Carbohydrates, Proteins, and Fats; Oh My!
When you eat food, your'e essentially eating energy. Calories from food provide energy for our bodies to function. The macronutrients in foods, like carbohydrates, fats, and proteins, can be quantified and then balance for a healthy diet. For example carbohydrates and protein each provide 4 units, or calories per gram. Alcohol provides 7 calories per gram, and fats provide 9 calories per gram. Because e ach macronutrient functions differently, it's important to understand the functions and food sources of each. Carbohydrates can be classified into two groups, simple and complex. Simple carbohydrates are sugars. These sugars include lactose, the sugar in milk, maltose, which is the sugar produced from fermentation, and sucrose, the sugar found in cane sugar, beet sugar, honey, and fruits. Complex carbohydrates are simply long chains of simple carbohydrates bound together. During digestion, the body splits the complex carbohydrates into simple carbohydrates. Once...