Carbohydrates

A carbohydrate is a compound consisting of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen. The term carbohydrate, itself, means carbon + water.

The structure of the carbohydrate:

The hydrogen and oxygen atoms are not bonded the same as they are in water. The carbohydrate molecules are built of rings of carbon and oxygen atoms. The hydrogen atoms and OH groups attach to the carbon atoms.

The unique structure of carbohydrates, due to the rings, allow for many variations in molecular structure.

Carbohydrates are necessary for the body to function properly and are one of the 6 macronutrients that your body needs an outside source of.

There are four different chemical groups of carbohydrates aka saccharides; monosaccharides, disaccharides, oligosaccharides, and polysaccharides. Mono and disaccharides are the smaller carbohydrate and are usually referred to as sugars, and they usually end with the suffix -ose. An example of a monosaccharide is blood sugar which is commonly known as, glucose. For disaccharides, there is table sugar which is known as sucrose and then there's your milk sugars called lactose. Polysacchardes are known for the storage of energy and structural components. Two common example for energy storage are starch and glycogen. Your muscles are where the glycogen goes and that is important for athletes, as well as non-athletes. Structural components of polysaccharides is cellulose, which is found in plants.

Usually when the word carbohydrate is used its referring to a food context. There are two forms of carbs; complex and simple. The complex carbohydrate foods contain starch, the most common examples are cereals, bread, and pasta. Whereas simple carbohydrates contain sugars, these would be found in candy, jams, and desserts.