Starch

Starch is by far the most important source of carbohydrates in the human diet amounting to approximately 50% of total carbohydrate in the United States, but often as much as 75% total carbohydrates in some of the developing countries.

Starch is a polysaccharide made up of many glucose units bonded together – 3000 or so in each molecule of starch. Shorter carbohydrate chains composed of 3 to 1o glucose molecules are called oligosaccharides.

Starch is partly digested in the mouth and changed in the small intestine to glucose.

All the major economic sources of starch are plants. Starch and starch like molecules can also be found in other kingdoms, of life, including bacteria, algae and animals.

Starchy foods such as potatoes, bread and pasta provide other nutrients as well as starch. For example, bread is a good source of protein, B-group vitamins and minerals such as calcium and iron.

Other major sources of starch include cereal grains, such as wheat, rice, rye, millet, sorghum and corn. These grains contain 76 percent starch. Tubers, such as potatoes and cassavas and root vegetables such as parsnips, also supply starch.

Starch