Nutrition Science and Everyday Application - beta v 0.1

TYPES OF CARBOHYDRATES 177
1 – Maltose
Here is the chemical structure of maltose:
Maltose is made of two glucose molecules bonded together. It doesn’t occur naturally
in any appreciable amount in foods, with one exception: sprouted grains. Grains
contain a lot of starch, which is made of long chains of glucose (more on this in a minute),
and when the seed of a grain starts to sprout, it begins to break down that starch, creating
maltose. If bread is made from those sprouted grains, that bread will have some maltose.
Sprouted grain bread is usually a little heavier and sweeter than bread made from regular
flour.
Maltose also plays a role in the production of beer and liquor, because this process
involves the fermentation of grains or other carbohydrate sources. Maltose is formed during
the breakdown of those carbohydrates, but there is very little remaining once the
fermentation process is complete.
You can taste the sweetness of maltose if you hold a starchy food in your mouth for a
minute or so. Try this with a simple food like a soda cracker. Starch is not sweet, but as the
starch in the cracker begins to break down with the action of salivary amylase, maltose will
form, and you’ll taste the sweetness!
2 – Sucrose
Here is the chemical structure of sucrose:
Sucrose is made of a glucose molecule bonded to a fructose molecule. It’s made by
plants for the same reason as fructose — to attract animals to eat it and thereby spread the
seeds.
Sucrose is naturally-occurring in fruits and vegetables. (Most fruits and vegetables
contain a mixture of glucose, fructose, and sucrose.) But humans have also figured out how
to concentrate the sucrose in plants (usually sugar cane or sugar beets) to make refined
table sugar. We also find sucrose in maple syrup and honey.
The sucrose found in a sweet potato is chemically identical to the sucrose found in
table sugar. Likewise, the fructose found in a fig is chemically identical to the fructose found