Carbohydrates are an important component of a healthy diet. Some main carbs we eat are starch, sucrose, lactose, fructose. All of these sugars are made naturally by plants or animals. All carbs contain carbon, oxygen, and hydrogen and are broken down into the "simplest" sugar called glucose. Glucose is then broken down further (see glycolysis and Krebs cycle) and finally leaves the body as Carbon dioxide and water. In the process of breaking down, a gram of glucose releases 4kcal of energy. In turn, we use this energy to do voluntary activity such as running or typing and involuntary activity such as powering the heart to beat or pumping sodium out of cells.
Glucose (from carbs, of course) is really important because it is the preferred energy source of the brain (it uses 175g of glucose/day) and cells such as red blood cells.
The number of ATPs that can be produced from a molecule of protein, fat, or carbohydrate is related to the number of carbon atoms present in the molecule. During cellular respiration, the carbon atoms in these molecules are oxidized to release energy, which is used to generate ATP through the electron transport chain.
A net total of 36-38 ATPs are released during aerobic respiration, while only 2 ATPs are released during anaerobic respiration.
36
32
2 ATP's are produced
36
From one saturated 16-carbon fatty acid, beta-oxidation produces 7 NADH and 7 FADH2 molecules. Therefore, 7 NADH x 2.5 ATPs/NADH = 17.5 ATPs and 7 FADH2 x 1.5 ATPs/FADH2 = 10.5 ATPs, resulting in a total of 28 ATPs generated.
4 ATP are produced and they will have a net-gain of 2
2 ATPs
In aerobic respiration 38 ATPs are produced. In anerobic respiration only 2 are produced
Carbohydrate intolerance can be primary or secondary.
Carbohydrate molecules are compounds of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen atoms in various proportions.