USING CARBOHYDRATES

Chemical Make-up - Carbohydrates are made up of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen. Which make up a saccharide (sugar) unit Types of Saccharide Units Monosaccharaides Glucose – Form that the cells use for energy Fructose – Sweetest form – found in fruit Galactose – binding agent Disaccharides Sucrose – Table sugar Lactose – Milk Sugar Maltose – Grain sugar Polysaccharides Starch

How the body digests carbohydrates -Carbohydrates are broken down into Monosaccharide's so they can travel through the bloodstream to the liver -The liver converts fructose and galactose into glucose -When a person eats their blood glucose rises which causes insulin to be released from the pancreas to burn glucose for energy – which lowers the glucose levels back to normal -If the body doesn’t need the energy from the glucose, it is converted into glycogen -Glycogen is stored in the muscles to be used during muscular activity. -Extra glycogen (about 1/3) can be stored in the liver for future needs. The liver can only store a limited amount of glycogen

How the body digests carbohydrates (continued) -If you eat more carbohydrate than your body can use or store as glycogen – it is converted into fat. These fat stores cannot be converted back into glucose to be used by the body for energy.