vast majority of cellular energy to keep you going! Ergo carbs aren’t “bad” or "good"... they are basically just energy tokens.

SIMPLE CARB - DISACCHARIDE: Stringing together 2 individual sugar units forms a disaccharide (literally means “two sugars”). There are 3 types of disaccharides: sucrose, lactose and maltose.

You are familiar with the di-sachs already even though you may not realize it. Sucrose is table sugar, which is added to nearly every recipe under the sun! Lactose is natural milk sugar, and maltose is “malt” which is used to make beer, cereal and corn syrup.

As you can see, the simple carbs are made up of 1-2 sugar units. That means that the “complex carbohydrate” category is everything else (i.e. containing 3 or more sugar units). They are also called POLYSACCHARIDES meaning “multiple sugar units”.

Once again, we classify complex carbs by their structure (or how the sugar units are connected to one another). The most common types are:

Starch — sugar units link together to form a chain called “amylose”. Amylose chains then link together to form “amylopectin”. Commonly found in food items such as grains (rice, bread, etc) and vegetables. Our bodies are able to break this down for energy.

Glycogen — sugar units create a branched structure called “glycogen”. This is the storage form of carbohydrate/sugar/energy within our muscles, so that energy is available right away whenever it is needed (say, if you have to suddenly run away from a bear).

Cellulose (aka FIBER) — here, the sugar units link together in a slightly different way that is not digestable by humans.

Cellulose gives plants their rigidity & since we cannot digest it, it adds bulk to our stool. Certain types of fibers also create a gel within the intestine that allows the waste to slide out more easily. That’s precisely why anyone with constipation or diarrhea can benefit from various types of fiber!

Alright enough poop talk for one post! :P

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ONLY GOT 1 MINUTE? HERE’S THE CHEAT NOTES

Carbohydrates = carbs = sugar = glucose = ENERGY. All of these terms are interchangeable.

Carbs are not bad or good, they are just energy packaged up in different ways.

Simple carbs = 1 or 2 sugar units. Building block of all other carbs. Used for energy production (to run away from a bear) or energy storage (making body fat to store energy so you can run away from a bear tomorrow).

Complex carbs = 3+ sugar units. Storage form of energy in plants and animals. We can break down starch from food (yummy rice) & glycogen from animal muscle (yummy steak). We cannot break down cellulose aka fiber (yucky tree branch).

Glycogen is the storage form of energy in our own muscles (because we are animals).

Fiber helps you poop better! :P