Sorting through thoughts on Carbohydrates and Saccharides

It has become obvious to me that I need to take another try at understanding carbohydrates. A little while back we did a lab in biology. The purpose was to get a better handle on saccharides. I am still trying to get a better understanding. Carbohydrates are used as an energy source for living things. In a carbohydrate the hydrogen to oxygen ratio is 2:1. Monosaccharides are simple sugars. Mono meaning one means that a monosaccharide consists of only a single sugar molecule. Glucose is a monosaccharide. Glucose is very important, it is a simple sugar that is the major source of cellular fuel for all living things. During dehydration reaction, two monosaccharides join together to create a Disaccharide. For example, Sucrose (Table Sugar) comes about with the bonding of a glucose molecule and a fructose molecule. Lactose is another disaccharide. Lactose is the monosaccharide molecules glucose and galactose bonded together. When someone is lactose intolerant, they can't break the disaccharide lactose down. Polysaccharides are polymers of monosaccharides. This means that a polysaccharide is constructed by linking together a large number of monosaccharides. Polysaccharides, I am still trying to fully understand. From what I have gathered, most polysaccharides are used as energy storage molecules. In a plant, the polysaccharide starch is a polymer of the monosaccharide glucose. Plant cells use starch for energy storage. Animal cells use the dissacharide glycogen for energy storage. Again glycogen is a polymer of glucose. I am going to be honest, when we were doing the lab, I was a little lost as to what it all meant. But now I have a better handle. We tested different foods to find what they contained, if it was mono, di, or polysaccharides. The different reactions we received from the combination of the food and the benedict or iodine solution, would help us to see what saccharides that food contained. As I am looking over the paper that contains the information we gathered during the lab, cereal for example contained some polysaccharides. I have actually learned a lot about saccharides. I just need to continue to stay focused, ask questions, and gather the information.