Tag: Fructose

In recent years, the World Health Organization has strongly recommended limiting the intake of "free sugars" to less than 10% of total energy consumption due to links with obesity and chronic diseases. Understanding how sugar is classified—from its basic chemistry to its role in diet—is key to managing intake and improving overall health.

While celebrated for their immunity-boosting properties, consuming too many oranges can, in fact, cause loose stools. This is a common side effect of overindulgence, often linked to the fruit's nutritional composition and your body's specific digestive responses.

While agave nectar is derived from a plant traditionally used for its anti-inflammatory properties, experts note that the highly processed syrup sold commercially is not the same as the raw plant extracts. This processing significantly alters its chemical composition, leading to a high fructose content that can actually promote inflammation in the body.

Scientifically known as sucrose, pure cane sugar is not a single simple sugar like fructose or glucose, but a disaccharide composed of both. It is a double sugar molecule, meaning it is made up of one molecule of glucose bonded to one molecule of fructose. Your body breaks this bond down during digestion to utilize both components.

Pineapple fruit naturally contains sucrose, glucose, and fructose in varying amounts. So, does Dole pineapple juice have fructose? Yes, it contains naturally occurring fructose derived directly from the pineapple, but it is important to distinguish this from added sweeteners.

Approximately 25% of sugar produced in the US is filtered using bone char, demonstrating the prevalence of this sucrose source in our diet. The enzyme sucrase plays a critical role in digesting this and other foods containing sucrose by breaking it into simpler sugars, making them absorbable by the body.

The sweet truth is that all sugars, including raw sugar, are broken down into simpler sugar units like fructose during digestion. So, does raw sugar contain fructose? The answer lies within its core chemical structure as a less-refined form of sucrose.

Sucrose, the scientific term for table sugar, is a disaccharide molecule made from one unit of glucose and one unit of fructose. It is one of the most common sugars found in the human diet, serving as a primary sweetener in countless foods and beverages. This versatile molecule is synthesized naturally by plants like sugar cane and sugar beets, which are the main sources for its commercial production.

The main sugar in pure maple syrup is sucrose, just like in table sugar, with some sources claiming it can be up to 99% of the total sugars present. This fact often leads to the question, is pure maple syrup sucrose simply in a liquid form, or is there more to its composition and nutritional profile?

Agave nectar can contain up to 90% fructose, significantly more than honey. This high fructose content challenges the common assumption that is agave nectar healthier than honey, prompting a closer look at their respective health impacts.