Figures & data
Table 1. Major food sources and structure of carbohydrates present in the diet.
Figure 1. A schematic illustration of the organization of starch in a native granule. (A) Structure of a native starch granule showing alternating regions of amorphous and semicrystalline growth rings. (B) A semicrystalline growth ring showing the repeated layers of amorphous and crystalline regions. (C) Lamellar microstructure of the starch granule displaying the amylose chains in amorphous regions and the amylopectin helices in crystalline regions. Adapted from (Buléon et al., Citation1998).
Figure 2. Effects of processing on starch granules. (A) Intact native starch granule. (B) Heat treatment in excess water under high shear conditions results in granular swelling. (C) Granule disruption occurs during starch gelatinization with linear amylose chains leaching out of the granule. (D) Upon cooling, amylose chains aggregate together to form an ordered gel network. (E) Recrystallization of amylopectin and amylose chains occurs upon storage of gelatinized starch. Schematic representation adapted from (Goesaert et al., Citation2005).
Figure 3. Food processes targeting starch digestibility. (HHP: high hydrostatic pressure).
Figure 4. Schematic diagram of carbohydrate digestion through the digestive tract. It is recognized that transit times are not very reliable and we have therefore quoted average times. Some foods reside in the stomach for longer or shorter periods of time. In ileostomy subjects, the remaining part of the meal may reach the terminal ileum after more than four hours while the remaining parts of an almond meal came out of the stoma at 9–12 hours (Maurer et al., Citation2013).
