What is Sugar? How do I recognize it on a label?
Sugar as on the ingredient legend:
Ingredients are
listed in order of amount, so if any of the sugar names below are in the first
three ingredients, you might as well call the product you are consuming
'candy' as it is sugar saturated. Many LOW CARB products are healthier,
as sugar is a carbohydrate, and low carb products remove sugars to meet the
FDA requirements for that claim. When shopping, reading the ingredient
legends are KEY to making healthy purchases for your family. All
carbohydrates are broken down into sugar in our bloodstream, so if you are
diabetic, the term 'sugar free' is meaningless, if the item you are eating is
high carb. Aggressive monitoring of all carbohydrate ingestion is
critical for diabetics, or those of you who may be pre-diabetic.
We list information on 'good' vs. 'bad' carbs in a separate section.
Sugar Names:
Dextrose
Invert sugar
Corn Syrup
Fructose
High Fructose Corn Syrup
Maltose
Glucose
Lactose
Sucrose
Brown Sugar (Dark or Light)
Molasses
Sugar Alcohols
Maltitol
Sorbitol
Xylitol
Mannitol
Erythritol
Isomalt
Lactitol
Inulin
Hydrolyzed starch hydrolysate aka Maltitol Syrup
Table sugar is sucrose. It is made from two simpler sugars called glucose and fructose. Glucose is sometimes called dextrose. Sucralose is not sugar, it is an artificial sweetener, the brand name of which is Splenda.
Glucose is a little less sweet than sucrose, and fructose is a sweeter than sucrose. When sucrose is heated in the presence of an acid (such as vinegar or lemon juice), it breaks down into glucose and fructose, and the resulting syrup is sweeter than sucrose. The syrup is called "invert sugar". Simple sugars can join to form long chains. Glucose units can chain up to form amylose, the starch in corn, or cellulose, the molecule that forms the structure of plants.
Amylose can be broken down into its simple glucose units using enzymes. The result is called "corn syrup". Processing it some more using enzymes that convert glucose into fructose, yields "high fructose corn syrup". The mixture of glucose and fructose is similar to that in sucrose and invert sugar, and it is sweeter than plain corn syrup.
There are many different types of simple sugars, and they can combine into many more types of complex sugars.
Sugar alcohol sweeteners are neither sugars, nor alcohols. They are
sometimes called POLYOLS, to avoid confusion. At the present time, they have
not been legally classified for product labeling purposes, as are sugars,
starch and fiber. Because they aren't actually SUGAR, products that
contain them may use the term "sugar free" on the label.
Some people will experience unpleasant side effects from eating sugar
alcohols, such as bloating, gas, diarrhea and stomach cramps. They
are processed in your body similar to a carbohydrate, so are not useful for
people on a 'low carb' diet or food program, unless you monitor serving
portions. If you are diabetic, you should know that ALL carbs break down
into sugar in your bloodstream.
Maltitol is the sugar alcohol commonly used in low
carb or “sugar-free” products such as candy and nutrition bars. It is used so
much because of its similarity to sugar in terms of taste, mouthfeel, and
interaction with other ingredients. Although claims are
often made that maltitol has little impact on blood sugar, this turns out not
to be the case. Maltitol is a carbohydrate. Although our bodies do not
absorb all the calories in maltitol, this substance does provide us with 2 to
3 calories per gram, compared to the 4 calories per gram of sugar. In
particular, maltitol syrup has a relatively high glycemic index of 52,
which approaches that of table sugar at 60. The powdered form has a glycemic
index of 36, which is still higher than most other sugar alcohols and all
artificial sweeteners.
The "laxative effect" when ingesting sugar alcohols happens for two reasons. First, because the sugar alcohols are not completely absorbed, they hold on to a lot of water in the bowel. This causes diarrhea. Another consequence is that when undigested carbs reach the colon, the normal bacteria present go wild --- resulting in unpleasant gas, and bloating. Sorbitol and mannitol are the worst offenders in this department, maltitol less so. The effect is dose-related -- pay attention to the serving size listed on the product label. This amount listed is what is considered "safe" (consumed without side effects) for the average adult -- make note of this before giving to a smaller child, as they require less to suffer side effects. Sugar alcohols are considered safe, outside of side effects, both for children and pregnant/nursing mothers.
Sugar alcohols are not acted upon by bacteria in the mouth, and therefore do NOT cause tooth decay. In fact, xylitol actually INHIBITS oral bacteria, and is often used in sugarless mints and chewing gum for this reason.