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Nutrition Science and Everyday Application - beta v 0.1

Nutrition Science and Everyday Application - beta v 0.1

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174 ALICE CALLAHAN, PHD, HEATHER LEONARD, MED, RDN, AND TAMBERLY POWELL, MS, RDN<br />

Figure 4.4. Carbohydrates can be divided into two main types: simple (including<br />

monosaccharides <strong>and</strong> disaccharides) <strong>and</strong> complex.<br />

SIMPLE CARBOHYDRATES<br />

Simple carbohydrates are sometimes called “sugars” or “simple sugars.” There are 2 types of<br />

simple carbohydrates: monosaccharides <strong>and</strong> disaccharides.<br />

Monosaccharides<br />

contain just one sugar unit, so they’re the smallest of the carbohydrates.<br />

(The prefix “mono-” means “one.”) The small size of monosaccharides gives them a special<br />

role in digestion <strong>and</strong> metabolism. Food carbohydrates have to be broken down to<br />

monosaccharides before they can be absorbed in the gastrointestinal tract, <strong>and</strong> they also<br />

circulate in blood in monosaccharide form.<br />

There are 3 monosaccharides:<br />

1. Glucose<br />

2. Fructose<br />

3. Galactose<br />

Note that all three have the same chemical formula (C 6 H 12 O 6 ); the atoms are just arranged<br />

a bit differently.

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