Calories - the basic unit used to measure dietary energy. The unit used for nutrition (as opposed to Calories used in physics) are actually kilo-Calories, but they’re usually just called calories (though I think many European countries list them as “kcals”). Excess calories will be converted and stored as fat.
Glucose - a simple sugar monosaccharide (just 1 sugar component). Sugars are calorie-dense. There are other basic, simple sugars like galactose and fructose. Combining two of these simple sugars yields a disaccharide, which requires breaking down into its constituent sugars before it can be digested and absorbed, but this is done quickly. Sugars, both simple and complex, are carbohydrates. Simple sugars/carbs (mono/disaccarides) are quickly digested and absorbed into the blood stream, but complex sugars take a little longer.
Complex carbohydrates - these are long strings of sugars (polysaccharides), such as starch. As a result, they are very calorie dense (provided they can be digested by humans). They’re typically what is being referred to if someone is talking about “carbs”. Since they are strings of sugars, they require more breaking down before they can be digested than simple sugars.
Gluten - a structural protein formed mainly of the naturally-occurring glutenin and gliaden proteins found in some grains. If you add water and knead wheat flour, like in bread dough, it will form a network of these proteins into gluten. This is what gives bread its elasticity. Around 80% of all the protein in bread is gluten. Because it’s sort of a dietary buzzword, I’ll add that it’s typically perfectly safe to consume unless you’ve been directed by a doctor to avoid it; avoiding it will produce no health benefits at all for the vast majority of people. There is some debate on whether gluten sensitivity truly exists outside of celiac disease (which is autoimmune in nature). Triple-blind experiments where subjects who claimed non-celiac sensitivity were given high-gluten diets, but reported no more symptoms on average than those given low-gluten or gluten-free diets. It’s possible that the true cause of intestinal discomfort for some is instead from a group of compounds called FODMAPs, which are also present in many gluten-containing grains. Follow-up experiments with diets high in FODMAPs with the same group yielded more reporting of symptoms than with the gluten.
Calories - the basic unit used to measure dietary energy. The unit used for nutrition (as opposed to Calories used in physics) are actually kilo-Calories, but they’re usually just called calories (though I think many European countries list them as “kcals”). Excess calories will be converted and stored as fat.
Glucose - a simple sugar monosaccharide (just 1 sugar component). Sugars are calorie-dense. There are other basic, simple sugars like galactose and fructose. Combining two of these simple sugars yields a disaccharide, which requires breaking down into its constituent sugars before it can be digested and absorbed, but this is done quickly. Sugars, both simple and complex, are carbohydrates. Simple sugars/carbs (mono/disaccarides) are quickly digested and absorbed into the blood stream, but complex sugars take a little longer.
Complex carbohydrates - these are long strings of sugars (polysaccharides), such as starch. As a result, they are very calorie dense (provided they can be digested by humans). They’re typically what is being referred to if someone is talking about “carbs”. Since they are strings of sugars, they require more breaking down before they can be digested than simple sugars.
Gluten - a structural protein formed mainly of the naturally-occurring glutenin and gliaden proteins found in some grains. If you add water and knead wheat flour, like in bread dough, it will form a network of these proteins into gluten. This is what gives bread its elasticity. Around 80% of all the protein in bread is gluten. Because it’s sort of a dietary buzzword, I’ll add that it’s typically perfectly safe to consume unless you’ve been directed by a doctor to avoid it; avoiding it will produce no health benefits at all for the vast majority of people. There is some debate on whether gluten sensitivity truly exists outside of celiac disease (which is autoimmune in nature). Triple-blind experiments where subjects who claimed non-celiac sensitivity were given high-gluten diets, but reported no more symptoms on average than those given low-gluten or gluten-free diets. It’s possible that the true cause of intestinal discomfort for some is instead from a group of compounds called FODMAPs, which are also present in many gluten-containing grains. Follow-up experiments with diets high in FODMAPs with the same group yielded more reporting of symptoms than with the gluten.
This is well put.