Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.

Whereas starches and glycogen represent the major reserve polysaccharides of living things, most of the carbohydrate found in nature occurs as structural components in the cell walls of plants. Carbohydrates in plant cell walls generally consist of several distinct layers, one of which contains a higher concentration of cellulose than the others. The physical and chemical properties of cellulose are strikingly…

Starches, the major plant-energy-reserve polysaccharides used by humans, are stored in plants in the form of nearly spherical granules that vary in diameter from about three to 100 micrometres (about 0.0001 to 0.004 inch). Most plant starches consist of a mixture of two components: amylose and amylopectin. The glucose molecules composing amylose have a straight-chain, or linear, structure.…

The total caloric, or energy, requirement for an individual depends on age, occupation, and other factors but generally ranges between 2,000 and 4,000 calories per 24-hour period (one calorie, as this term is used in nutrition, is the amount of heat necessary to raise the temperature of 1,000 grams of water from 15 to 16 °C [59 to 61 °F]; in…

The essential process in the biosphere, the portion of Earth in which life can occur, that has permitted the evolution of life as it now exists is the conversion by green plants of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere into carbohydrates, using light energy from the Sun. This process, called photosynthesis, results in both the release of oxygen gas into the atmosphere and the transformation of light energy into…

The importance of carbohydrates to living things can hardly be overemphasized. The energy stores of most animals and plants are both carbohydrate and lipid in nature; carbohydrates are generally available as an immediate energy source, whereas lipids act as a long-term energy resource and tend to be utilized at a slower rate. Glucose, the prevalent uncombined, or free, sugar circulating in the blood…

Although a number of classification schemes have been devised for carbohydrates, the division into four major groups—monosaccharides, disaccharides, oligosaccharides, and polysaccharides—used here is among the most common. Most monosaccharides, or simple sugars, are found in grapes, other fruits, and honey. Although they can contain from three to nine carbon atoms, the most common representatives consist of five or six joined…

Carbohydrates that are not monosaccharides—that is, the disaccharides, oligosaccharides, and polysaccharides—are polymers, made up of more than one simpler unit, or monomer. In this case, the monomer is a simple sugar or monosaccharide.

Carbohydrates are divided into four types: monosaccharides, disaccharides, oligosaccharides, and polysaccharides. Monosaccharides consist of a simple sugar; that is, they have the chemical formula C6H12O6. Disaccharides are two simple sugars. Oligosaccharides are three to six monosaccharide units, and polysaccharides are more than six.

The chemical formula of a carbohydrate is Cx(H2O)y, which denotes some carbons (C) with some water molecules (H2O) attached—hence the word carbohydrate, which means “hydrated carbon.”

A carbohydrate is a naturally occurring compound, or a derivative of such a compound, with the general chemical formula Cx(H2O)y, made up of molecules of carbon (C), hydrogen (H), and oxygen (O). Carbohydrates are the most widespread organic substances and play a vital role in all life.