Carbohydrates can be divided into these main groups:
Simple sugars/carbohydrates consist of:
1. Mono (single) – saccharides (sugars) – these are single sugar molecules. Examples include glucose, fructose (fruit sugar), and galactose (found in milk)
2.Di (two) – saccharides (sugars) – these are two single sugars that are bonded together to make one molecule.
And the larger carbohydrate molecules are commonly referred to as “complex carbohydrates”:
3. Poly (many) – saccharides (sugars) – many glucose molecules bonded together, found in starchy foods like potatoes, grains and breads, or cellulose, the fibre found in raw vegetables.
All sugars must be broken down into single sugar molecules (monosaccharides) in order to be used by the cell as a fuel. For this, we need enzymes to break down the sugar molecules – lactase to breakdown (digest) lactose, sucrase to breakdown sucrose, amylase to break down starch, etc … Keep in mind that unlike cows and other ruminants, we humans do not have the capacity to break down cellulose.
Cane sugar is comprised of the disaccharide sucrose (fructose and glucose bonded together), while fruits contain both individual glucose and fructose (singular monosaccharides) as well as the disaccharide sucrose. When digestion is complete, it’s the types of monosaccharides that we’re left with that determines that food’s effect on our cellular metabolism.