The Role of Macronutrient Carbohydrates

This report focuses on the macronutrient carbohydrates, including their composition, biological function, dietary sources, recommended daily intake, factors contributing to excess and deficiency, and signs and symptoms of deficiency. Carbohydrates are one of the three main sources of calories and energy for the body, and they play a crucial role in energy supply, energy storage, and the making of macromolecules such as ATP, DNA, and RNA. The dietary sources of carbohydrates include grain products, beans, starchy vegetables, sweets, added sugar, beverages, and fruits. The recommended daily intake for carbohydrates is at least 130 grams, and factors contributing to excess and deficiency include overconsumption, lack of physical exercise, and poor body metabolism. Possible signs and symptoms of carbohydrate deficiency include tiredness and hypoglycemia.

The Role of Macronutrient
Name
Institution Affiliation

Carbohydrates
Introduction
Carbohydrates refer to a set of organic compounds found in living tissues and foods
(Harmon, 2018). Carbohydrates release energy to the body of an animal when broken down.
They include cellulose, starch and sugars. The fact that they are macronutrients makes them one
of the main three main sources of calories and energy for the body. Carbohydrates are made up
of oxygen and hydrogen in the ratio of (1:2) (Sluiter et al.,2008).Thuis report will focus on this
category of micronutrients specifically on its composition, biological function, dietary sources,
recciomneded daily intake, factors that lead to a state of excess and factors that lead to deficiency
and insufficiency.
The composition of the Macronutrient
Carbohydrates are composed of three elements namely oxygen, hydrogen and carbon. All
carbohydrates are made up of these elements with different arrangements existing for different
units of carbohydrates. Disaccharides and monosaccharides for example are made up of smaller
molecules. A monosaccharide like glucose is a single unit carbohydrate made up of six oxygen
atoms, 12 hydrogen atoms and six carbon atoms (Oakes, Eyre, Middelburg& Boschker, 2010)
The macronutrient’s biological function
Carbohydrates have multiple functions in the body. One of their primary functions is
energy supply to body cells. Glucose is used as a source of energy by many cells as compared to
compounds such as fatty acids. The brain and red blood cells primarily use glucose to produce
cellular energy unless under extreme cases of starvation. More than 70% of glucose form

digestion is redistributed to other body tissues by the blood. This energy comes from the
chemical bonds between the carbon atoms (Burke,Hawley, Wong & Jeukendrup,2011)
Carbohydrates are also used as store of energy for the body. When the body has had
enough energy to meet its current needs the excess glucose is stored to be used later. Glycogen is
the name for the stored glucose which is majorly found in the muscles and the liver. While
glycogen stored in the muscles is only used by muscle cells liver glycogen is released into the
bloodstream use by the entire body(Burke et al., 2011).
Carbohydrates are also used in the making of macromolecules such as ATP, DNA and
RNA. Deoxyribose and ribose are the building blocks for these macronutrients. Glucose is also
used in building NADPH used for multiple chemical reactions excess glucose is also stored as
energy after all the body needs have been met(Preiss et al.,2014).
Carbohydrates also play a role in averting the breakdown of proteins for energy. The
presence of enough glucose in the body removes the needs for proteins to be broken down for
energy purposes. In addition enough glucose in the body inhibits lipids metabolism by
stimulating the release of Insulin hormonewhich leads Cells to use shift from using lipids to
glucose for energy purposes (Pomeranz,2014).
Dietary sources of Carbohydrates
Most dietary sources of carbohydrates are plants.However; this does not mean that they
are the only sources of carbohydrates.
Grain products sources

These are the main sources of carbohydrates and include cornmeal, barley, rice, oats,
sorghum, millet and buckwheat and wheat. These are naturally made up of high concentration of
starch broken down into sugars by the body (Lutz,Mazur& Litch,2014).
Beans and starch vegetables
Carbohydrates are also found in beans and starchy vegetables such as green peas, yams,
potatoes and Corn which have complex carbohydrates in high levels. Apart from being sources
of carbohydrates, these also produce fibre, minerals and vitamins.
Sweets and added sugar
Deserts and candy are also remarkable sources of dietary carbohydrates. These include cherry pie
and milk chocolate(Peckenpaugh, 2013). Sugar added to processed foods also contains high
levels of dietary Carbohydrates. These are found in foods such as sandwich bread and salad
dressings.
Beverages
Products are not only derived from plant sources but also other sources such as dairy
milk. A cup of milk can contain between 11 to 12 carbohydrates grams. This amount can be
double in chocolate milk. Other beverages such as sugar sweetened soda energy drinks and fruits
drinks are also sources of dietary carbohydrates. These are also found in Liquors, beer and wine
(Peckenpaugh, 2013).
Fruit

In addition fruits also contain dietary carbohydrates stored in natural sugar form. These
include fructose and glucose .Nearly all the calories found in these foods come from fruit
sugars(Harmon, 2018).
Recommended Daily Intake (RDI)
The recommended daily intake for carbohydrates among children and adults is about 130
grams .This represents about 45 to 65 percent daily calorie intake. The intake of carbohydrates
can be however higher depending on the body activity. Athletes for example may require 70% of
their daily calorie intake to be from carbohydrates. The recommended daily calorie intake for
men is between 2000 and 3000 while for women it should be between 1600 and 2400 Calories
(Friedman et al.,2012).
Factors contributing to states of excess
As the state of excess can be caused by multiple factors, these includethe intake
of more than the daily recommendedcarbohydrate intake and lack of physical exercise. Intake of
more than what the body requires can lead to a state of excess. The body uses carbohydrates to
produce the energy required during physical exercises. Lack of these can therefore lead to a state
of excess. In addition overconsumption of foods rich in carbohydrates as well as poor body
metabolism can also cause a state of excess(Friedman et al.,2012).
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Factors contributing to states of insufficiency and deficiency
Insufficiency or deficiency of carbohydrates occurs when the daily carbohydrate intake
falls below the daily intake requirements. It also arrises after the depletion of glycogen stored in

the liver. It is also caused by the consumption of foods with low starchy vegetables and
carbohydrates(Harmon, 2018).
Signs and symptoms
Tiredness: This is one of the most common deficiency symptoms for lack of
carbohydrates. Due to the fact that carbohydrates are the primary source of energy,
insufficiencycauses the body to become weak and tired(Harmon, 2018).
Hypoglycemia: Deficiency of Carbohydrates can also lead to hypoglycemia a condition
which occurs when the blood glucose levels become low.This can lead to light-heartedness,
tiredness and confusion(Friedman et al.,2012).
Conclusion
In conclusion, carbohydrates are one of the main macronutrients required by the body for
effective functioning. The Macronutrient is made up of three elements i.e. hydrogen carbon and
oxygen. Its biological functions include the supply of energy to the cells, storage of energy,
averting the breakdown of proteins and making of macromolecules such as ATP, DNA and
RNA. Its dietary sources include grain products, beverages, added sugar, sweets, beans, fruit and
starchy vegetables. The recommended daily intake is at least 150 grams. Possible signs and
symptoms of carbohydrate deficiency include tiredness and hypoglycemia.

References
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(2012).Comparative effects of low-carbohydrate high-protein versus low-fat diets on the
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Lutz, C. A., Mazur, E., &Litch, N. (2014). Nutrition and diet therapy. FA Davis.
Oakes, J. M., Eyre, B. D., Middelburg, J. J., & Boschker, H. T. (2010). Composition, production,
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