Carbohydrates and Nucleic Acids in the Body

July 2006: Volume 1 Number 7

We all know about water and its properties and we have discussed proteins and lipids in this publication. We will now converse about carbohydrates and nucleic acids that exist in our bodies.

Carbohydrate molecules contain Carbon (C), Hydrogen (H), and Oxygen (O) which provide the body with most of its chemical energy. Proteins and lipids can provide chemical energy too, but the most readily available source of chemical energy for the body is from carbohydrates. Carbohydrates are usually stored in the liver. The simplest carbohydrate is simple sugars and the most important simple sugar is glucose. Linking a number of sugars together forms larger carbohydrate molecules. Carbohydrate molecules can be composed of several different sugar molecules like glucose, fructose, and glactose. There are many different kinds of sugar molecules. When the different sugar molecules are linked together, the new molecules become known as saccharides. The different linkage of sugars determines the name of the saccharides such as polysaccharides. Polysaccharides are molecules of starch, glycogen, and cellulose. These molecules are the very important to our existence Man can utilize starch and sugars such as glycogen, but cellulose can not be broken down by the body to be used for energy. When the body becomes defective in processing sugars, we have a detrimental conditions that do not contribute to our health. An example would be a condition known as diabetes. Sugars play a very important role in our health.

Nucleic acids are the largest and the most specialized molecules in the body, however they contribute very little to body weight. They contain the genetic information and provide the blueprint for the complete construction of the body cells, tissues, organs and organ systems that make the body function as a complete unit. Nucleic acids determine the types of cells to be built at specific locations such as a muscle cell, liver cell, heart cell, brain matter, etc. Nucleic acids are of two types; deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and ribonucleic acid (RNA). DNA molecules contain genetic information for cell construction. RNA takes the DNA information and reconfigures or transcribes the information in a specific way to build intricate detailed structures to carry out precise functions of the body.

We have discussed certain elements that are used to construct the molecules used in the construction of cells, tissues, organs and other structures of the body. We have talked about water, proteins, lipids, carbohydrates, and nucleic acids that exist in our bodies.

Our next publications will be about the general uses and functions of the elements found in the body.

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