Understanding Sugars and Their Impact on Nutrition

Sugars play a crucial role in the American diet, with natural sugars from milk, fruits, vegetables, and grains constituting approximately half of our sugar intake. The other half comprises refined and added sugars, which are incorporated into various foods for different purposes.

In nutrition, sugars are classified into monosaccharides and disaccharides. Monosaccharides, with the chemical formula C6H12O6, and disaccharides, with the formula C12H22O11, are essential components of our diet.

Among monosaccharides, the 6-carbon sugars, known as hexoses, are particularly significant as energy sources for humans. Three key monosaccharides—glucose, fructose, and galactose—are vital for nutrition, each with distinct arrangements of atoms.

Glucose, a fundamental 6-carbon sugar, is primarily found in fruits like grapes. It serves as a crucial energy source for cells throughout the body, especially the brain and nervous system.

Fructose, also a 6-carbon sugar, is the sweetest natural sugar and is abundant in ripened fruits and honey. Additionally, it is a common ingredient in processed foods, including soft drinks and cereals, often in the form of high fructose corn syrup.

Lactose, a disaccharide found in milk, breaks down into glucose and galactose in the intestine, providing valuable energy sources for the body.

Maltose, another disaccharide derived from the malting of grains, is less commonly used as a sweetener compared to sucrose.

The consumption of added sugars has surged in recent decades, both in the United States and globally. Soft drinks and sugary fruit beverages are major contributors to this increase, leading to concerns about their impact on health.

In conclusion, understanding the different types of sugars and their sources is essential for maintaining a balanced diet. While natural sugars provide valuable nutrients, excessive consumption of added sugars can contribute to various health issues. Thus, it's crucial to make informed choices about sugar intake to promote overall well-being.
Understanding Sugars and Their Impact on Nutrition

What is heteropolysaccharides?

Heteropolysaccharides, also called heteroglycans are the polymers made from more than one kind of monosaccharides or monosaccharides derivatives. Although a few representatives contain three or more different monosaccharides, most naturally occurring heteroglycans contain only two different ones and are closely associated with lipid or protein.

Heteropolysaccharides are involved with viral and bacterial attachments to cells, the immune system, the migration of normal cells, the migration of cancerous cells, the fertilization of ova, and the changes in cells during tissue development. The most important heteropolysaccharides are as follows:
Neutral heteropolysaccharides
Neutral heteropolysaccharides contain monosaccharides and the acetylated amino-nitrogen in their molecules and are known as acetyl glucosamines. The most important acetyl glucosamine of animal cells is the chitin which is an important constituent of the cells of the crustaceans and some insects.

Acidic heteropolysaccharides
Contain different kinds of monosaccharides and sulphuric or other acids. The most important are hyluronic acid, chondroitin sulphate and heparin.
Their functions are:
*Heparin – anticoagulant
*Hyaluronic acid –water binding, lubricant, shock absorber
*Chondroitin-4-sulphate – calcium accumulation, cartilage and bone formation

Mucoproteins and glycoproteins
When the acetyl glucosamines, monosaccharides and protein unite together they form mucoproteins and glycoproteins. These include the blood group polysaccharides which specified the blood group and gamma globulin –which function as antibody
What is heteropolysaccharides?

What are monosaccharide sugars?

The term ‘monosaccharide’ refers to simple sugars containing up to ten carbon atoms per molecule. Monosaccharides are the simplest carbohydrates of one unit, so they cannot be further decomposed to a simpler sugar.

They are simply known as sugars. Same sugars occur in nature and others are synthetic.

Monosaccharides are single-sugar molecules that are made up of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen atoms in the ration 1:2:1.

A hydrolysis reaction separates disaccharides into monosaccharides. During hydrolysis, the addition of molecule water splits the bond between the two sugar molecules, providing the H and OH groups necessary for the sugars to exist as monosaccharaides.

Monosaccharides are the simplest form of carbohydrates. They are sweet, require no digestion, and can be absorbed directly into the bloodstream from the small intestine. They include glucose, fructose, and galactose. Although the structures of these sugars differ, they all have one thing in common: each contains six carbons atoms.

Glucose, also called dextrose, is the form of carbohydrate to which all other forms are converted for eventual metabolism. Glucose is one of the most abundant organic compounds on earth. Glucose exists in some fruits such as grapes, figs, and dates.

Fructose also called levulose or fruit sugar is found with glucose in many fruits and in honey. Industrially, it can be produced from sucrose or inulin.

Galactose is a product of the digestion of milk. It is one of two single sugars that are bound together to make up the sugar of milk.
What are monosaccharide sugars?

Carbohydrates: Sugars

Carbohydrates: Sugars
Sugars, important in nutrition, consist of monosaccharides, having the general formula C6H12O6, and disaccharides, having the general formula C12H22O11.

Although the monosaccharides consists of 3-carbon sugars (trioses), 4 carbon sugars (tetroses), 5-carbon sugars (pentoses), and 6-carbon sugars (hexoses), only the latter are important in human nutrition as sources of energy.

Glucose, a 6-carbon sugar, is one of the simplest carbohydrates found in foods. While many foods contain traces of glucose, it is found in significant amounts only in fruits, such as grapes. Fructose, also a 6-carbon sugar, is found in fruits and honey. Both of these sugars can be utilized by the body as a source of energy.

Sucrose (the ordinary table sugar derived from sugar and beets) is a 12-carbon sugar that is broken down in the intestine to glucose and fructose, hence utilized as a source of energy.

Lactose, the 12-carbon sugar present in milk, is broken down in the intestine to glucose and galactose (6-carbon sugars), both of which can be used as sources of energy.
Carbohydrates: Sugars