Campus Ed : Carbohydrates and Facts you might not have known about them

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Good day Campus fam,
I'm here again with yet another educative post but today we would be looking at a really interesting biology topic which is useful to every student here. Carbohydrates are one of the most popular and common classes of food which we come across in our day to day lives so I felt it would be very nice to bring some facts about this class of food to light of those who might not have known.

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CARBOHYDRATES

Carbohydrates, as one of the classes of foods is very important in our everyday food intake. Carbohydrates contain carbon, hydrogen and oxygen as the normal constituent elements. When carbohydrates is consultant, it gives one energy so that one can carry out daily activities. Some examples of carbohydrates include: sugar, glucose, yam and so on.

TYPES OF CARBOHYDRATES

Carbohydrates can be divided into four types and they are: Monosaccharides, Disaccharides, Oligosaccharides and polysaccharides.

• Monosaccharides

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This is a type of carbohydrate which contain one one sugar molecule.

• Disaccharides
This is a type of carbohydrate which contain two sugar molecules. That is before a disaccharide can be formed, two sugar molecule will need to combine so as to achieve this. Examples of disaccharides are: Sucrose, maltose, lactose.

• Oligosaccharides
This is a type of carbohydrate which is made up of a couple of sugar molecules but they most not exceed 7 molecules. Examples of oligosaccharides are: Stachyose, etc.

• Polysaccharides

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This is a type of carbohydrate which contains more than 10 sugar molecules. It is the largest type of the classes of carbohydrate. Examples of polysaccharides include: starch, cellulose, amylose, amylopectin, etc.

FUNCTIONS OF CARBOHYDRATES

1. Carbohydrates provide energy for daily activities once it is consumed in our daily diet.

2. Carbohydrates help in different biological processes which are highly recognized.

3. Carbohydrates helps down in the breakdown of fatty acids which helps in the prevention of ketosis.

4. Carbohydrates can be used as flavours or can be used as sweeteners.

5. Carbohydrates can be used as dietary fibres which helps prevent constipation and the likes of it.

6. Carbohydrates can help in the regulation of the blood glucose level of humans.

TEST FOR CARBOHYDRATES
Different experiments can be used in order to test if carbohydrate is present in a compound or food. Some of these tests include:
• Molisch's Test
• Fehling's Test
• Benedict's Test
• Tollen's Test

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Conclusion

There are 5 other classes of food and I know the most eaten is usually carbohydrates and proteins but it's good to keep a balance between the 6 of them. Especially as students undergoing stress in the school environment. I also hope some us were able to learn some of the functions of carbohydrates. Thanks for reading

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