Final answer:
Carbohydrates encompass glucose, starches, and cellulose. Glucose and starch are digestible and provide energy, while cellulose, a type of fiber, aids digestion but is not digestible by humans.
Step-by-step explanation:
Carbohydrate Classification
The category that includes glucose (sugar), starches, and non-digestible cellulose is known as carbohydrates. Carbohydrates are essential nutrients and organic compounds made up of simple sugars, classified into monosaccharides like glucose, disaccharides like sucrose, and polysaccharides like starch and cellulose. While glucose and starch are types of digestible carbohydrates used by the body for energy, providing 4 Calories per gram, cellulose is a type of fiber that cannot be digested by humans but is crucial for its physiological roles such as helping with digestion and maintaining gut health.
Complex carbohydrates like starch and glycogen are made of hundreds or thousands of glucose units and serve various functions such as energy storage and structural formation. Starch, for example, is a polysaccharide that plants use to store energy and is broken down during digestion into component sugars to provide energy. Glycogen is similar but is produced by animals and fungi. Cellulose, on the other hand, is a form of dietary fiber found in plants that is not digestible by humans but is integral for maintaining a healthy digestive system.