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The Difference Between Sugar and Sugars

The government uses the term "sugars" to refer to all forms of caloric sweeteners. "Sugar" still refers only to sucrose that comes from sugar cane and sugar beets. Sugar (sucrose) is all natural and is refined through a purification process that separates 99.9% pure sucrose from the plant matter of the sugar cane or sugar beet.

Historically, sugar was the predominant caloric sweetener. Other sweeteners included honey and molasses. Over the past 20 years, many new forms of sweeteners were developed and introduced. These include: corn syrup, fructose, glucose, high fructose corn syrup and maltose. Some of these new sweeteners replaced sugar as the sweetener in foods and beverages. For example, since the early 1980s most soft drinks are manufactured with high fructose corn syrup rather than sugar (sucrose). High fructose corn syrup is also used in fruit juices, drinks and aides.

As the new sweeteners were introduced the government has changed and expanded the definition of caloric sweeteners. This is one reason why the reported economic availability or production of all caloric sweeteners has increased. At the same time, the reported economic availability of sugar has actually declined.

The terms "sugar" and "sugars" are frequently confused and misused today by consumers, the media, health and nutrition professionals.

Sugar is one of many sweetener choices on the market today but not all sweeteners are sugar.

How Your Body Uses Carbohydrates

Questions about diabetes, hypoglycemia or other problems frequently center on how the body uses sugar. The following points are important to understanding sugar's role in nutrition.

• The body's utilization of sugar and other carbohydrates is a natural, well-regulated process.
• The sugar in your bowl is the same substance found naturally in sugar cane, sugar beets, apples, oranges, carrots and every other fruit and vegetable we eat.
• When you eat a sugar-containing food, your body cannot tell whether the sugar came from fruit or whether it was spooned from a bowl. Sugar, regardless of its source, is metabolized in the same way by the body.
• Glucose--which is one-half of the sucrose molecule--is essential for proper brain and nervous system functioning.

All carbohydrate foods become glucose, the fuel for the body.

What Are Carbohydrates?

Carbohydrates are combinations of carbon (C), hydrogen (H) and oxygen (O). The basic formula: CnH2nOn. All carbohydrates are made up of one or more molecules of simple sugars. They are classified by structure: Monosaccharides or one-molecule sugars. Those commonly found in food are:

• glucose (dextrose or blood sugar)
• fructose (levulose or fruit sugar)
• galactose (occurs mainly in milk)

Disaccharides are two monosaccharides linked together. Those common to food always contain at least one glucose molecule.

• sucrose (table sugar) = glucose + fructose
• lactose (milk sugar) = glucose + galactose
• maltose (malt sugar) = glucose + glucose

Polysaccharides (complex carbohydrates) are made up of simple sugars (monosaccharides) or their derivatives linked together in different ways. Those found in food include:

• starch - made up of several hundred glucose units joined together.
• dietary fiber - consists of glucose, galactose or other monosaccharides linked together in such manners that the long chains are indigestible.

Energy From Carbohydrates

To utilize carbohydrates for energy, your body converts them to glucose. Carbohydrates--from sugars, fruits, vegetables or grains--follow a similar route in the process of digestion. Monosaccharides are absorbed and carried unchanged to the liver before distribution throughout the body. Disaccharides and the more complex starches are broken into their simple sugar constituent parts, then routed to the liver.

Sucrose, for example is broken down in the intestine to its components, glucose and fructose. These two sugars are absorbed into the bloodstream and carried directly to the liver. Some fructose is converted into glucose in the liver before it is returned to the blood for use as energy. If the glucose is not needed right away to meet energy needs, it is converted preferentially to glycogen, the starch-like compound that is the energy reserve of human metabolism. Glycogen can be converted back to glucose when the body needs energy. Once the body's glycogen reserves are filled, any remaining glucose and fructose become involved in the metabolism of dietary fats and their physiological products. All carbohydrate foods, such as potatoes, broccoli, apples, grapes, sugar, honey, have the same ultimate destination: they become glucose, fuel for the body.

Carbohydrates : Simple vs. Complex

In recent years, nutrition scientists have reexamined traditional views about the physiological differences between "simple" and "complex" carbohydrates. The old view was that any simple carbohydrate raised blood sugar levels very quickly because it was metabolized rapidly, while any complex carbohydrate caused a slower and more moderate rise in blood sugar.

However, research on the "glycemic index of foods" shows no defined nutritional difference between simple and complex carbohydrates. Some simple sugars cause a slow, moderate rise in blood sugar levels; some complex carbohydrates cause a rapid rise. Table sugar has a moderate effect on blood sugar--about the same as potatoes and less than bread or rice. This new knowledge has led to a better understanding of carbohydrate's role in nutrition and to increased flexibility in meal planning for people with diabetes.