Beverages and
Chemistry
SUGAR
Sucrose, glucose and fructose are important carbohydrates, commonly referred
to as simple sugars. Sugar is found naturally in whole foods and is often added to
processed foods to sweeten them and increase flavor. Your tongue can't quite
distinguish between these sugars, but your body can tell the difference. They all
provide the same amount of energy per gram, but are processed and used
differently throughout the body.
Glucose: The simple sugar that is the chief source of
energy. Glucose is found in the blood and is the main sugar
that the body manufactures. The body makes glucose from
all three elements of food, proteins, fats, and
carbohydrates, but the largest amount of glucose derives
from carbohydrates. Glucose serves as the major source of
energy for living cells. However, cells cannot use glucose
without the help of insulin. Also known as dextrose..
Glucose – body’s natural “sugar”
Fructose is a sugar found naturally in many fruits and
vegetables, and added to various beverages such as soda, ice
teas and fruit-flavored drinks. However, it is very different
from other sugars because it has a different metabolic
pathway and is not the preferred energy source for muscles
or the brain. Fructose is only metabolized in the liver and
relies on fructokinase to initiate metabolism. It is also more
lipogenic, or fat-producing, than glucose. Unlike glucose,
too, it does not cause insulin to be released or stimulate
production of leptin, a key hormone for regulating energy
intake and expenditure. These factors raise concerns about
chronically high intakes of dietary fructose, because it
appears to behave more like fat in the body than like other
carbohydrates.
Fructose – corn syrup
Sucrose is commonly known as table sugar, and is obtained
from sugar cane or sugar beets. Fruits and vegetables also
naturally contain sucrose. When sucrose is consumed, the
enzyme beta-fructosidase separates sucrose into its individual
sugar units of glucose and fructose. Both sugars are then
taken up by their specific transport mechanisms. The body
responds to the glucose content of the meal in its usual
manner; however, fructose uptake occurs at the same time.
The body will use glucose as its main energy source and the
excess energy from fructose, if not needed, will be poured
into fat synthesis, which is stimulated by the insulin released
in response to glucose.
Sucrose – table sugar
Sucrose vs fructose vs Glucose
C12H22O11 C6H12O6 C6H12O6
Glucose vs Fructose
• Sucralose was discovered by scientists at Tate & Lyle in
1976 during taste-testing of a chlorinated sugar compound.
One report is that researcher Shashikant Phadnis thought
his coworker Leslie Hough asked him to taste the
compound (not a usual procedure), so he did and found the
compound to be extraordinarily sweet compared with
sugar. The compound was patented and tested, first
approved for use as a non-nutritive sweetener in Canada in
1991.
Sucralose - splenda
WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE
BETWEEN THE OTHER
SUGARS AND SUCRALOSE?
http://chemistry.about.com/od/foodcookingchemistry/a/Wh
at-Is-The-Difference-Between-Sucrose-And-Sucralose.htm
• chemical structures of the two sweeteners are related, but
not identical.
• Unlike other sugars, sucralose is not metabolized by the
body. Sucralose contributes zero calories to the diet,
compared with sugars, which contributes 16 calories per
teaspoon (4.2 grams).
• Sucralose is about 600 times sweeter than sucrose.
How it’s made: coke a cola
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yNYJG3WFPak
Sucrose – table sugar
C 12 H 22 O 11
Sucralose – splenda
C 12 H 19 Cl 3 O 8
• Aspartame is an artificial sweetener usually sold
under the brand names Equal or Nutrasweet. It's about 200
times sweeter than sugar, so very little is needed to
sweeten foods.
• It may help to understand that your body doesn't absorb
aspartame -- it's broken down into two amino acids -phenylalanine and aspartic acid -- plus a tiny bit of
methanol, in your digestive tract. Those smaller molecules
are absorbed and metabolized.
- Aspartame - Equal or
Nutrasweet.
Aspartame - structure
• Your body absorbs the phenylalanine and aspartic acid and adds them to
the pool of amino acids that are already in your body. That's not
dangerous, weird or unusual by any means.
• The methanol is absorbed and taken directly to the liver where it's
converted to formaldehyde. That formaldehyde is changed to formic acid
and eliminated in your urine.
• But it's the methanol that concerns people because formaldehyde is toxic
in large amounts. But, the amount you get from eating foods that contain
aspartame is pretty small. In fact, you'll wind up
with more formaldehyde from the digestion and absorption of 100percent fruit and vegetable juices than from the same amount of diet
soda.
• There are two conditions that are associated with aspartame. One
is phenylketonuria, or PKU. People with PKU can't metabolize
phenylalanine, so it builds up in the body and becomes toxic. This
disorder is diagnosed early in life -- it's not something you catch, nor is
it something you develop by consuming aspartame. Also, some people
find that consuming foods that contain aspartame can trigger their
migraine headaches.
Whats the worry?