More About Sugar

I've been doing more research into sugar. I'm not a chemist or biochemist, so I don't have labs where I could run my own tests. I'll have to rely on information I can find by others.

One of the things I wanted to understand is how sugar is metabolized, is one more harmful than the other, and how are they different. Glucose and fructose are the two types.

Table sugar, sucrose, is 50/50 glucose and fructose. It is broken apart by an enzyme called sucrase. Glucose can be used immediately, and our bodies prefer this type to store as glycogen. Glycogen is stored in our muscles. Whenever we need a quick burst of energy, like lifting something, we burn the glycogen. Heavy weightlifting and cardio will deplete glycogen the fastest, but any prolonged activity will burn some, and it needs to be replenished. If you eat a carbohydrate, after a workout is the best time to do it. Replenishing glycogen is a priority in the metabolic system, and so some of the carbs will be stored as glycogen rather than fat.

Glucose causes the pancreas to release insulin. Insulin turns on fat storage mechanisms. How fast this happens is measured by the glycemic index.

www.southbeach-diet-plan
.com/glycemicfoodchart.htm

Fructose is different. Fructose is processed in the liver. Fructose does not stimulate insulin. It also does not raise blood sugar levels. Diabetics measure blood glucose. Fructose is rapidly disposed of into fat cells, primarily in the liver.

Glucose increases abdominal fat. Fructose is primarily responsible for increase in visceral fat. The dangerous kind that attaches to organs that you can't see.

Fructose tastes sweeter than glucose, which is why HFCS were invented. The food industry can use less, for the same amount of sweetness. HFCS is 55/45 fructose/glucose. That 5% difference is significant in volume, and over time.

Fruit is more fructose than glucose, but there is a difference. Sugars in fruit come packaged with fiber. The digestive system has to break down the fiber, then enzymes go to work to sort and process the components. If you eat a cookie, not much work has to be done to get to the fructose/glucose. It happens much faster.

In order to get 500 calories worth of fructose from an apple, you have to eat 20 apples. An equivalent amount of table sugar is 14 tablespoons. HFCS is just 7 tablespoons.

How many of us have overeaten and binged on apples?

There's more I can say, but I need to wrap this up. The faster this happens, the more fat you will store because rising blood glucose and fructose is toxic. The body must eliminate it as quickly as possible. Our bodies have simply never encountered the fructose load in nature as it does when we eat a few Chips Ahoy cookies with HFCS as the primary sweetener.

Sources:
coolinginflammation.blog
spot.ca/2012/05/dr-oz-on-s
weeteners-sugar-fructose.html

www.precisionnutrition.c
om/research-review-fructos
e-vs-glucose