NTR-1010 Chapter 4

What are Carbohydrates?

Compounds composed of single or multiple sugars. The name means “carbon and water,” and a chemical shorthand for it is CHO, signifying carbon (C), hydrogen (H), and oxygen (O).

What do carbs do? (PEKKF)

Physical activity, Energy needs, Keep your digestive system fit, Keep your body lean, and Feed your brain and nervous system.

Simple Carbs/Monosaccharides

Sugars, including both single sugar units and linked pairs of sugar units. The basic sugar unit is a molecule containing six carbon atoms, together with oxygen and hydrogen atoms.

Complex Carbs/Polysaccharides

Long chains of sugar units arranged to form starch or fiber.

The 6 Important Sugars in Nutrition(FGGSML)

Fructose, Glucose, Galactose, Sucrose, Maltose, and Lactose

Which of the 6 sugars are monosaccharides?

Fructose, Glucose, and Galactose

Which of the 6 sugars are disaccharides?

Maltose, Lactose, and Sucrose

How is Sucrose made?

Fructose + Glucose

How is Maltose made?

Glucose + Glucose

How is Lactose made?

Glucose + Galactose

T or F: Galactose occurs in foods by itself.

False; only as apart of lactose.

What is Glucose?

This simple sugar is the most important sugar to the body. It is an important source of energy in many living creatures and makes up most carbohydrates.

What is Fructose?

Also known as fruit sugar, this simple sugar is made by rearranging the atoms in glucose molecules. It occurs naturally in fruit, honey, and a part of table sugar.

What is Galactose?

Also known as milk sugar, this simple sugar is made by rearranging the atoms in glucose molecules in a different way. It occurs naturally in milk and rarely is alone.

What is Lactose?

Also known as milk sugar, this complex sugar is made by the combination of glucose and galactose. It occurs naturally in milk.

What is Maltose?

Also known as malt sugar, this complex sugar is made by the combination of two glucose units. This complex sugar appears whenever starch is being broken down. It occurs naturally in germinating seeds.

What is Sucrose?

Also known as table sugar, this complex sugar is made by the combination of glucose and fructose. It is often obtained by the refinement of sugar beet/sugar cane juice. It also occurs naturally in many fruits and veggies.

Monosaccharide Absorption vs. Disaccharide Absorption

When consuming monosaccharides, you can absorb them directly into the bloodstream. As for disaccharides, they must be digested first via separation by enzymes.

Order of -Saccharide Digestion

1. Enzymes are split into monosaccharides by enzymes in intestinal cells.

2. The blood delivers the products of digestion to the liver (where these nutrients can be modified).

3. The liver sends them out to parts of the body.

Monosaccharide Uses

Glucose - Used for all body tissues

Galactose - Turned into glucose to add to body supply

Fructose - Fuel for the liver or broken down to build other molecules

T or F: From the body’s point of view, fruits are vastly different from purified sugars.

True

What are Polysaccharides?

Another term for complex carbohydrates; compounds composed of long strands of glucose units linked together

Examples of Polysaccharides

Starch, Glycogen, and most fibers.

What is Starch?

A plant’s storage form of glucose. They can form granules which are small packets of starch molecules. This energy is stored within the plant’s seeds.

What is Glycogen?

An animal’s storage form of glucose. This energy is stored within animal liver and muscle tissues.

Glycogen vs. Starch (3)

1. Glycogen is in animals and starch is in plants.

2. Glycogen is undetectable in harvested animals.

3. Starch chains are shorter and less branched compared to glycogen.

What is Fiber?

The indigestible parts of plant foods are largely non-starch polysaccharides that are not digested by human digestive enzymes, although resident colon bacteria digest some. Some fiber forms the supporting structures of leaves, stems, and seeds. Other fibers retain water and protect the seed from dehydration.

Examples of Fiber (PHCGML)

Pectins, Hemicellulose, Celluloses, Gums, Mucilages, and Lignin.

What is Fermentation?

The anaerobic (without oxygen) breakdown of carbohydrates by microorganisms that releases small organic compounds along with carbon dioxide and energy.

T or F: Fats are normally used as fuel by the brain and central nervous system.

False; the brain and central nervous systems prefer glucose.

T or F: To eat healthy, you should monitor portion sizes and calorie intakes rather than eliminate carbohydrates.

True

Which food is better in terms of nutrient density?

a. 400 calories - Whole Grain Bread

b. 400 calories - Sugar

a.; refined sugars have no protein, vitamins, minerals, and fiber which results in low nutrient density. The bread is the better option.

Recommended Carb Intake for Total Carbs (Grams & AMDR %)

130 g/day & 45% to 65%

Recommended Carb Intake for Added Sugars (AMDR %)

Less than 10%

What are Soluble Fibers?

Food components that readily dissolve in water and become viscous. They often impart gummy or gel-like characteristics to foods. An example is pectin from fruit, which is used to thicken jellies.

Benefits of Soluble Fibers(7)

• Nourish cells of the colon and promote resistance to colon cancer.

• Reduce inflammation.

• Support immunity.

• Lower blood cholesterol

• Modulate blood glucose and insulin levels

• Carries out some cholesterol for excretion rather than letting it be reabsorbed into the intestine for reuse.

• Can aid in the softening of fecal matter.

What are Insoluble Fibers?

The tough, fibrous structures of fruit, vegetables, and grains; indigestible food components that do not dissolve in water. These do not dissolve in water, do not form gels, are not viscous, and resist fermentation. An example is cellulose, a hard structure that forms many veggie backbones such as bran, strings of celery, hulls of seeds, and corn kernel skin.

T or F: Soluble and Insoluble Fibers, along with ample fluid intake, support the colon’s health.

True

DRI Range for Fiber (Per Calorie, Men, and Women)

14 g/per 1000 calories, 25 g/ per day for men, and 15 g/per day for women.

T or F: Evidence suggests that diets rich in fruit, legumes, vegetables, nuts, seeds, and whole grains—and therefore rich in fibers and other complex carbohydrates—are protective against heart disease and stroke.

True

What is Bile?

This enzyme is made by the liver and secreted into the intestine for digestion. This enzyme is stored in the gallbladder.

What is Diabetes?

Metabolic diseases that impair a person’s ability to regulate blood glucose. There are two types: Type 1 and Type 2. Type 1 is the inability to produce insulin while Type 2 is the resistance of insulin.

What is Hemmorhoids?

Swollen, hardened (varicose) veins in the rectum, usually caused by pressure resulting from constipation.

What is Appendicitis?

Inflammation and/or infection of the appendix. (The appendix is a sac about 4 inches long, protruding from the large intestine. It may become infected if fragments of the intestinal contents become trapped within it.)

What is Diverticula?

Sacs or pouches that balloon out of the intestinal wall, caused by weakening of the muscle layers that encase the intestine. The painful inflammation of one or more of the diverticula is known as diverticulitis.

T or F: The risk of colon and rectal cancer are the highest among people with high dietary fiber intakes.

False; low dietary fiber intakes.

How to Estimate Fiber Intake

1. Multiply servings of fruit/veggie by 1.5g.

2. Multiply ½ cups of refined grains by 1 g.

3. Multiply ½ cups of whole grains by 2.5 g.

4. Add fiber values for servings of legumes, nuts, and seeds. and high-fiber cereals and breads.

5. Add up the grams of fiber from the previous steps.

T or F: There is no Tolerable Upper Intake Level established for fiber.

True (Purified fibers are different. They can be taken to extremes and overwhelm the digestive system.)

What are Chelating Agents?

Molecules that attract or bind with other molecules and are therefore useful in either preventing or promoting movement of substances from place to place.

What are Whole Grains?

Grain and grain products that contain all parts of a grain: the endosperm, bran, germ, and husk.

What are Fortified/Enriched Grains?

Grains and grain products from which the bran, germ, or other edible parts of whole grains have been removed; not a whole grain. Many refined grains are low in fiber and are enriched with vitamins, as required by U.S. regulations.

Grain Parts & Definitions (BEGH)

Bran - The protective, fibrous coating around a grain

Endosperm - The bulky, starchy edible part of a grain

Germ -The nutrient-rich inner part of a grain. Also where the new plant grows from.

Husk/Chaff - The outer and inedible part of a grain

What act passed required that iron, niacin, thiamin, and riboflavin be added to refined grain products?

U.S. Enrichment Act of 1942

Where does most digestion of starch begin?

The mouth; the enzymes within saliva mix with food and splits them into shorter units.

What is Resistant Starch?

The fraction of starch in a food that is digested slowly, or not at all, by human enzymes. Technically a kind of fiber.

T or F: All cells cannot split glucose for energy.

False; they can.

When searching for whole-grain bread, a consumer should search the labels __________.

a. for words like multigrain, wheat bread, brown bread, or stone-ground

b. for the order in which whole grains appear on the ingredients list

c. for the word unbleached, which indicates that the food is primarily made from whole grains

d. b and c

b.

Whole-grain rice, often called brown rice, ____.

a. can be recognized by its characteristic brown color

b. cannot be recognized by color alone

c. is often more refined than white rice

d. b and c

b.

A bread labeled “high-fiber” ____.

a. may not be a whole-grain food

b. is a good substitute for whole-grain bread

c. is required by law to contain whole grains

d. may contain contain the dangerous chemical cellulose

a.

What is Lactose Intolerance and how is it caused?

This condition is defined as the inability to digest lactose. It is caused by the body’s reduced production of the enzyme lactase.

Where is lactase produced?

The small intestine

What is Lactose?

A disaccharide made up of two monosaccharides: glucose and galactose.

Symptoms of Lactose Intolerance

Nausea, pain, diarrhea, and excess flatulence(gas)

What is the limit of milk/lactose an intolerant person can consume?

12 grams of lactose or 1 cup of milk

Ways to Combat Lactose Intolerance (YALLM)

Eating Yogurt, Aged Cheeses, Lactase Pills/Drops, Lactase-Treated Products, and Milk Substitutes

T or F: Red blood cells only use glucose.

True

What is Protein-Sparing Action?

The action of carbohydrates and fat in providing energy that allows protein to be used for purposes it alone can serve. Essentially, the body needs to have carbs and/or fats available otherwise the body will divert proteins used for immunity as an energy source.

What are Ketone Bodies?

Water-soluble compounds that arise during the breakdown of fat when carbohydrate is not available.

What is Ketosis?

An undesirably high concentration of ketone bodies, such as acetone, in the blood or urine.

How does insulin regulate blood glucose?

• Facilitating blood glucose uptake by the muscles and adipose tissue.

• Stimulating glycogen synthesis in the liver.

T or F: The muscles hoard 1/3 of the body’s total glycogen.

False; 2/3

Which hormone flows into the bloodstream and triggers the breakdown of liver glycogen to single glucose molecules?

Glucagon

How does the body handle excess glucose?

• Tissues shift to burning more glucose for energy instead of fat.

• The liver breaks the excess glucose down into smaller molecules and turns them into fat.

Unlike the liver cells, which store only about ______ calories of glycogen, the fat cells of an average-sized person store over _______ calories of fat, and their ability to expand their fat storage capacity over time is almost limitless.

2,000 and 70,000

What is the Glycemic Response?

A term used to describe how quickly glucose is absorbed from a meal, how high blood glucose rises, and how quickly it returns to normal.

What is the Glycemic Index?

A ranking of foods according to their potential for raising blood glucose relative to a reference dose of glucose. There is Low GI, Medium GI, and High GI. Low GI is best as it returns to a normal level compared to High GI.

Examples of Low GI (9)

Bran-type breakfast cereals, corn tortillas, chocolate candy, raw carrots, most fruits, green vegetables, kidney beans and other legumes, many kinds of pasta.

Examples of Medium GI (13)

Bananas, corn, French fries, oat breakfast cereals, raw pineapple, popcorn, potato chips, raisins, soft drinks, sweet potatoes, oat bran or rye bread.

Examples of High GI (7)

Most breakfast cereals, potatoes, white bread, white rice, rice crackers, and watermelon.

T or F: The placement in the Glycemic Index indicates the product’s nutrient density.

False; the placement of food within the GI has no influence on the health and nutrient density of the food.

How can GI deviate for a single food? (3)

• Physical and chemical characteristics between food samples vary.

• The blood glucose response varies among individuals.

• People eat mixed and undetermined meals rather than determined portions which can modulate the glycemic response

“Fast Carbs”

Are popular, high-GI foods made of ultra-processed grains that are refined, milled, pulverized, and treated with high heat and pressure, processes that split the original starch molecules into small fragments.

What conditions can result from blood glucose regulation failure?

Diabetes and Hypoglycemia

What is Hypoglycemia

An abnormally low blood glucose concentration, often accompanied by symptoms such as anxiety, rapid heartbeat, and sweating.

FRUIT - A fruit portion of ½ cup of juice, a small banana or apple or orange, ½ cup of canned or fresh fruit, or ¼ cup of dried fruit supplies an average of about _____________________, mostly as sugars, including the fruit sugar fructose.

15 grams of carbohydrate

GRAIN - A slice of bread, half an English muffin, a 6-inch tortilla, 1⁄3 cup of rice or pasta, or ½ cup of cooked cereal provides about _________________________, mostly as starch.

15 grams of carbohydrate

PROTEIN - Just ½ cup of cooked beans, peas, or lentils provides _____________________, an amount equaling the richest carbohydrate sources. Among sources of fiber, legumes are peerless, providing as much as 8 grams in ½ cup.

15 grams of carbohydrate

Dairy products can provide anywhere from __ to ____________________.

6 to 14 grams of carbohydrate

Each teaspoonful of any sweet can be assumed to supply about _____________________________. An exception is honey, which packs more calories into each teaspoon because its crystals are dissolved in water; the dry crystals of sugar take up more space.

16 calories and 4 grams of carbohydrate

Iron DRI

Men - 8 milligrams

Women - 18 milligrams

Sugar Alcohols/Polyols

Sugarlike compounds derived from fruit or manufactured from carbohydrates; sugar alcohols are absorbed more slowly than sugars, are metabolized differently, and do not elevate the risk of dental caries.

What are Dental Caries?

Decay of the teeth (caries means “rottenness”). Also called cavities.

T or F: Diabetes is caused by sugar.

False; excess body fat is more strongly implicated in causing diabetes than is the composition of the diet.

What is Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease?

An increasingly common malady associated with obesity and metabolic disorders. This is a serious condition that increases risks of type 2 diabetes, life-threatening liver disease, liver cancer, and cardiovascular disease, and for which no drug treatments exist.

When added sugar is consumed in excess of calorie need…

It alters blood lipids in potentially harmful ways