Sugars

When we think of sugar, the first thing that comes to our mind is cane sugar. This by far the most common sugar found in the world. The sugar is made from sugarcane plant.

Sugar is the common name for sweet, short-chain, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. They are carbohydrates, composed of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen.

Carbohydrates consist of simple sugars, starches and fiber. Simple sugars are called monosaccharides. They are glucose (also known as dextrose), fructose and galactose. The most common type of sugar that we use in our food is called sucrose and is derived from plants. Although many plants have sugar in their tissues, only sugarcane and sugar beet contains sugar in sufficient concentration for efficient extraction.

Carbohydrates are the main source of energy for our body. During the process of digestion our body converts carbohydrates into glucose (we call this blood sugar). Cells utilize the glucose from the blood for body’s energy needs. When our system breaks down simple sugars quickly, our body responds with the release of insulin which enables the absorption of glucose. Over time the pancreas which produces insulin (a hormone) wears out and becomes incapable of producing insulin. This leads to diabetes, heart disease and obesity.

Sugar has been linked to obesity, and suspected of, being a cause of digestive problems, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, dementia, macular degeneration, and tooth decay. Excess sugar can also depress immunity.

Various studies were conducted but only with varying results. The lack of control population not consuming sugar is the main reason for this.

People who cannot take sugar will resort to some artificial sweeteners such as aspartame, saccharine, sucralose, neotame and acesulfame potassium.

Sucrose

Sucrose is commonly known as table sugar or just sugar. It is obtained from cane or beet. Sugar is present in all fruits, vegetables and tubers in the plant kingdom. This is the result of photosynthesis, the process by which plants transform the sugar energy into food.. When we consume sucrose it is converted into glucose and fructose and then taken up by their specific transport mechanisms. Sugar made from cane and beet look the same and it will be difficult to tell the difference.

When one molecule of glucose is bonded with a fructose molecule you get a sucrose molecule.

Refined sugar is more harmful than naturally occurring sugar. Sugar gives texture and color to baked goods. It is necessary in fermentation by yeast. It acts as a preservative in jams and chutneys.


Consuming lot of sugar can lead to pancreatic cancer and damage the liver. It will also lead to obesity. Sucrose has a simple molecular structure and is digested and released into the blood stream faster than it can be burned. If sucrose is allowed to remain on the teeth, it will allow bacteria to grow which in turn will produce acid which will erode the enamel of the teeth.

Fructose

 Fructose is found in fruits and honey. Commercial fructose is extracted mainly from corn. Every cell in the body can use glucose but fructose is digested only in the liver. When the liver cannot cope with the amount of fructose it will convert the sugar into fat and pass it in the blood stream as triglycerides.

High fructose diet can cause build-up of fat cells around the liver, heart and digestive organs. This may happen in a short time span of 10 days.

If you’re energy depleted (i.e. an elite athlete), fructose can be converted to glycogen (liver starch) as a storehouse for ready energy, which can then be fished out of your liver if your body needs glucose in the future (for more exercise or if you’re starving). But most of us aren't energy depleted, so exercise can be an antidote to excess fructose consumption.

Fructose gets turned into liver fat, leading to insulin resistance, obesity, high blood pressure, elevated triglycerides and high LDL. Fructose causes depletion of vitamins and minerals. It may contribute to cardiovascular disease, liver disease, cancer, arthritis, blood tryglicerides and cholesteroland even gout.

Excessive consumption of fructose can lead to Bloating, gas, stomach pain, heartburn and nausea often occur as a result of indigestion.  Dr. Mercola suggests that that pancreatic tumour cells use fructose, specifically, to divide and proliferate, thus speeding up the growth and spread of the cancer.

Actor Ashton Kutche who was to play the character of Steve Jobs in the upcoming film “Jobs,” was admitted to the hospital, because of his all-fruit diet, 2 days before starting shooting of the movie.

Jobs had adopted an all-fruit diet in his younger days. The brand 'Apple' he created was due to this obsession. Pancreatic cancer killed Steve Jobs on October 5, 2011, at the age of 56. Dr. Mercola muses that even though Jobs consumed a fruitarian diet years before he contracted his pancreatic cancer, there could be some relationship.

Galactose 

Galactose is a monosaccharide. When combined with glucose it results in the disaccharide lactose. Lactose is naturally found in milk and other dairy products. In the human body, glucose is changed into galactose to enable the mammary glands to secrete lactose. However, most lactose in breast milk is synthesized from galactose taken up from the blood.

Glucose is the primary source of metabolic energy for humans because it is more stable than galactose. Many species (including humans) have the ability to convert galactose to glucose.

Galactose is found in dairy products, sugar beets, other gums and mucilages. It is also synthesized by the body.

Glucose 

Glucose is the primary source of metabolic energy for humans bacteria and many other organisms.. It is found in honey, fruits and vegetables. Glucose is found in the blood. When a person has diabetes we say that blood glucose level is high.

Body converts excess glucose into glycogen and stores it in the liver and inside muscle tissue around the body for future usage.

Lactose 

Lactose is found in milk, made from glucose and galactose.

Some people are intolerant to lactose. Lactase, in enzyme produce by the small intestines, is required to digest lactose.

When one molecule of glucose is bonded with a molecule of galactose you get lactose, which is commonly found in milk.

Maltose
Maltose or malt sugar is found in germinating barley, other cereals and molasses. Maltose is also created during beer brewing process. Our body also makes maltose from the starchy foods like potato and bread. It is made up of two joined glucose molecules.

When the food passes into the small intestine's duodenum from the stomach, the small intestine releases maltase that can digest maltose. Once maltase breaks down maltose into two units of glucose, glucose is free to be absorbed by the gut.

High maltose corn syrup is a food additive, sweetener and preservative. It is made from corn-based sugar. It is believed that it is better than high fructose corn syrup.

variety of sugar

Raw sugar  (Jaggery)

                                                                     

Gula melaka (Palm sugar)

Brown sugar