starches
Starches are complex carbohydrates. They are polymers of glucose. Starches contain hundreds of glucose monomers. Plants make starches to store extra glucose. Consumers can get starches by eating plants. Common sources of starches in the human diet are pictured Figure below . Our digestive system breaks down starches to sugar, which our cells use for energy. Like other animals, we store any extra glucose as the complex carbohydrate called glycogen. Glycogen is also a polymer of glucose.