What is the physiological importance of knowing the specific classes of carbohydrates?

Answer 1

From a nutritional point of view, carbohydrates are quantitatively the most important nutrients in the human diet; according to dietary recommendations 50-60 per cent of our total energy intake should come from them. Many food products contain significant amounts of carbohydrates. Nevertheless, surprisingly little attention still is given to the choice of carbohydrates with respect to their physiological properties when it comes to the development of new products. It was only in the early 1980s that the scientific community began to focus on the physiological diversity of carbohydrates. Since then, knowledge of the physiological roles of different types of carbohydrates and their involvement in health and disease has developed considerably and has challenged many long-held beliefs about sugars, starches and dietary fibre.