Carbohydrates (sugars)
A carbohydrate is a nutrient contained mainly in foods of plant origin. Sugars can be divided into simple (sucrose that is common sugar, fructose that is fruit and honey sugar, and lactose, milk sugar) and complex, the most common one is the starch contained in flour, cereals, legumes and potatoes.
This nutrient represents our body’s main source of energy: sugars should provide 50-60% of the daily caloric intake (1 gram of sugar contains 4 kilocalories). Excess calories from carbohydrate are turned into lipids and accumulate as fat. Their deficiency leads to weight loss and delays in growth during the development phase, as the energy essential to the body is obtained by demolishing proteins, but they are withheld from their structural function.
