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Article Topic: carbohydrate

A carbohydrate is an organic compound with the general formula C_m(H₂O)_n, that is, consists only of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen, with the last two in the 21 atom ratio. Carbohydrates can be viewed as hydrates of carbon, hence their name. Structurally however, it is more accurate to view them as polyhydroxy aldehydes and ketones.

The term is most common in biochemistry, where it is a synonym of saccharide. The carbohydrates (saccharides) are divided into four chemical groupings monosaccharides, disaccharides, oligosaccharides, and polysaccharides. In general, the monosaccharides and disaccharides, which are smaller (lower molecular weight) carbohydrates, are commonly referred to as sugars.^[1] The word saccharide comes from the Greek word s???a??? (sákkharon), meaning "sugar". While the scientific nomenclature of carbohydrates is complex, the names of the monosaccharides and disaccharides very often end in the suffix -ose. For example, blood sugar is the monosaccharide glucose, table sugar is the disaccharide sucrose, and milk sugar is the disaccharide lactose (see illustration).

Carbohydrates perform numerous roles in living things. Polysaccharides serve for the storage of energy (e.g., starch and glycogen) and as structural components (e.g., cellulose in plants and chitin in arthropods). The 5-carbon monosaccharide ribose is an important component of coenzymes (e.g., ATP, FAD, and NAD) and the backbone of the genetic molecule known as RNA. The related deoxyribose is a component of DNA. Saccharides and their derivatives include many other important biomolecules that play key roles in the immune system, fertilization, preventing pathogenesis, blood clotting, and development.^[2]

In food science and in many informal contexts, the term carbohydrate often means any food that is particularly rich in starch (such as cereals, bread and pasta) or sugar (such as candy, jams and desserts).

CARBOHYDRATE Related Articles

1. THE 8 KEYS TO WEIGHT LOSS by david rojas Post Date: 08/14/2010 How many times have you started a diet and abandoned? Or how many you have not worked? Well here we reveal the latest strategies for you to drop those extra pounds that annoy you so much, according to a report by the magazine Consumer Reports. Discipline without tricks The basic formula to lose weight remains consume fewer calories than needed, and exercise. There is no better tric ...more...

2. Burning Fat vs. Burning Calories by Connie Buena Post Date: 07/14/2010 To lose weight and get in shape you must have a good diet and exercise regularly to burn fat. The first thing you must understand about exercise is that just because you are burning calories does not mean you are burning fat. Your main focus when you exercise should be losing body fat, and you can’t lose body fat just from burning calories. When we exercise, our bodies will start burning calories, ...more...

3. Lose Weight Without Pills - Weight Loss In A Natural, Safe and P... by Vled Shelest Post Date: 06/21/2010 One comes across many slim fast diet plans on the internet, as well as in various health magazines. Many of these plans are totally erroneous in their claims and selfish marketing motives prompt them to promote weight-loss pills and diets. Surgeries are also suggested by various sources. But none of these methods are really recommendable as some irreversible damages might occur to your body. The ...more...

4. How Can I Lose Weight - Part 2 by Frank Hurley Post Date: 06/16/2010 How Can I Lose Weight and Eat Delicious Food This is Part 2 of the article How Can I Lose Weight. If you decide to lose weight to improve your health and fitness, then avoid fad diets. In part 2 you will learn how to lose weight fast by transitioning from the lifestyle you are presently living to a new life of lean muscle and healthy weight through behavioral change. My more...

5. Low Fat Diets - Are They Really That Good? by Andy Jones Post Date: 04/05/2010 Traditionally, weight loss resulted from avoiding foods that are high in saturated fat, especially those that combine this type of animal-derived fat with sugar. Discover how effective low fat diets actually are. Devised on the premise that all fats are bad, this idea was popular several decades ago, but has since been modified. Weight loss results from avoiding foods that are high in sa ...more...

6. Very Low Carbohydrate Diets - The Facts - Do They Work? by Andy Jones Post Date: 04/05/2010 Very low carbohydrate diets are a tried, tested and proven way of losing weight. But what are the real underlying issues that no-one knows about? These diets assume that there is a very simple conversion from how many calories you eat to how many you expend through activity. The principle is that if you eat less than the daily required amount of 1950 calories for a woman and 2550 for a man ...more...

7. Low Carbohydrate Diets - The Real Truth What You Should Know by Andy Jones Post Date: 04/05/2010 Diets have been given a lot of press over recent years as weight becomes more and more of an issue and the consumption of calorific convenience foods has risen. Some diets claim enormous success, yet many people find them tricky and discouraging. Even if they lose weight initially, they find the pounds piling on again after they stop the regime. One extremely popular diet is the low carboh ...more...

8. Are Carbohydrates the Bad Guys in Losing Weight? by Linda Byers Post Date: 03/29/2010 Carbohydrates have a bad reputation."Carbs" are many times viewed as the fat guy, the really good tasting one but also the diet wrecker. When given a choice, many dieters will choose the"fats"before the"carbohydrates," feeling the carbohydrates are more detrimental in the long run to losing weight. But that is not true. Carbohydrates are not the bad guys in losing weight. They ...more...

9. 5 Tips to Build Your Muscle Faster by Mark Smith Post Date: 03/23/2010 It’s easy to see why people become so frustrated so quickly with the time they spend lifting weights or struggling with resistance machines at their local gyms. They spend long hours only to find that their muscle mass isn’t increasing. All they have to show for their hard work are sore bodies. The problem isn’t that these people aren’t dedicated to improving their fitness. It’s that they’ ...more...

10. Low-Carb Diets May Reduce Cognitive Ability by chic health Post Date: 03/11/2010 A new study from the psychology department at Tufts University shows that when dieters eliminate carbohydrates from their meals, they performed more poorly on memory-based tasks than when they reduce calories, but maintain carbohydrates. When carbohydrates were reintroduced, cognition skills returned to normal. ”This study demonstrates that the food you eat can have an immediate impact on ...more...