GLOSSARY

Starch is a plant storage polysaccharide and major carbohydrate source in grains, potatoes and pulses. Much ordinary starch is digestible, but structure and processing influence how much becomes available and at what rate.

Cooked rice can provide recovery carbohydrate, but rice weight is not starch weight. Water absorbed during cooking and portion size matter. Nor should starch within a whole food be judged without considering that food's fibre, protein and structure.

Starch contains mainly linear amylose and branched amylopectin. Its predominant chain linkages are alpha bonds, unlike cellulose's beta linkages. Their proportions, starch-granule organisation and placement within food tissue interact with preparation to influence enzyme access. A composition label alone cannot describe all of these structural features.

Digestive enzymes convert many digestible carbohydrates into smaller sugars and ultimately absorbable monosaccharides. A single-unit sugar does not need a bond between sugar units to be split before absorption, but its uptake still has limits and specific conditions. Digestion, absorption and muscle utilisation are related but distinct steps.