Free Term Paper on Carbohydrates
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Carbohydrates and lipids/fats are a very important part of our lives. They
have many similarities and differences among each other, which distinguish them from other macromolecules. Carbohydrates, which include sugar and their polymers, are used by organisms for fuel and building material. They come in many various forms going from simplicity to complexity. The simplest, monosaccharides, compose of single sugars whose parts are arranged around asymmetric carbons. They generally have a molecular formula that is a multiple of CH2O. Glucose, the most common monosaccharide, is of central importance in the chemistry of life. Energy is stored in glucose materials and extracts cells in the process of cellular respiration. When two monosaccharides join by covalently bonding through glycosidic linkage, they form a disaccharide, or double sugar. If more than two, such as hundreds and thousands bond, they form polysaccharides, or macromolecules. There are two main types of polysaccharides; storage and structural. Starch and glycogen are used for storage. In plants, starch is mainly used because if it is synthesized, the plant can stock an abundance of sugar. Starch can be found in wheat, corn, rice, and other grains. Glycogen, on the other hand, is more extensively branched, therefore, it is stored by humans and animals. Cellulose and chitin are the structural polysaccharides. Cellulose is a tough component of the walls in a plant cell. Structure is important since that’s what organisms build strong materials from. In parallel cellulose molecules, the cell wall of a plant is held together by bonds which are arranged in microfibrils. These strong cables help build walls for plants and humans. Chitin, conversely, mainly deals with strengthening the arthropods’ exoskeletons. The one thing all lipids have in common is the fact that they are hydrophobic. The three families of lipids are fats, phospholipids, steroids. Glycerol, a form of alcohol, constructs fats when it is mixed with fatty acids who consist of a carboxyl group on one end and hydrocarbon on the other. Three fatty acids linked to a glycerol make up triacylglyceral. If the carbon atoms composing the tail don’t form any double bonds then a unsaturated fat is made. Respectfully, if one or more bonds are formed, the fat becomes saturated. Phospholipids are related to these fats, but unlike triacylglyceral, they have only two fatty acids. These lipids make up bi-layers which form a boundary between a cell and its external environment. The result of this simply becomes the fact that phospholipids are important to cell membranes. When a carbon skeleton consists of four interconnected rings, the third type of lipid, steroid, is built. Cholesterol, a manufacturer of steroids, is one reason that sex hormones are present in vertebrates. Because of that, it has important functions even though a high amount in the blood can contribute towards atherosclerosis. Both carbohydrates and fats are an important part of our everyday diets. Almost everything you eat contains carbohydrates. For example, while looking at a nutrition label from Basic 4, a common cereal, I noticed that a serving of one cup contains 43g of total carbohydrates. Only 14 of those grams come from sugars, 4 come from fiber, and the remaining come from other carbohydrates. The fat make up is 3g in total; 0g unsaturated, 1g polyunsaturated, and 1g monounsaturated. This fat intake is only 4% of the daily value an average person should have, and the carbohydrates are 14% of the average. As you can tell, the advised amount of polymers to be consumed is rather high, therefore one conclusion can be drawn; they must be important! |
Carbohydrates Explained - Term Paper or Essay Information
By
Kevin Pederson
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The carbohydrates are the starches and sugars which are the main
providers of energy for keeping the body working and coping with the
activities we undertake. Western man has about half his diet in the
form of carbohydrate but in the east it constitutes up to 90%
usually taken as grains. It is fortunate that grains are also good
providers of protein; starvation is generally the result of too
little food rather than too few carbohydrates.
The refining of carbohydrates into white flour, polished rice and white sugar is a prime cause of overweight. Such foods are easy to eat in large amounts whereas if they are as near nature as possible-for example as whole wheat flour; brown rice and raw sugar-the appetite is well satisfied with less quantity. Another bonus is that the all important dietary fiber, probably in its best form as cereal fiber (bran), is retained. Dietary fiber adds bulk to the contents of the gut, and for this reason is extremely valuable in preventing constipation. It is thought that a Western diet low in dietary fiber may be one of the causes of diverticulitis, appendicitis and varicose veins. If you include dietary fiber in your diet you will be less likely to suffer from those disorders linked with over-refined foods. It must be remembered that brown bread is often colored with caramel, and has added wheat germ (a good food in itself), but is basically made from a refined or semi-refined flour. It is safest to insist when you can on bread from stone ground whole-wheat flour as this will contain all the necessary nutrients. Brown rice, pulses (lentils, peas and beans) and oatmeal are also excellent sources of dietary fiber. Kevin Pederson has been managing a number of natural home remedies websites which have information on home based natural cures and remedies for some of the most common illnesses and health problems Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Kevin_Pederson |