I. Science Fair Question
How does an enzyme convert sucrose into glucose and how do we digest glucose from different foods?
II. Background Research Have you ever wondered how much hidden sugar is in your food? Do you think you’re eating healthy? This paper is important because it can help people really see how much hidden sugar is in their food. Sometimes people thing that they are eating healthy when the food they are eating has a lot of sugar in it. If they keep eating that food, they could probably get diabetes or other life-threatening diseases. This paper is going to discuss the science of how much hidden sugar is in your food. Sugar is any of a class of crystalline carbohydrates such as sucrose, glucose, or lactose that dissolves
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Fructose is similar to glucose, is sweeter than table sugar, and is an important source of energy for cellular processes (The American Heritage Student Science Dictionary 139). The most basic types of carbohydrates are glucose and fructose (Sucrose And Glucose And Fructose, Oh My! Uncovering Hidden Sugar In Your Food). Fructose provides us energy along with any other sugars. Fructose is found in many fruits. Honey is consisted of 40 percent fructose and 30 percent glucose. High fructose corn syrup is a popular origin of fructose. This is made from corn and is used as a sweetener. Because it is toned down with enzymes, 40 to 60 percent of glucose is turned into fructose. Soda pop and ice cream have high fructose corn syrup in them because it is an inexpensive substitution for sucrose. Fructose is found in a lot of fruits and berries. Honey is sweet because of the amount of fructose it has in it. It is about 40 percent fructose. One of the components of sucrose is fructose. High fructose corn syrup (HFCS) has restored much of the sucrose used in ice cream, soft drinks, and cakes. Sucrose is not as sweet as fructose. Therefore, to get the same sweetness, someone could eat less sugar. Unfortunately, fructose causes a rapid spike in blood glucose and it doesn’t give the body a lot of energy to be stored in the tissues. When fructose is warmed, it loses its sweetness and probably not help with calories. Therefore, it is unhealthy ( Setting The Scene: What Is So Special About Calcium?).As a monosaccharide, fructose has the chemical formula, C6H12O6. Glucose and fructose have the formula commonly but they are a bit different from each other. Both glucose and fructose are usually discovered in nature
High-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) is an artificial sweetener commonly used in the United States. As its name implies, this sweetener is derived from agricultural corn. All high fructose corn syrups are corn syrups whose fructose content has been increased via enzymatic processes and then mixed with pure corn syrup. There are several different formulations of high-fructose corn syrup. The product sold in the United States (HFCS #2) has the following composition: moisture, 29%; dry substance, 71% D.S.; dextrose, 50% D.S.; ash, 0.03 D.S.; and nitrogen, 0.002% D.S. The amounts of dextrose, fructose, and other saccharides may vary slightly in HFCS #3, but the analysis is fairly consistent. HFCS #1 hasn’t been commercially sold specifically for consumer consumption in the U.S. for many years. Instead, it is used by food producers in their products.
The metabolism of fructose in the liver is complex, but there are two important results. Fructose is more readily turned into fat. Fructose metabolism signals the liver to increase fat storage. A calorie is not a calorie. Table sugar (sucrose) is a two unit sugar, one glucose and one fructose melded together. Therefore a high level of added sugar in the diet is also a high level of fructose.
High Fructose Corn Syrup is found in a lot of the foods and drinks we consume. It is something that is consumed on a regular basis by not only Americans but by plenty of others across the world and sometimes we might not even note the difference between it and “real” sugar. HFCS comes from a type of corn known as “Dent” corn, dent corn is transformed into cornstarch by being cleaned, soaked, ground, milled, and dried corn starch is then converted into a liquid state in a process known as hydrolysis (Sloan, 2013). Once in a liquid state, HFCS is then used to not only add a sweet flavor to drinks and food but it also can be used as a form of coloring to the consumables. What you would label as “regular” sugar is essentially the same the same thing as HFCS when you break them down chemically, the only difference between the two is that their chemical components are placed in different order (Beil, 2013).
Glucose is liberated from dietary carbohydrate such as starch or sucrose by hydrolysis within the
High fructose corn syrup was first created in the 1970s by the Japanese as a form of sweetener. Combining 45% glucose and 55% fructose it was the sweetest substance yet and its cheap production, longer shelf-life, and versatility helped it over the next three decades emerge as the dominant sweetener on the market. However, despite its success, it has most recently been noted that effects of the substance are extremely detrimental to consumers, and its increased use directly correlates to the rise in obesity and diabetes among Americans.
Abstract: High fructose corn syrup (HFCS), like many other unhealthy constituents that are used in foods, is cheap and retains the taste of the natural products it emulates, possibly even surpassing them in many areas. However, experiments have shown that fructose is not an ideal sugar for human consumption, not to mention the fact that the use of GM ingredients can be dangerous. In order to prevent the continued consumption of this noxious sugar, food producers should use healthy alternative sweeteners to prevent the further dependence on HFCS in our foods and drinks.
Many researchers at various Universities say that high fructose corn syrup is the same as sugar and there is no evidence to suggest that it is linked to an increase in obesity. In “Fat Land” by Greg Critser, he talks about America’s obesity problem, which included high fructose corn syrup as a topic of discussion. Critser states that when Coca-Cola switched from sugar
In order to understand the dangers of sugary drinks and foods, an explanation of their contents is necessary. These drinks and foods are composed of high carbohydrate-content, which is responsible for energy pr...
Sugar is one of the most consumed commodities in the world today, and the profits of it are significant. According to Larry Schwartz (2014) “Americans consume 130 pounds of sugar every year” (Schwartz, 2014). We must be acknowledged about how it all started, to appreciate how people lived and how they struggled to provide such a commodity. Sugar was a profitable commodity in the fifteenth and sixteenth century. The cultivation of sugarcane expanded to the United States of America, which brought enslaves from Africa to work on the plantation of sugar during the 17th century. Sugar was known as the white gold for its income, which helped the U.S. to achieve independence from Great Britain. Although sugar has the worst history, it is widely used for nutritional, medical and industrial productions, and sugar manufacturing led to an industrial development and economic growth.
The average American eats 156 pounds of added sugar each year. Sugar is delicious and once we have it, our body constantly wants more. Added sugar has become an American epidemic. “Eighty percent, or 480,000 of the 600,000 food products sold within the U.S. have added sugar, which, according to researchers and medical doctors, is why we have the world 's highest obesity rate is at 31 percent,” (Fed Up). The addictive quality of added sugar makes our brains want more of it constantly; however, our bodies are being negatively affected by its consumption in many ways.
Glucose is a sugar that plays a big part in a human’s health and well-being. This sugar is a major source of energy for the body’s brain and cells. The Cells that receive energy from glucose help in the building of the body’s muscle and tissue. Although glucose may be important to the body too much of this sugar can cause a chronic condition called Diabetes. Diabetes, also known as Diabetes mellitus, is a chronic condition that is caused by too much sugar in the blood. This condition can affect all age groups. In fact, in 2010 a survey was taken by the National Diabetes Information Clearinghouse, on the number of newly diagnosed diabetes. Out of 1,907,000 people: 24.38% were ages 20-44, 55.17% were ages 45-64, and 20.45% were ages 65 and greater. Diabetes is a very serious condition, and it can be deadly if left untreated. This paper will help better educate the reader on the signs and symptoms, the testing process, and the management of diabetes.
Sugar is considered a toxic poison. Sugar leaches the calcium out of the skeletal frame of a human’s body. Sugar literally sucks the calcium straight from our bones; therefore it is known to many as a “skeletal poisonous powder.” There are thousands of individuals struggling throughout the United States with sugar addiction. Sugar is a leading cause of a number of health-related issues. Sugar causes health issues such as, fibromyalgia, diabetes, obesity, and osteoporosis. Like me, many individuals have no clue that they are addicted to sugar. Up until this single subject design, I thought my eating habits were quite normal. I honestly did not realize how much sugar I was taking in everyday. This single subject design has truly encouraged me to live a healthier lifestyle. The purpose of this study is to indirectly determine my sugar intake, by counting calories daily and reducing my caloric intake.
There are three main types of simple sugars to look out for; Glucose, which is produced when, starches and carbs are broken down by the digestive system, this is one of the body’s preferred sources of energy. Next is Fructose, it’s common in fruit and also packaged treats you can find in a store. When too much is consumed it can in a sense flood your bloodstream and enter your liver which processes excess sugar into fat! This is of course leads to weight gain, especially around the abdomen, where your liver is located. Last is Sucrose, most-commonly known as your table sugar that most people add to their cereals or coffee. With that these three types of sugars are the most-commonly consumed ones throughout the states. Another way to recognize there are to think, anything that ends with ‘ose’ is considered sugar. An easy way to remember it by is to think ‘ose’ is gross!
We are all familiar with sugar. It is sweet, delicious, and addictive; yet only a few of us know that it is deadly. When it comes to sugar, it seems like most people are in the mind frame knowing that it could be bad for our health, but only a few are really taking the moderate amounts. In fact, as a whole population, each and everyone of us are still eating about 500 extra calories per day from sugar. Yes, that seems like an exaggerated number judging from the tiny sweet crystals we sprinkle on our coffee, but it is not. Sugar is not only present in the form of sweets and flavourings, it is hidden in all the processed foods we eat. We have heard about the dangers of eating too much fat or salt, but we know very little about the harmful effects of consuming too much sugar. There still isn’t any warnings about sugar on our food labels, nor has there been any broadcasts on the serious damages it could do to our health. It has come to my concern during my research that few
Desserts are all around the corners. Who does not love eating sweets? Anyone can get in touch with delicious fatting foods so quick. These fluffy cakes makes us feel unharmed all the time. The sugariness blinds the eyes of the people, because no one is aware that these sugary foods are our worst enemies. It affects our children, our weight development, and cause health issue to ourselves.