How do carbohydrates impact your health? - Richard J. Wood Flashcards
What are the two types of carbohydrates?
Simple carbohydrates and complex carbohydrates
Carbohydrates are the nutritional category for _______ and molecules that your body breaks down to make _______.
sugars
Name the three monosaccharide sugars featured in the video
- Fructose
- Glucose
- Galactose
Name the three disaccharide sugars featured in the video
- Lactose - A Galactose and glucose joined together
- Maltose - Two glucose molecules joined together
- Sucrose - A fructose and glucose joined together
What are the two sub-categories of simple carbohydrates?
Monosaccharides and disaccharides
What are complex carbohydrates?
Complex carbohydrates have three or more sugar molecules strung together?
What are the two sub-categories of complex carbohydrates?
Oligosaccharides and polysaccharides
What do you call a complex carbohydrate with 3-10 linked sugars?
An oligosaccharide
What do you call a complex carbohydrate with over 10 (11-∞) linked sugars?
Polysaccharides
What does your body do to ingested complex carbohydrates?
The body breaks down the complex carbohydrates into their monosaccharide sugar building blocks such as fructose, galactose and glucose which the cells can use for energy.
Name two polysaccharides mentioned in the video
- Starch
- Fibre (British spelling, fiber is the American spelling
Both of these polysaccharides are derived from plants. Starch is stored in roots and seeds and is used for energy.
Which type of linkage is found between glucose molecules in starch and which type of linkage is found between glucose molecules in fibre?
Which of the two types of linkages is easier to break by enzymes in the body?
Alpha linkages (bonds) are found between glucose molecules in a starch molecule.
Beta linkages (bonds) are found between glucose molecules in a fibre molecule.
Alpha linkages are easier to break by enzymes in the body.
What is another name for beta-bonded fibre?
cellulose
https://www.fooduciary.com/the-difference-between-starch-and-fiber-and-choosing-a-digestive-enzyme-that-works-for-you/
What is formed when fibre molecules surround and trap starch molecules
Resistant starch. The enzymes can’t break the beta bonds of fibre and so cannot enter reach the alpha bonds of the starch molecule inside the ring-like fibre molecule.
Name some foods with starch in them.
- Donuts
- White bread
- Crackers
Name the foods that was said to contain a lot of fibre
Vegetables, fruits and whole grains
What is meant by the glycemic index of a food?
The glycemic index of a food is a measure of how much a food raises your blood-glucose level.
White bread contains starch. Starch has alpha linkages easily broken apart by enzymes so lots of glucose (since starch is composed of lots of glucose molecules linked by alpha bonds) gets released into the blood raising the blood glucose level.
Explain why foods with beta bonds have lower glycemic indices (index) than foods with alpha bonds.
Digestive enzymes in the body (mostly amylase) can easily break the alpha bonds of a starch molecule. Once the alpha bonds are broken, all that is left is the glucose building blocks of the starch molecule. This free glucose causes the blood-glucose level to rise considerably.
However, the digestive enzymes in our body cannot break beta bonds between glucose molecules in fibre (also known as cellulose) so the fibre passes our small intestine unchanged. The cellulose finally gets broken down into their glucose building blocks when it meets the gut bacteria microbiome in our large intestine. These bacteria have the enzymes that can break beta bonds. Therefore the beta bonds in fibre slow the release of glucose into the blood, therefore, it has a lower glycemic index.
According to the TED video, what foods have a high glycemic index
Soda, waffles, crackers, white bread
According to the TED video, what foods have a medium glycemic index?
Fruit, vegetables and whole grains
According to the TED video, which foods have a low glycemic index?
Eggs, cheese and meats
Where is the hormone insulin synthesised in the body?
In the pancreas
Describe briefly what the role of insulin is.
Insulin works to lower your blood-glucose level by promoting your muscle and fat cells to let the glucose in the blood move into themselves.
What is Insulin sensitivity?
Insulin sensitivity is the degree that a unit of insulin can lower the blood-glucose level.
What is Insulin resistance?
Insulin resistance describes the phenomenon where cells, especially muscle cells become less responsive to insulin and a unit of insulin is less effective at lowering blood-glucose levels.
Insulin resistance increases as insulin sensitivity of cells decreases.
Consuming lots of carbohydrates over a long time can lead to ______ _________.
insulin resistance
Insulin resistance can lead to a serious condition called ______ _______.
metabolic syndrome
Name the symptoms of metabolic syndrome
- Increased waist circumference
- High blood sugar
- High blood pressure
What conditions could metabolic syndrome lead to?
- Cardiovascular disease
- Type II diabetes
According to the Ted what percentage of Americans have metabolic syndrome?
32%
