Glucose, fructose and sucrose
are three types of sugar. Sugar production has been around for a few
thousand years. In 2011, worldwide production of table sugar was
about 168 million tons.
Glucose, also known as dextrose, is the most common sugar. It is
rarely found in food in its single molecular form, but is found as a
building block for more complex carbohydrates. Foods containing
glucose include: bread, pasta, cereals, rice, most fruits and
vegetables, dairy products, maple syrup, pancake mixes, commercial
salad dressings, and spices, and all foods containing sugar. Brain
cells show a marked preference for glucose.
Fructose is the sugar that sweetens fruits, and it is also naturally
present in some vegetables. One of the major differences between
fructose and glucose is that cells require insulin to take up
glucose from the bloodstream, but fructose is absorbed directly
without insulin. Fructose a healthier choice for individuals with
diabetes than glucose or sucrose. Foods rich in fructose include,
agave, apricots, blueberries, figs, dates, grapes, honey, and
raisins.
Sucrose is made up of two smaller sugar units, glucose and fructose.
Sucrose is the type of sugar you use in your kitchen and in cooking.
It is usually derived from either sugar cane or sugar beets. An
apple contains both fructose and glucose. Sucrose is digested into
glucose and fructose before it enters the bloodstream.
Glucose, fructose, and sucrose contain identical amounts of energy.
Each provides four calories per gram. Glucose and fructose units
are absorbed across the intestinal wall by active transit into the
portal vein. They are then transported to the liver where they are
converted to energy units. When reading food labels, sucrose can be
listed as sugar, glucose can appear as dextrose, and fructose as
corn syrup or high-fructose corn syrup.
Bottom line - Cells require a constant supply of energy to keep
running. Glucose and fructose have identical chemical formulas.
Glucose and fructose can be burned for immediate energy or stored as
body fat. It is not important where sugar comes from. Too little and
your body is deprived of much needed nutrients, too much and your
body stores sugars as fat. There is a correlation between
increased soda consumption and obesity, but no proven causation.
Headlines about soda and obesity are mostly non-scientific mumbo
jumbo designed to titillate, but not educate.