Carbohydrates Flashcards
What is the body’s preferred source of energy?
Carbohydrates.
What are the two main categories of carbohydrates can be divided into??
Complex carbohydrates and simple carbohydrates.
What is a complex carbohydrate?
Complex carbohydrates are carbohydrates that provide a slow and sustained release of energy. These are essential for people who exercise.
Where can complex carbohydrates be found?
Complex carbohydrates can be found in products that contain starch like potatoes, rice pasta, and porridge.
What is a simple carbohydrate?
Simple carbohydrates are a form of carbohydrate that give a very quick energy release but this is an unsustainable influx of energy. Therefore these types of carbohydrates should be kept to a minimum.
Where can simple carbohydrates be found?
Simple carbohydrates can be found in sugary foods could be found in natural sources like fruit or they could be found in something like cakes chocolate biscuits man made foods.
What is the best source of simple carbohydrates?
The best source of a simple carbohydrate is something like fruit because it contains many of the essential vitamins and minerals are required by the body. (These essential vitamins and minerals are called micronutrients.)
What is a free sugar?
Free sugars are simple forms of carbohydrates are added to food or drink by food manufacturers or consumers. This is usually done for flavour. Free to ocean naturally found in things like honey fruit juices and syrups.
Why would a simple sugar be better than a free sugar?
Simple sugar would be better because free sugars are more damaging to health than a simple sugar would be. It is also much easier to accidentally consume too much free sugar than it is a whole food source so it is best to avoid these where possible.
What are all carbohydrates broken down into and where does this process begin?
The process begins in the mouth and all carbohydrates are broken down into glucose.
Why do complex carbohydrates provide a more prolonged source of energy?
Complex carbohydrates provide a longer source of energy because they take longer to break down then simple carbohydrates.
Once a carbohydrate has been broken down, what is the end product and where is it deposited?
Carbohydrates breakdown into glucose and it is deposited into the bloodstream.
What happens if additional blood glucose is not required at the point it is released into the bloodstream?
Additional glucose is transported and stored in the liver and skeletal muscles when it is stored is known as glycogen.
What is glycogen?
Glycogen is the stored form of glucose and it is a representation of the bodies carbohydrate reserves
How many calories does each gram of carbohydrate contain?
A single gram of carbohydrate contains 4 kcal
