Some very basic chemistry

[hanadr]

Every now and again, I read something on this board that tells me it's time to re-post this information.
Here goes!
The sugar in your blood is a simple sugar called Glucose. Most of the time it's in a ring shaped form. The sugar in your coffee is called Sucrose, It's made up of a glucose molecule chemically linked to another simple sugar called fructose.[These simple one ring sugars are called monosaccharides]. 2 monosaccharides chemically linked makes a "Double" sugar called a disaccharide. digestive enzymes unlink these molecules. So if you ingest a molecule of sucrose, a single molecule of glucose enters your blood. Fructose is processed differently and ends up in your liver.
Starches are made up of very long straight or branched chains of linked glucose molcules. If your digestive enzymes completely unlink a starch molecule, you end up with hundreds of glucose moleculees in your blood.
There are quite a few different mono saccharides and hence lots of disaccharides and some trisaccharides and loads of polysaccharides [many monosaccharides linked] Some of these molecules don't exist in nature, but can be synthesized easily in a lab.
It is definitely confusing to many people to have the word "Sugar" used to describe different things.
Hana

 

[elainechi]

sorry but your point is??????...not that im being rude but its rather confusing for what difference it all makes!!!!!
xx

 

[witan]

Elaine, I believe Hana is responding to a post elsewhere on the board where someone was confusing fructose with glucose and talking about avoiding fruit which is the main source of fructose. As Hanna points out the body deals with these in different ways so there is no need for a diabetic to fear eating fruit because of this.

Of course all fruits also have a carbohydrate content which the body can convert to glucose so choosing the right fruit may be important to those that are trying to stick to a low carb diet.

This just scratches the surface of the 'external' aspects of how 'sugars' gets into the human body, once it's in the body virtually every organ is involved and many incredibly complex processes take place - so now you see why the diabetes epidemic was always an event waiting to happen - one day we may know just some of the many most common causes - I doubt we'll ever know them all and will just go on treating the symptoms.

 

[room04a]

Re fructose. I looked on a GI index and chose the slowest GI fruit Apples , pears, Nana's and surprising to me Pineapple.... I used to eat loads of Watermelon.... what a mistake that was ( I assumed WATER was the key word. )

It's interesting to learn that I am doing something correct. I was worried that my high fruit intake may be the cause of my diabetes. Just turned out I was a fat git ! and my diet was rubbish. Lots of processed carbs and high GI sh*te.

 

[elainechi]

hmmmmmm....im sure it.ll click at some time xx