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Excerpt from Classic Health Book "The
Hygiene System"
This is the name given to certain organic compounds of
carbon that are produced by plants in the process of growth
from carbon, hydrogen and oxygen, with the oxygen and
hydrogen in proportions to form water.
In everyday language we know the most important of these
carbohydrates as starches and sugars. As will be seen later,
carbohydrates are complex substances composed, in most
instances, of simpler substances, or building blocks, called
sugars. Chief among the carbohydrates are:
Fruits--Bananas, all sweet fruits, hubbard squash, etc.
Nuts--A few varieties--acorns, chestnuts and cocoanuts.
Tubers--potatoes, sweet potatoes, carrots, artichokes,
parsnips, etc.
Legumes--Most beans, except some varieties
of soybeans, all peas, peanuts. Cereals--All grains and
practically all cereal products. (Gluten bread is not a
carbohydrate.)
The reader will notice that grains and legumes are classed
both as proteins and carbohydrates. This is due to the fact
that they contain enough of each of these food elements to
be placed in both classes.
Nuts, for the same reason, are classed both as proteins and
as fats. Milk, commonly classed as a protein is really low
in protein. It may with equal justification be classed as a
sugar or carbohydrate. All foods contain more or less
carbohydrates, as they all contain more or less protein.
Most foods contain some fats, but there is none in most
fruits nor in the green leaves of vegetables.
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