The Carbohydrate Syndicate
Le chapter1: It begin with a sweet smile...
Almost ANYTHING has carbohydrate. Almost everyone know what is carbohydrate. But depending on whom you're talking to, the answer may differ. Well, I bet most every person that you ask will have the main idea of carbohydrate as a nutrient in their explanation. Well, that's correct, but you need to know more than that. There's more to carbohydrate than just a nutrient. The secret must be revealed. Now, I will tell you about the Carbohydrate Syndicate.
Well, to begin with, let's start with basic. Carbohydrate started with 3 elements of periodic table combined in a ratio. Those element will be Carbon (C), Hydrogen (H) and Oxygen (O) which combined in a ratio of 1:2:1. The most basic carbohydrate is C6:H12:C6 or C6H12O6. If you're a chemist, or biologist, you will know that this is the chemical formula for Sugar. But to most people in the world, when they say sugar, they would visualize the normal sugar, the table sugar. (The sugar that shape like a small glittering crystal, that 3 years old kid will mistaken sand for it). Well, my fellow readers, that's is Sucrose.
The Sucrose'c chemical formula is C12H22O11. "But you've said that it was C6H12O6!" said SOME of my readers. Well that's true, the true story is that the sugar (table sugar) is not the basic Carbohydrate. The most basic Carbohydrate is a Glucose. And Glucose is the one running the show in the Carbohydrate Syndicate.
In the Carbohydrate Syndicate, there is some sort of strata where it was categorize based on how many carbohydrate it had. Let's start with lowest form, the simple sugar (ok, from now on, any sugar I said does not refer to the table sugar). The simple sugar, is also known as Monosaccharide. In latin, (Mono = single, Saccharide = Sugar) There were 3, Glucose, Galactose and Fructose.
The structure formula for all 3 were C6H12O6. Although same chemical formula, it differ in arrangement as you can see in the wrongly spelled picture (Monaosaccharides, that's internet for you). These 3 can combine together to make a new sugar, where it is categorized as Disaccharide. But at a price, all combination must have a Glucose. The Sucrose is in this group. The combination is as follow:
Galactose + Glucose = Lactose
Glucose + Glucose = Maltose
Fructose + Glucose = Sucrose
Well, if you're an astute reader, you will realized that sucrose is C12H22O11, and it was made from 2 compound of C6H12O6. There is something missing here. Even in chemical reaction, the mother nature does not make it simple. There must be something lost in a reaction. As in this case, a molecule of water is formed, to balance the equation or so it seems.. See the picture:
That's 2 strata, and we haven't touched the fun part yet, the part that you will know their real name. YES, the name (Maltose, Lactose, etc.) is not their real name. It's just a cover up name. Well, ....
...This is THE Carbohydrate Syndicate.
That's it for now for the introduction of Carbohydrate Syndicate. We're going to the deeper end soon....
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Preview for le Chapter 3: True Colors
The reaL NAME for the Sucrose is 2-a-D-Glucopyranosyl-b-D-Fructofuranoside
To Be Continued...
