ABSTRACT
The effects of dietary carbohydrates differ qualitatively and quantitatively from the effects of other nutrients. These differences between carbohydrates and other nutrients should be well understood before the various roles of carbohydrates and their effects of human health are considered. The rst of these differences relates to the requirement for carbohydrate in the food. Whereas vitamins, minerals, proteins, individual amino acids, or polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) can be shown to be required for minimum human health, there is no absolute requirement for the intake of dietary carbohydrate. Apparently, human beings are able to maintain at least a minimal health status with a relatively wide range of consumption of carbohydrates with respects to both amount and type.
