Sucrose is a disaccharide, that it has made up of two linked monosaccharides. Specifically, it is composed of one glucose and one fructose molecule, 50% fructose and 50% glucose.
Sucrose is commonly known as “table sugar” but it can be found naturally in fruits, vegetables, and nuts. However, it’s also produced commercially from sugar cane and sugar beets through a refinement process. Sucrose is also added to many processed foods, such as candy, ice cream, breakfast cereals, canned foods, soda, and other sweetened beverages. Regardless of its source, sucrose provides four calories per gram.
The enzyme sucrase, which is made by the lining of human small intestine, splits sucrose into glucose and fructose. The glucose and fructose are then absorbed into the bloodstream.
Glucose ultimately gets taken up by cells with the help of insulin, while fructose is handled in the liver and does not need insulin to be absorbed.
Too much glucose means the body may experience complications with blood sugar levels. The presence of glucose increases the amount of fructose that is absorbed and stimulates the release of insulin. Excessive absorption of fructose can promote the increased creation of fat stores in the liver.
Eating fructose and glucose together may harm human health more than eating them separately. Consuming sucrose and high fructose corn-sweetened beverages increases liver fat and decreases insulin sensitivity. Decreased insulin sensitivity is a risk factor for Type 2 diabetes.
Sucrose nutrition
