Carbohydrates vs Proteins
Food and affiliated sciences are riddled with claims of reducing weight, gaining weight and toning the body. And some of these unscrupulous people are using scientific terms, which are used in the everyday life, and assign them values that have not being tested and say that their program works. Terms like carbohydrates and proteins are terms with scientific value. But because people are not going in depth regarding these terms, there are people who would easily use these same terms and create varied mythologies around them. Therefore, this can be considered as an exercise to educate the public on the specific values of these terms, and how they differ and where you see them every day.
Carbohydrates
Carbohydrates are organic compounds made up of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen. A synonym for this term is sachcharide. Thus, according to the number of carbon atoms and combinations of joining these carbohydrates can be divided into monosaccharide, disaccharides, oligosaccharides, and polysaccharides. Monosaccharide is the simplest and they are called simple sugars. These include glucose and sucrose. They are used in the human body as an energy source and a base product for synthesis. Glucose is the main form in the body, and it can be stored as glycogen. In plants, it is stored as starch in the form of polysaccharides. Most starchy plant based foods are high in carbs, and it gives off 4 kilocalories per gram of carbohydrate. Oligosaccharides are helpful in maintaining gut bacteria, which helps in the synthesis of various products.
Proteins
Proteins are organic compound made up of interlinked chains of amino acid, which consist of carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, and sulfur. The amino acids can be divided into essential and non essential amino acids. In the human digestive tract, it is broken down into amino acids and absorbed. Proteins are essential for the growth and maintenance of the human body. They are also used in conjunction with other molecules, to form cellular membrane particles, nucleic acids, vitamins, enzymes, and hormones. In addition, the proteins are a requirement in formation of the red cells and blood in general. Proteins act as a source of energy, and in exercises as the building component of muscles, it is imperative to maintain good health with exercise. The energy released from protein is about 4 kJ per gram of protein.
What is the difference between Carbohydrates and Proteins?
Both carbohydrates and proteins are essential organic compounds. Both have the similar molecular make up with proteins having the additional sulfur. The smallest component in carbohydrates is sugar, and in proteins, it is amino acid. Both carbohydrates and proteins give out energy of 4 Kcal per gram. Both can be used as energy sources. But proteins are used for different other messenger molecules and nucleic acid and vitamins. Use in sports and muscle activity is similar in both molecules, but the make up of muscles is mainly proteins.
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