What is Sugar

• We are what our body can do with what we eat
• Bio-individuality means everyone is affected by food different
• Sugar affects everyone
• Monosaccharides are simple sugars: glucose, fructose, galactose
• Nutrition is chemistry
• Everything happening in the body has a chemical reaction
  

Glucose

• Most basic form of sugar
• 6 Carbons, 12 hydrogens, and 6 oxygens
• Required by all cells for energy
• The only form of sugar transported directly into the bloodstream
  

*Glucose is the most basic form of sugar. It is a single ring that consists of six carbons, twelve hydrogens, and six oxygens. Glucose is required by all cells in the body for energy. The brain needs it. The red blood cells need it. Glucose is the only form in which sugar can be transported directly into the bloodstream.

Galactose

• Does not go into the bloodstream directly
• Sent to the liver and converted to glucose to be absorbed into the bloodstream
  

*Galactose is that sugar that is found in Lactose or milk. Notice on the visual packet how close in structure glucose is to galactose. It is interesting to note that in terms of digestion, instead of going directly into the bloodstream like glucose, galactose must first be sent to the liver where It is converted to glucose so that it can then be more easily absorbed in the bloodstream. So it is good to note, in terms of chemistry and how our body processes different foods, that such
a small structural difference—what it is here is a sis instead of a tran structure—the direction in which one of the atoms is facing. That difference can make a huge difference in terms of digestion. I always think this is interesting because I had someone once ask me, “Oh that’s curious that you look at nutrition in terms of chemistry.” And I thought, “Hmmm, it’s curious
that that would be a question” because nutrition is chemistry. Everything happening in your body is chemistry. There is a chemical reaction.

Fructose

• The fruit sugar
• 5 sides instead of 6
• 6 carbons, 6 oxgens, 12 hydrogens
• Does not absorb into the bloodstream but by the liver like Galactose
• Most people think this is positive
  

*This is our fruit sugar. You can see it looks quite a bit different. It has five sides instead of six sides
like glucose and galactose thought the molecular formula is actually the same as glucose and galactose. It’s six carbons, twelve hydrogens, six oxygens. It’s their similarities that make them all sugars. It’s their differences that account for the divergent ways in which they are digested and absorbed. So fructose, like galactose, cannot be absorbed directly into the bloodstream.
Instead, fructose is absorbed by the liver where it is converted to energy, fat or glucose before it can be used by other organs. The fact that fructose is not absorbed directly into the bloodstream is sometimes considered a positive thing but that is now being seen as more complicated

Diassacharides: (Double Sugar) = Succrose, lactose, maltose,

• Sucrose = Glucose + Fructose = Table Sugar
• Lactose = Galactose + Glucose = Milk Sugar
• Maltose = Glucose + Glucose = Carmalized Sugar (Germnating seeds like barley)
  

Polysaccharides = Longer branches of Sugar molecules (Complex Sugars)

• Many monosaccharides long
• Plant foods
• Complex
  

Carbohydrates

*We have established with our definition of polysaccharides that carbohydrates are branches of sugars. Simple carbohydrates have less sugars bound. These are your white foods—your refined foods. Simple carbohydrates are digested quickly meaning they move into the bloodstream quite rapidly. In addition, many processed simple carbohydrates contain refined sugars and few essential vitamins and minerals. Examples of more natural simple carbohydrates include fruit and milk.

• Macro Nutrients
• Simple Carbohydrates (digested quickly, full of refined sugars
• Complex Carbohydrates (Has many sugar branches, slow digest, have fiber and minerals)
• Fiber = many branched carbohydrates that work in a unique way
• Glycemic Index= How fast sugars break down in the body (How many branches that sugars move through)
• Glucose = the only sugar that absorbs directly in the bloodstream
• Carbohydrates must be broken down through the digestive system
• Enzymes breakdown the sugar chains into molecules (Amylase)
• Amylase does not breakdown well with stomach acid
• Small intestine
• Amylase cuts sugar into disaccharides or simple sugars
• Pancreas breaks the rest down
• Intestine breakdown from disaccharides into monosaccharides
• Carbohydrates

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