Il sucrose, or table sugar, is a very common type of sugar, comprised of glucose e fructose; we often talk about glucose, the sugar in the blood, that in which most of the carbohydrates we eat are broken down and that feeds our cells and is stored to give us subsequent energy, but the most common sugar in the world, the one used in all kitchens, is sucrose.
What is sucrose?
It's an type of sugar made up of one molecule of glucose and one of fructose bound together; this sugar falls into the category of disaccharides, or two monosaccharides (glucose and fructose), linked together by a glycosidic bond.
Also commonly known as table sugar, it is also found added in sugary drinks, baked goods, biscuits, breakfast products, desserts, condiments, dairy products, etc .; this sugar is also found in natural sources such as carrots, honey, sugar cane, and sugar beet.
Is sucrose the same as sugar?
Il sucrose is a type of sugar! Sugar is an umbrella term for a typically sweet, calorie-containing type of carbohydrate; pure white granulated sugar is sucrose.
Icing sugar is sucrose with added corn starch, cane sugar is sucrose with molasses, raw sugar is sucrose which has undergone less processing.
What is the difference between sucrose, glucose and fructose?
All three are types of sugars with some differences:
- Glucose: a monosaccharide, also known as simple sugar; It is the body's preferred carbohydrate energy source. In foods, glucose is most commonly bonded to another simple sugar to form polysaccharides and disaccharides (such as sucrose and lactose);
- Fructose: a monosaccharide, also known as fruit sugar; found naturally in fruit, honey, agave and most root vegetables;
- Sucrose: as we have seen, it is a disaccharide formed by glucose and fructose bound together.
Where does this sugar come from?
It forms in plants just like other sugars, through photosynthesis and helps provide energy to plants.
Foods contain different amounts of sugar; pears, for example, have more fructose, i tomatoes they have no sucrose and sweet peas and sugar beets contain only sucrose, but in different amounts.
What does sucrose do to the body?
Regardless of how sucrose is consumed, an enzyme in the body called sucrase breaks it down into glucose and fructose, and these molecules move through different metabolic pathways.
Glucose enters the bloodstream where it causes the release of insulin, which helps transport glucose into cells for energy. Fructose, on the other hand, is mainly metabolized by the liver and intestines.
Eating small amounts of sucrose through healthy foods is unlikely to have a negative impact; there is no molecular difference between sucrose that comes from natural sources or table sugar, but the fiber in whole foods helps slow the absorption of glucose in the body, leading to a more stable blood sugar.
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