ABSTRACT
Carbohydrates provide as much as 60% of the daily energy intake. Carbohydrates are divided into three major classes: monosaccharides, oligosaccharides, and polysaccharides. Foods from plant sources, on the other hand, contain large amounts of carbohydrates. In general, the disaccharides, while of importance as dietary sources of carbohydrates, have few metabolic functions. As mentioned, several of the nondigestible carbohydrates provide useful substrates to the colon flora and thus should be considered as nondigestible carbohydrate. A diet with glucose coming from complex carbohydrates would be a benefit to these people because it would provide a leveling of glucose influx from the diet. From the diet perspective, reduction in the conversion of impaired glucose tolerance to type 2 diabetes was reduced from 29% to 13% in Swedish subjects through the limitation of energy intake from carbohydrates and fats Similar results were also obtained in another study conducted in Sweden.
