Carbohydrates

• provide energy for daily activities

  essential for fueling the body's functions
• Simple Carbs


  quick energy
• Complex carbs


  sustained energy release

  additional nutrients
• Monosaccharide


  simplest form

  single sugar molecules

  glucose, fructose, galactose

  easily absorbed into the bloodstream
• Disaccharide


  monosaccharides joined through dehydration synthesis

  sucrose (table sugar)

  lactose (milk sugar)

  maltose (malt sugar)

  broken down by enzymes before absorbed
• Polysaccharide


  complex carbohydrates

  energy storage and structural component

  starch (potatoes)

  longer to digest

  sustained release of energy