Beverages and Chemistry

SUGAR Sucrose, glucose and fructose are important carbohydrates, commonly referred to as simple sugars. Sugar is found naturally in whole foods and is often added to processed foods to sweeten them and increase flavor. Your tongue can't quite distinguish between these sugars, but your body can tell the difference. They all provide the same amount of energy per gram, but are processed and used differently throughout the body.

Glucose – body’s natural “sugar” Glucose: The simple sugar that is the chief source of energy. Glucose is found in the blood and is the main sugar that the body manufactures. The body makes glucose from all three elements of food, proteins, fats, and carbohydrates, but the largest amount of glucose derives from carbohydrates. Glucose serves as the major source of energy for living cells. However, cells cannot use glucose without the help of insulin. Also known as dextrose.. Glucose – body’s natural “sugar”

Fructose is a sugar found naturally in many fruits and vegetables, and added to various beverages such as soda, ice teas and fruit-flavored drinks. However, it is very different from other sugars because it has a different metabolic pathway and is not the preferred energy source for muscles or the brain. Fructose is only metabolized in the liver and relies on fructokinase to initiate metabolism. It is also more lipogenic, or fat-producing, than glucose. Unlike glucose, too, it does not cause insulin to be released or stimulate production of leptin, a key hormone for regulating energy intake and expenditure. These factors raise concerns about chronically high intakes of dietary fructose, because it appears to behave more like fat in the body than like other carbohydrates. Fructose – corn syrup

Sucrose is commonly known as table sugar, and is obtained from sugar cane or sugar beets. Fruits and vegetables also naturally contain sucrose. When sucrose is consumed, the enzyme beta-fructosidase separates sucrose into its individual sugar units of glucose and fructose. Both sugars are then taken up by their specific transport mechanisms. The body responds to the glucose content of the meal in its usual manner; however, fructose uptake occurs at the same time. The body will use glucose as its main energy source and the excess energy from fructose, if not needed, will be poured into fat synthesis, which is stimulated by the insulin released in response to glucose. Sucrose – table sugar

Sucrose vs fructose vs Glucose C12H22O11 C6H12O6 C6H12O6

Glucose vs Fructose

Sucralose was discovered by scientists at Tate & Lyle in 1976 during taste-testing of a chlorinated sugar compound. One report is that researcher Shashikant Phadnis thought his coworker Leslie Hough asked him to taste the compound (not a usual procedure), so he did and found the compound to be extraordinarily sweet compared with sugar. The compound was patented and tested, first approved for use as a non-nutritive sweetener in Canada in 1991.  Sucralose - splenda

What Is the Difference Between the other sugars and Sucralose? http://chemistry.about.com/od/foodcookingchemistry/a/What-Is-The-Difference-Between-Sucrose-And-Sucralose.htm

How it’s made: coke a cola https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yNYJG3WFPak chemical structures of the two sweeteners are related, but not identical. Unlike other sugars, sucralose is not metabolized by the body. Sucralose contributes zero calories to the diet, compared with sugars, which contributes 16 calories per teaspoon (4.2 grams). Sucralose is about 600 times sweeter than sucrose. How it’s made: coke a cola https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yNYJG3WFPak

Sucrose – table sugar   C 12 H 22 O 11 Sucralose – splenda C 12 H 19 Cl 3 O 8

- Aspartame - Equal or Nutrasweet. Aspartame is an artificial sweetener usually sold under the brand names Equal or Nutrasweet. It's about 200 times sweeter than sugar, so very little is needed to sweeten foods. It may help to understand that your body doesn't absorb aspartame -- it's broken down into two amino acids -- phenylalanine and aspartic acid -- plus a tiny bit of methanol, in your digestive tract. Those smaller molecules are absorbed and metabolized. - Aspartame - Equal or Nutrasweet.

Aspartame - structure

Your body absorbs the phenylalanine and aspartic acid and adds them to the pool of amino acids that are already in your body. That's not dangerous, weird or unusual by any means. The methanol is absorbed and taken directly to the liver where it's converted to formaldehyde. That formaldehyde is changed to formic acid and eliminated in your urine. But it's the methanol that concerns people because formaldehyde is toxic in large amounts. But, the amount you get from eating foods that contain aspartame is pretty small. In fact, you'll wind up with more formaldehyde from the digestion and absorption of 100-percent fruit and vegetable juices than from the same amount of diet soda.  There are two conditions that are associated with aspartame. One is phenylketonuria, or PKU. People with PKU can't metabolize phenylalanine, so it builds up in the body and becomes toxic. This disorder is diagnosed early in life -- it's not something you catch, nor is it something you develop by consuming aspartame. Also, some people find that consuming foods that contain aspartame can trigger their migraine headaches. Whats the worry?