TYPES OF SUGAR : HOW MANY TYPES OF SUGAR YOU EAT?
The term sugar covers dozens of products, some well known such as ordinary white sugar, obtained from sugar cane or sugar beet, also known as sucrose (itself consisting of glucose and fructose in equal parts ).
But there is also lactose, molasses, honey, and many more in industrial products. Find out what is behind the name of several sugars, with an indication of their biological effects. This information is taken from Dr. Robert Lustig's book: " Sugar, the bitter truth ".
how many types of sugar are there?
⢠Glucose : it is naturally present in the body, it is part of the composition of sucrose and starches (amylopectin, amylose: these are sugars in the form of long chains of glucose). The food industry also recovers it by enzymatic hydrolysis of starch. Taken in isolation, it greatly elevates blood sugar levels and can lead to insulin resistance.
⢠Sucrose : molecule composed of glucose and fructose, it is the sugar most used by the food industry, especially for making sweets, drinks, jams and pastries. It is the benchmark for comparing the sweetening power of different sugars. Its glycemic index is moderate due to the presence of fructose (which itself can be a problem, see below).
⢠Dextrose : this is a purified and crystallized glucose molecule, resulting from the complete hydrolysis of starch.
⢠Fructose : natural sugar that is found in abundance in fruits and honey, it has a lower glycemic index than sucrose but a higher sweetening power than it. Manufacturers also obtain it (with glucose in varying proportions) from sources such as corn, by enzymatic acidification and add it to sodas and other ultra-processed foods. Fructose is metabolized by the liver and can lead to " fatty liver ".
⢠Lactose : it is a sugar naturally present in milk and dairy products. But manufacturers can also recover this sugar by carrying out various manipulations of the whey. It is metabolized to galactose and glucose, but after the age of 3-5 years, the majority of humans can no longer perform this transformation properly (called lactose intolerance ).
⢠Galactose : resulting from the hydrolysis of lactose, a sugar present in dairy products, it can also be found in small quantities in certain plants such as legumes.
⢠Maltose : also called malt sugar, it is made up of several glucose molecules. It comes from the hydrolysis of starch in corn or barley.
⢠Maltodextrin : it is a soluble molecule composed of maltose and dextrin. It is used by manufacturers as an additive and is related to dextrose. It is mainly used to thicken dairy products.
⢠Dextrin : chemically it is a long chain of dextrose, resulting from the fermentation of sucrose by bacteria.
⢠Caramel : from cooking sugar, it is often used as a coloring or flavoring .
⢠Ethyl-maltol : it is a component of the food industry used as a flavor enhancer and synthetic aroma.
⢠Concentrated fruit juice : syrup obtained following the reduction of water in the juice, it is a product rich in fructose, glucose or sucrose depending on the fruit.
⢠Molasses : product generated by refining cane or beet sugar. Only molasses obtained from cane is suitable for human consumption. It is a thick and viscous syrup that can be used in cooking to replace simple sugar, it is mainly made up of sucrose.
⢠Honey : this natural sugar that we no longer present, is rich in fructose and often has a higher sweetening power than sucrose.
⢠Muscovado : it is a natural unrefined brown cane sugar, purified, filtered and then caramelized, composed of sucrose.
⢠Agave syrup : it is a sugar obtained from the extraction of the sap of the agave, the plant which is used to make tequila. It has a relatively neutral taste compared to that of honey. It is a natural sweetener with a higher sweetening power than white sugar, with a high fructose content.
⢠Maple syrup : sugar obtained from the sap of the sugar maple that has been boiled. It is rich in sucrose.
⢠Birch syrup : it is made from the sap of the birch but it is less sweet than its cousin maple syrup and has a particular taste similar to spicy caramel, it is composed of fructose and glucose.
⢠Glucose-fructose syrup : it is a glucose syrup which contains a proportion of fructose, it is a product mainly used by manufacturers.
⢠Corn syrup : obtained from corn starch, before processing it is mainly composed of glucose. It is used mainly in confectionery, but it can be found in drinks, canned fruits, ice cream ... the food industry uses a version of this syrup that is high in fructose, especially for soft drinks.
⢠Malt syrup: it is a syrup made from germinated, dried, roasted and then ground barley seeds which will then be fermented. This product is a kind of sweet molasses composed of maltose, intended for certain recipes, but it also allows the preparation of alcohols such as beer or whiskey.
⢠Rice syrup : obtained from the fermentation of brown rice and whole barley, composed of maltose. It is often used by manufacturers for energy bars intended for athletes.
⢠Sorghum syrup: it is a syrup obtained from the stems of common sorghum, a cereal of African origin. The rod will be pressed, then heated; then by evaporating the water, we will obtain a golden syrup. We mainly find starch.
⢠Raw sugar : it comes in the form of brown and dry crystals, it comes from the juice of unrefined and evaporated sugar cane.
⢠Cane sugar / brown sugar / brown sugar : it is a raw brown sugar made from unrefined sugar cane.
⢠Coconut sugar : it comes from the sap of the coconut blossom and looks like brown sugar, but with a lower glycemic index.
⢠Date sugar : resulting from the dehydration and crushing of dates , it resembles brown sugar, the nutritional benefits of this fruit in addition. It mainly contains fructose and glucose.
⢠Grape sugar : following the harvest, the remaining grape juice undergoes evaporation in order to obtain a liquid concentrate of grape sugars containing glucose.
⢠Demerara sugar: extracted from cane sugar which comes from Guyana, it is granulated, moist and coated with creamy molasses.
⢠Icing sugar: white sugar crystals ground into a very fine powder.
⢠Invert sugar : mixture of glucose syrup and fructose syrup at equal concentration which has a sweetening power slightly greater than fructose. It is widely used by the industry for biscuits thanks to its strong technological potential (binder, texture, color, taste).
⢠Golden syrup : invert sugar (glucose and fructose) obtained from molasses during the manufacture of cane sugar. It is used in cooking for its strong sweetening power and the fact that it does not dry out.â¤ď¸â¤ď¸
⢠Turbine / turbinado sugar: semi-refined cane sugar with more or less colored crystals.
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