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Fructose, Glucose And Carbohydrates

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1. Describe the structure of a monosaccharide and name the three monosaccharides important in nutrition. Name the three disaccharides commonly found in foods and their component monosaccharides. In what foods are these sugars found?

There are three types of monosaccharides; Glucose, Fructose, and Galactose. Monosaccharides are a type of sugar and often called simple carbohydrates. These different sugars all have the same structures consisting of 6 carbon atoms, 12 hydrogens, and 6 oxygen atoms. They all follow the rules of chemistry with each carbon atom having 4 bonds, oxygen having 2, and hydrogen 1 bond. The difference between each of these is the order of arrangement of the atoms and therefore each provide a different amount of sweetness. Glucose is also known as blood sugar and is very important to the body’s activities as it is an essential energy source. Fructose, having the same chemical formula of glucose, is considered the sweetest of the sugars. Galactose is a naturally occurring sugar in foods as a single sugar. The order difference of these bonds is shown in the following reference pictures found in Understanding Nutrition. (Whitney & Rolfes, 2014, p101) There are three types of disaccharides as well; Maltose, Sucrose, and Lactose. These sugars are compounds of the monosaccharide groups. Maltose consists of 2 glucose atoms; this is created when starches break down. Sucrose consists of one glucose and one fructose atom and is the sweetest of the

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