The Role of Macronutrient Carbohydrates

The Role of Macronutrient
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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