Monday, February 22, 2010

What's In A Name?

Sugar, by any name, is - sugar. The simple carbohydrates are monosaccharides - glucose and fructose. Disaccharides are chemical pairs of the monosaccharides, such as sucrose. Sucrose, or common table sugar consists of half glucose and half fructose. Glucose is the basic energy form of carbohydrate that fuels every cell of the body, and is the fuel of choice in the brain. All carbohydrates break down into glucose (blood sugar); some take longer, depending on how complex. One gram of sugar or any carbohydrate, provides 4 calories. 50% of your daily calorie intake should be in the form of carbohydrates. Is one form of dietary sugar any better or "healthier" than an other? No. Here is the chemical breakdown on sugar:
Agave syrup 84% fructose, 8% glucose, 8% sucrose.
Apple juice concentrate 60% fructose, 27% glucose, 13% sucrose.
Brown sugar 97% sucrose, 1% fructose, 1% glucose.
Corn syrup 8% to 96% glucose, 0% fructose, 0% sucrose.
Fructose 100% fructose (comes from fruit).
Glucose or Dextrose 100% glucose (found mostly in fruits and starchy vegetables).
Grape juice concentrate 52% fructose, 48% glucose.
High fructose corn syrup 55% fructose, 45% glucose.
Honey 50% fructose, 44% glucose, 1% sucrose.
Maple syrup 95% sucrose, 4% glucose, 1% fructose.
Molasses 53% sucrose, 23% fructose, 21% glucose.
Orange juice concentrate 46% sucrose, 28% fructose, 26% glucose.
Raw sugar 100% sucrose.
Table sugar, confectioners sugar, powdered sugar, bakers sugar 100% sucrose.
~USDA Nutrient Database

No comments:

Post a Comment

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.