Starch

carbohydrates · plants · food

Plants' Energy Bank. Green plants make starch to store energy from the sun, kind of like how you might save snacks for later. When the plant needs fuel to grow or survive, it breaks down the starch into glucose for quick energy.

Fuels Billions Daily. Starch is the number one carbohydrate that humans eat, hiding inside foods like potatoes, rice, corn, wheat, and bread. In fact, more people depend on starch for energy than any other carbohydrate on Earth.

Chains of Sugar. Starch is made of tons of glucose molecules all linked together in long chains, kind of like beads on a string. These special chemical bonds hold all those sugar units together so plants can store huge amounts of energy in a small space.

Staple Foods Worldwide. Whether you eat rice in Asia, potatoes in South America, corn in Africa, or wheat bread in Europe, you're eating starch that plants grew and stored. It's the reason these four plants feed more people than almost any other foods on the planet.