Carbohydrates in Foods and Nutrition

(Sizer et al., Ch. 4 – Figs. 4.1, 4.2, 4.3, 4.5, 4.10, 4.12, 4.14)
• Main forms
• Sugars (mono and disaccharides) {vs. “sugar”, sucrose}
• Polysaccharides (complex carbohydrates):
– Starches (glucose polymers packed into spheres,
“granules”)
– Fibres (e.g., celluloses, hemicelluloses, pectins)
• Glycemic Carbohydrates - are those that are
available for metabolism (provide energy and
glucose); sugars and starches
• Non-glycemic Carbohydrates - are those that are not
hydrolyzed/absorbed in the small intestine; fibres
(may provide some energy through short chain fatty acids
generated by fermentation in the colon)
• Monosaccharides:
– simple sugar molecules
• Mostly hexose sugars - C6H12O6
• small molecules - serve as building blocks for
larger carbohydrate molecules
• glucose [dextrose], fructose, galactose
– sugar alcohols (xylitol, sorbitol)
Murano, p.122
• Disaccharides:
• made up of two monosaccharides
• general formula C12H22O11 – loss of water in glycosidic
bond
• common ones:
sucrose = 1 fructose + 1 glucose (cane and beet)
maltose = 1 glucose + 1 glucose (from starch hydrolysis)
lactose = 1 galactose + 1 glucose (the sugar in milk)

• Disaccharide sugar alcohols: maltitol, lactitol

Murano, p.123
•Polysaccharides:
•general term for 10 or more sugar units attached
together (usually 100’s-1000’s)
•they may be straight chains (linear) or branched

– Food Polysaccharides include:

• Starches - glycemic
• Fibres - non-glycemic
– Insoluble: Cellulose, hemicellulose
– Soluble:
» Glucans
» Pectins
» Gums (guar gum, locust bean gum)
» Seaweed extracts (alginates, carrageenans)
Glycogen vs. Amylopectin
- both have:
a1-4 linear units
a1-6 branch units
 GLUCOSE
•Source to the body: all glycemic carbohydrates

• Central role in cellular metabolism:

– fuel - all cells, some (e.g., brain) are
obligate glucose users (*although see next slide)
– 4 kCal/g - physiological fuel value - very efficient
– glycogen synthesis and storage
– fat synthesis (non essential fats)
– synthesis of amino acids (non-essential amino acids)
If glycogen stores are completely depleted, the brain
can be “fed” by the use of energy from ketone bodies
derived from fat, although ketosis can lead to a series
of other problems.

Figure 9.11
 GLUCOSE

•Water soluble - osmotic effect

–Controlled primarily by insulin and glucagon

–Also to a lesser extent epinephrine (adrenaline) and
corticosteroid (glucocorticoid)

• Aerobic and anaerobic catabolism (breakdown)

mechanisms are possible.
 Figure 4.12,
Smolin & Grosvenor

Fructose and galactose are

converted to glucose in the liver
Glucose in the liver: (in order of
priority after consumption)
-used for fuel (fed state)
-Converted to glycogen
(1/3 in liver (7% of its wet
wt.), 2/3 in muscle,
<1% of its wet wt.)
-Converted to
triglyceride and carried in
VLDL (lipogenesis)
Figure 4.20
Smolin & Grosvenor,
see also Sizer et al.,
p.133 (3rd)/122 (2nd)
(Postprandial)
Via VLDL formation in the liver
Muscles use their own
glycogen
Liver breaks down
glycogen to glucose
Additional energy
from adipose fat
(fasted state)
Gluconeogenesis
-Breakdown of lactate,
pyruvate or protein to
amino acids, which go
to liver to synthesize
glucose
-Fatty acids produce
energy but not glucose
Carbohydrates and health
(fibre vs. sugar, good news/bad news story)
• CVD (cardiovascular disease)/ CHD (coronary
heart disease) - dietary fibre plays a key role in
reduction of blood cholesterol - secretion of LDL in
bile – more later

• Dental caries - amylase and bacteria in the mouth

metabolize carbohydrates and produce acids
which attack tooth structure
Carbohydrates and health
• Diabetes - there are two types
Type 1 – IDDM, insulin dependent diabetes mellitus
(“spilling of sugar”), “juvenile onset”
- where absorption of glucose must be assisted with
insulin

Type 2 – NIDDM, non-insulin dependent diabetes

mellitus “adult onset”
- insulin resistance, less effective
- tends to be associated with diets high in sugars
and starches, obesity.
- fibre may have a protective role
- 90% of diabetes incidence in Canada is Type II
Carbohydrates and health

• The Metabolic Syndrome

– Type II diabetes, hypertension, high blood
cholesterol, abdominal obesity
– Significant increased risk of CHD
– Smoking, alcohol over-consumption, poor diet,
sedentary lifestyle, genetic pre-disposition are
all related
 See US diabetes trends

http://www.cdc.gov/diabetes

Report from the National Diabetes Surveillance System: Diabetes in

Canada, 2011, Public Health Agency of Canada

http://www.phac-aspc.gc.ca/cd-mc/publications/diabetes-diabete/facts-figures-faits-chiffres-
2011/index-eng.php
“Chronically high insulin output, in response
to daily high sugar intake, leads to many
deleterious effects on the body: high blood
triglycerides, higher LDL, increased fat
deposition in adipose, increased tendency for
blood to clot, increased fat synthesis in the
liver, a more rapid return of hunger after a
meal, insulin resistance and type II diabetes.”
Glycemic Index
• The total carbohydrate composition of a food is not a
good indicator of the nutritional character of that food
• Glycemic Index (GI) is designed to give an indication of
the physiological function of the carbohydrates coming
from a particular food
• the index is based on the blood glucose raising
potential of a food
• foods are compared to glucose at an equivalent
glycemic carbohydrate concentration

• Glycemic Load is then calculated as GI x glycemic

carbohydrate concentration for a food
Glycemic Index
• The total carbohydrate composition of a food is not a
good indicator of the nutritional character of that food
• Glycemic Index (GI) is designed to give an indication of
the physiological function of the carbohydrates coming
from a particular food
• the index is based on the blood glucose raising
potential of a food
• foods are compared to glucose at an equivalent
glycemic carbohydrate concentration

• Glycemic Load is then calculated as GI x glycemic

carbohydrate concentration for a food
 After 10 hr. fast
End of test

Glycemic Index (%) = Area (food) / Area (glucose reference) x 100%

Carbohydrate (starch + sugars) in reference and test food must be the same **
Typical glycemic index values
• Glucose 100
• Bread 100 – 70 High in
• Sucrose 87 – 65 sugars &
• Mashed potato/rice 85 – 73 starches
• Corn flakes 81
• Orange juice 74 - 46
• Breakfast Cereals 72
• All Bran 51
• Milk 32
• Oat meal ~25 High in
• Fructose 14 – 23 dietary
fiber
Glycemic Load can be influenced by:
• amount of fat in diet (fat delays enzymatic reactions)
• type of starch - starch in beans is metabolized more
slowly than starch in potatoes (resistant starch)
• extent of cooking of the starch (gelatinization)
• extent of starch modification
• cellular structure of a food (do the cell walls prevent
digestion of the starch?)

• … and fibre!

Mixed meal calculations of glycemic load become

difficult – problem!
 Dietary Fibre
• Non-glycemic carbohydrates
• An important dietary component but not a
source of glucose: whole fruits & vegetables,
whole grains, legumes, added fibre ingredients
• Not hydrolyzed or metabolized for energy in
the small intestine; not absorbed
• May be fermented in the colon to produce
some sources of energy (SCFAs)
• Exciting area of current research interest
 Dietary Fibre
• Problem: getting enough!
– Adequate Intake: Men 38g/day, women 25
g/day
– Canadian actual intakes: Men 16 g/day,
women 12 g/day
– Stool wt. ~200g/d desirable, most US people
~100g/d
– The fibre gap!
Benefits of Fibres in the GI Tract
In the stomach
• viscous effect
• holds acidic components and reduces acid
reflux (heartburn)
• Delays gastric emptying
In the small intestine - Increase viscosity of
digested material (soluble fibres) thereby:
• slow the rate of stomach emptying
• slow passage in the small intestine
• in both cases this gives more time for digestion
and helps to reduce glucose levels (spikes) in the
blood, hence reduces glycemic index value
• increased satiety
In the colon
• increase stool bulk, which aids laxation
• helps reduce incidence of hemorrhoids and
diverticulosis
• fecal residence in gut is reduced, which reduces
exposure to toxins (may reduce colorectal cancers)
• bile acid binding capacity (blood cholesterol
reduction)
– this varies with actual fibre type and size
– by reducing bile re-cycling, more bile must be synthesized
and this uses cholesterol
– the bile that is not re-cycled is excreted, which also serves to
reduce cholesterol
In the colon (continued)

• Microbial fermentation - capacity of

different fibres varies
– production of volatile, short chain fatty acids
(acetic, butyric, proprionic)
– improved immune function
– decreased risk of colorectal cancer
– resistance to the growth of undesirable colon
microflora
– but - diarrhea, flatulence (?)
Insoluble Dietary Fibre
1) Cellulose - a glucose containing polymer but with
a very stable structure
- in the cell walls of most plants
- contains about 300 to 3,000 glucose
molecules
- the glucoses are liked by b 1-4 bonds
with branching by a 1-6 bonds
- a very tough structure to breakdown
- not metabolized by humans
- can be modified for use as food
ingredients - methyl-, carboxymethyl-,
hydroxymethyl-
Insoluble
2) Lignan
-even more complex structure, it contains
many aromatic groups (ring structures)

- it protects cellulose from breakdown

- especially high in old, tough, mature plants

Insoluble
3) Hemicellulose

- also a structural component in plants

containing non-glucose sugars

- most common form contains polymerized

xylose, galactose and arabinose
Soluble Dietary Fibre
1) Pectins
- mainly in fruits as structural components
- very complex chemical structure
- their actual structure varies with the fruit
– apple pectin, lemon pectin
- polymers of galacturonic acid (from
galactose) and some sugars
- the number of methyl groups on the acid
will influence gel properties
- used extensively in making jams and jellies
Soluble
2) Gums
- complex structures of both sugars and
sugar acids (mannose, galactose, arabinose
and xylose)
- highly branched, trap much water to give
high viscosities at very low gum concentrations
- examples include guar gum, carrageenan,
alginates and xanthan gum
- carrageenan is from seaweed
- xanthan gum is extracted from the bacterium
Xanthomonas
Soluble
3) Glucans
- from oats and barley (at ~3% level)
- in the bran and cell wall part of the kernel
- a long chain of unbranched glucose
molecules with 1->3 and 1->4 linkages
- molecular weight ~3 million
- Reduces LDL cholesterol
- health claims now permitted for oat and
barley bran in the US and Canada
Soluble
4) Inulin (a special type of dietary fiber)
- a chain of about 20 fructose molecules with one
glucose at the end (terminal glucose)
- called a fructan
- extracted from the roots of chicory, Jerusalem
artichoke, dahlia and dandelion.
- called a prebiotic
- used to support the growth of probiotic
microbes
Probiotics
• microorganisms that grow in the gut and
produce beneficial health effects
• mainly from the genus Bifidobacter
– present in the intestinal tract of new born infants,
it is rapidly displaced by coliforms
– in the 1980s it was produced as a new type of
yogurt culture in Japan, now there are about 50
different Bifido-containing products in Japan
Prebiotics
• complex CHOs required for growth of
probiotics (inulin, fructo-oligosaccharides)