The sugar habitual to a person, which he eats every day, can be very diverse. Sugar is obtained from various plants and is found in one form or another in many foods. There are many types of sugars that are absorbed by the body in different ways and contain different amounts of nutrients.
Sugar is a high-nutrient carbohydrate and is considered a very important food.
Sugar from plants
Beet sugar is the most popular sugar in Russia. It is obtained from a special variety of beets. It is used as table sugar only after refining and is white. In unrefined form, it has a dark color, an unpleasant odor and a specific aftertaste.
Cane sugar - was discovered by the inhabitants of New Guinea as early as 8 thousand years BC, was known in ancient China, India, Egypt. Unlike beetroot, unpeeled it has a brown color and a pleasant caramel taste. After cleaning, it is white. Sugar juice is found in cane stalks, from which sugar is obtained. Cane sugar contains a lot of mineral salts. The cane itself is used in herbal medicine and medicine.
Corn syrup is a sugar derived from corn. Less useful than other types of sugar. Like all syrups, it is a concentrate. A spoonful of corn syrup contains twice as many calories as a spoonful of regular sugar. Due to its low cost, it is a fairly popular sweetener for drinks and juices.
Sugar found in food
Fructose is a sugar found in honey and fruits. It is absorbed by the body very slowly, it does not immediately enter the circulatory system. It is widely used and is one of the main types of sugar. Because of the name, there is a misconception that fructose, like fruit, contains many nutrients. In fact, when used alone, fructose is no different from other sugars.
Lactose is a type of sugar found in milk and dairy products. For the assimilation of lactose, the body needs a special enzyme - lactase, it helps the breakdown of sugars so that they are absorbed into the intestinal walls. Some people's bodies produce little or no lactase. Milk sugar is poorly absorbed by such people.
The chemical composition of sugars
Glucose is the simplest type of sugar. It is he who is absorbed by the circulatory system. The human body converts carbohydrates and all sugars into glucose. This is the only form of sugar that cells accept and use for energy.
Sucrose - this is what hard table sugar is called. In terms of chemical composition, this is one fructose molecule and one glucose molecule. It can be granular, lumpy or powdery. It is the end product of sugar beet or cane processing.
Maltose - found in cereals, mostly in barley. Its composition is two glucose molecules.
Molasses - sugar that remains as a by-product in the production of table sugar. It is a thick syrup. Contains a lot of useful substances. The darker the molasses, the greater its nutritional value and the more nutrients it contains.
Brown sugar - table sugar, which is added with molasses, as a result of which it takes on a brown color.
