Carbohydrates
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Energy-producing nutrients
The nutrients that supply us with energy are carbohydrates, proteins and fat.
| Carbohydrate | Source |
|---|---|
| Sugars | Fruits Honey |
| Lactose | Milk Dairy products (milk sugar) |
| Starches | Corn Wheat Rice Barley Oats Potatoes |
| Slowly fermentable fibre like cellulose | Wheat bran |
| Moderately fermentable fibre | Rice bran Pea fibre Wheat bran |
| Rapidly fermentable fibre | Apples Citrus pulp Guar gum |
Simple carbohydrates and starches in foods are used by the body as a source of glucose. As such, they have several major functions, they:
- provide energy
- produce heat when they are metabolized for energy
- can be used as building blocks for other nutrients (e.g., certain amino acids, lactose (the sugar in milk) and vitamin C)
- provide storage of energy in the form of glycogen or fat
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Fats
Dietary fats are required to supply energy: dietary fat provides the pet with 2.25 times more calories per weight unit than protein or carbohydrates.
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Water
Water is the most important nutrient of all and essential for life. Animals can lose almost all their fat and half their protein and still survive, but if they lose 15% of their water, it will mean death.
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