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Digestion and Absorption of Carbohydrates
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Introduction
The body uses carbohydrates as its primary energy source, making them a vital nutrient.
Although carbohydrates can be found in a wide variety of meals, including fruits, vegetables,
grains, and dairy products, the body needs them for energy if they cannot be broken down and
absorbed. This process involves several steps from the mouth to the small intestine, where simple
sugars are produced from carbs and absorbed into the blood. Because certain enzymes and
transport mechanisms are active, carbohydrates are efficiently digested and absorbed. Disruption
of these mechanisms can lead to various digestive problems. The steps involved in the digestion
and absorption of carbohydrates will be thoroughly described in this essay, along with the
identification of the enzymes that aid in these processes and the illnesses that result from
inadequate digestion or absorption of carbohydrates.
The Process of Carbohydrate Digestion
Food enters the mouth during the initial digestion of carbohydrates since there are no
dietary constraints. Chewing breaks food into tiny bits, and saliva, which contains the enzyme
salivary amylase, mixes with the meal. This enzyme starts the breakdown of complex
carbohydrates called starches, which are made up of long-chain glycoside molecules (Sensoy,
2021). Maltose and dextrins, which are smaller chains of glucose, are the sugar molecules that
are produced when salivary amylase hydrolyzes starches. Even if the food is only in the mouth
for a brief period, the initial enzymatic activity is essential for initiating the digestive process and
releasing the mechanical pressure on the subsequent gastrointestinal organs.
After being swallowed, the food passes down the esophagus and into the stomach, where
the breakdown of carbohydrates is momentarily stopped. The stomach's acidic environment
deactivates salivary amylase, which is necessary for the digestion of proteins (Sensoy, 2021).
Although the stomach does not play a significant role in the digestion of carbohydrates, the
mechanical churning of the stomach walls aids in the mixing and churning of food with gastric
secretions. After going through this process, the food becomes chyme, a semi-liquid substance
that is progressively released into the duodenum, the first segment of the small intestine.
Only in the small intestine, where the majority of nutritional breakdown and absorption
occurs, does carbohydrate digestion typically continue (Sensoy, 2021). At this point, the
pancreas secretes the pancreatic amylase into the duodenum. This potent enzyme will continue to
break down the remaining complicated carbohydrates into disaccharides like maltose after the
neurons have finished breaking them down (that is, except for the most basic ones).
The brush border enzymes, which are located across the intestinal villi, typically come
into contact with the digested material after it has passed through the small intestine. These
enzymes—lactase, sucrase, and maltase—complete digestion at the conclusion of the digestive
process and split disaccharides into monosaccharides like glucose, fructose, and galactose
(Sensoy, 2021). They are sufficiently tiny to pass past the intestinal tract and into the
bloodstream, where they can be delivered to and utilized by cells for energy production. At this
stage, the digestion of carbohydrates is finished, and the proper function of digestive enzymes
and the presence of healthy intestinal structures are crucial to this process.
Final Breakdown and Absorption
The small intestine's microvilli are home to brush border enzymes, which are necessary
for further breaking down disaccharides into monosaccharides. Lactase, sucrase, and maltase are
among the enzymes (Montoro-Huguet et al., 2021). Maltose is broken down into two glucose
molecules by maltase. The enzyme sucrase breaks down sucrose into one glucose molecule and
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one fructose molecule (Montoro-Huguet et al., 2021). Lactase converts lactose to galactose and
glucose. Lastly, the absorbable forms of carbohydrates are these monosaccharides.
The carbohydrates must pass through the i...
