James Parkinson
Nutrition for Sport
Carbohydrates
The main function of carbohydrates is to provide the body with short energy storage. A secondary function is the halfway-term energy storage. Other carbohydrates are implicated as structural components in cells, for instance cellulose which is originate in the cell walls of plants.
The main function of carbohydrates is to provide the body with energy. It does this in the form of glucose. It also helps with your brain to function properly; it also helps the nervous system and the red blood cells for the body’s energy.
The sources for carbohydrates are found in Breads, cereal grains, pasta, rice, fruit, vegetables, milk and sugar. Carbohydrates are broken down into different sections; these are monosaccharides, disaccharides and polysaccharides.
Monosaccharide
The three common sugars found in monosaccharides shame the same molecular formula C6H12O6. Because of their six atoms these are called Hexose.
Glucose- “Blood sugar”, the immediate source of energy for cellular respiration.
Galactose- a sugar in milk and yogurt.
Fructose- a sugar found in honey.
Disaccharides
Three common disaccharides:
Sucrose- Common table sugar
Lactose- Major Sugar in milk
Maltose- Product of starch digestion
A process called condensation can join two monosaccharides together. Hydrolysis is the reverse of the reaction (add water).
Polysaccharides
Polysaccharides have two basic functions, they serve for monosaccharide storage and they serve as structural components.
In their monosaccharide storage capacity, polysaccharides are huge assemblies of monosaccharides. Every time our cells need to make more energy, all they have to do is to take off a monosaccharide and break it down. Plants store their monosaccharides in a polysaccharide called starch. There are two parts to a polysaccharide these are starches and fibre.
Starches
Starches are made up of lots of glucose molecules joins together. Animals store excess glucose by converting it into glycogen. Glycogen is digested back into glucose when energy is needed. The liver and skeletal muscles are major depots of glycogen.
Fibre
The other is fibre, dietary fibre is the part of a plant that is resistant to the body’s digestive enzymes. As a result, only a relatively small amount of fibre is digested, with the majority of it moving through gastrointestinal tract and ending up in the stool ( also known as faeces, semi-solid waste matter consisting of undigested food and other secretions evacuated from the bowels) you can witness this by eating a large quantity of sweet corn (half a small can for example) and then investigating the resulting stool. You will see the fibrous husk of the sweet corn has not been digested. The main benefit in eating fibre is that it retains water, resulting in softer and bulkier stools that prevent constipation and haemorrhoids.
Protein
The main role of protein is to act as a building material. Proteins are needed for the manufacture and repair of the most body structures. Enzymes are also made proteins and are needed to facilitate chemical reactions in the body. Some hormones are made up proteins (e.g. insulin). Anti bodies that work to inactivate foreign invaders and protect against disease are made up of protein. Proteins are also used to help maintain the body’s ph levels by acting as buffers; to help with the transport of lipids, vitamins, minerals and oxygen around the body; and, in cases of starvation, can be used as an energy source to provide a fuel for the body. The sources for protein are meat, fish, eggs, legumes, milk and milk products, vegetables, grains and poultry.
