WHAT IS SUGAR

               

Sugar is an informal term for class of edible crystalline substances, mainly sucrose, lactose, and fructose. They have characteristically a sweet flavour. In food, sugar almost exclusively refers to sucrose, which primarily comes from sugar cane and sugar beet. Excessive consumption of sucrose has been associated with increased incidences of type 2 diabetes, obesity and tooth decay. Sugar consumption varies by country depending on the cultural traditions. Brazil has the highest per capita production and India has the highest per-country consumption.


The term sugar usually refers to sucrose, which is also called "table sugar" or "saccharose." Sucrose is a white crystalline disaccharide. Sucrose is the most popular of the various sugars for flavouring, as well as properties (such as mouth feel, preservation, and texture) of beverages and food. Manufacturing and preparing food may involve other sugars, such as fructose, generally obtained from corn (maize) or from fruit. A solution of sucrose in water converts to inverted sugar, a mixture of fructose and glucose (the two components of sucrose).[4] Honey and golden syrup as well as many confectionaries contain or are prepared from "invert."

Culinary/nutritional


Grainier, raw sugar. In culinary terms, the foodstuff known as "sugar" delivers a primary taste sensation of sweetness. Apart from the many forms of sugar and of sugar-containing foodstuffs, alternative non-sugar-based sweeteners exist, and these particularly attract interest from people who have problems with their blood sugar level (such as diabetics) and people who wish to limit their calorie-intake while still enjoying sweet foods. Both natural and synthetic substitutes exist with no significant carbohydrate (and thus low-calorie) content: for instance stevia (a herb), and saccharin (produced from naturally occurring but not necessarily naturally edible substances by inducing appropriate chemical reactions).

The World Health Organisation and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations expert report (WHO Technical Report Series 916 Diet, Nutrition and the Prevention of Chronic Diseases)[citation needed] defines free sugars as all monosaccharides and disaccharides added to foods by the manufacturer, cook or consumer, plus sugars naturally present in honey, syrups and fruit juices. This includes all the sugars referred to above. The term distinguishes these forms from all other culinary sugars added in their natural form with no refining at all.
Baking weight/mass volume relationship.

Different culinary sugars have different densities due to differences in particle size and inclusion of moisture. The Domino Sugar Company has established the following volume to weight conversions:
• Brown sugar 1 cup = 48 teaspoons ~ 195 g = 6.88 oz
• Granular sugar 1 cup = 48 teaspoons ~ 200 g = 7.06 oz
• Powdered sugar 1 cup = 48 teaspoons ~ 120 g = 4.23 oz
Bulk Density[5]
• Dextrose Sugar 0.62 g/ml
• Granulated Sugar 0.70 g/ml
• Powdered Sugar 0.56 g/ml
• Beet Sugar 0.80 g/ml


CHEMISTERY


Scientifically, sugar loosely refers to monosaccharide or disaccharides. Monosaccharides are also called "simple sugars," the most important being glucose. Almost all sugars have the formula CnH2nOn (n is between 3 and 7). Glucose has the molecular formula C6 H12O6. The names of typical sugars end with "-ose," as in "glucose", "dextrose", "fructose.". Sometimes such words may also refer to any types of carbohydrates soluble in water. The mono- and disaccharides contain either aldehyde groups (-CHO) or ketone groups (C=O). These carbon-oxygen double bonds are the reactive centres. All saccharides with more than one ring in their structure result from two or more monosaccharides joined by glycosidic bonds with the resultant loss of a molecule of water (H2O) per bond.
Monosaccharides in a closed-chain form can form glycosidic bonds with other monosaccharides, creating disaccharides (such as sucrose) and polysaccharides (such as starch). Enzymes must hydrolyse or otherwise break these glycosidic bonds before such compounds become metabolised. After digestion and absorption. The principal monosaccharides present in the blood and internal tissues include glucose, fructose, and galactose. Many pentoses and hexoses can form ring structures. In these closed-chain forms, the aldehyde or ketone group remains un-free, so many of the reactions typical of these groups cannot occur. Glucose in solution exists mostly in the ring form at equilibrium, with less than 0.1% of the molecules in the open-chain form.


Natural polymers of sugars

Biopolymers of sugars are common in nature. Through photosynthesis plants produce glucose, which has the formula C6H12O6, and convert it for storage as an energy reserve in the form of other carbohydrates such as starch, or (as in cane and beet) as sucrose (table sugar). Sucrose has the chemical formula C12H22O11. Starch, consisting of a two different polymers of glucose, is a readily degradable chemical energy stored by cells, convert to other types of energy. Cellulose is a polymer of glucose used by plants as structural component. DNA and RNA are built up of the sugars ribose and deoxyribose.


Sucrose is the organic compound commonly known as table sugar. This white, odorless, crystalline powder has a pleasing, sweet taste. It is best known for its role in human nutrition. The molecule is a disaccharide derived from glucose and fructose with the molecular formula C12H22O11. About 150,000,000 tons are produced annually.


Fructose (also levulose) is a simple monosaccharide found in many foods. It is a white solid that dissolves readily in water. Honey, tree fruits, berries, melons, and some root vegetables contain significant amounts of the fructose derivative sucrose (table sugar). Sucrose is a disaccharide derived from the condensation of glucose and fructose. About 250M kg of crystalline fructose are produced annually.
Crystalline fructose and high-fructose corn syrup are often confused as the same product. Crystalline fructose, which is often produced from a fructose-enriched corn syrup, is indeed the monosaccharide. High-fructose corn syrup, however, is usually a mixture of nearly equal amounts of fructose and glucose.


Saccharin is an artificial sweetener. The basic substance, benzoic sulfimide, has effectively no food energy and is much sweeter than sucrose, but has an unpleasant bitter or metallic aftertaste, especially at high concentrations. In countries where saccharin is allowed as a food additive, it is used to sweeten products such as drinks, candies, medicines, and toothpaste.

DISADVANTAGE:


In summary here are ways that refined sugar can affect your health:
a) Sugar can suppress the immune system.
b) Sugar can upset the body's mineral balance.
c) Sugar can contribute to hyperactivity, anxiety, depression, concentration difficulties, and crankiness in children.
d) Sugar can produce a significant rise in triglycerides.
e) Sugar can cause drowsiness and decreased activity in children.
f) Sugar can reduce helpful high density cholesterol (HDLs).
g) Sugar can promote an elevation of harmful cholesterol (LDLs).
h) Sugar can cause hypoglycemia.
i) Sugar contributes to a weakened defense against bacterial infection.
j) Sugar can cause kidney damage.
k) Sugar can increase the risk of coronary heart disease.
l) Sugar may lead to chromium deficiency.
m) Sugar can cause copper deficiency.
n) Sugar interferes with absorption of calcium and magnesium.
o) Sugar can increase fasting levels of blood glucose.
p) Sugar can promote tooth decay.
q) Sugar can produce an acidic stomach.
r) Sugar can raise adrenaline levels in children.
s) Sugar can lead to periodontal disease.
t) Sugar can speed the aging process, causing wrinkles and grey hair.
u) Sugar can increase total cholesterol.
v) Sugar can contribute to weight gain and obesity.
w) High intake of sugar increases the risk of Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis.
x) Sugar can contribute to diabetes.
y) Sugar can contribute to osteoporosis.
z) Sugar can cause a decrease in insulin sensitivity.

1) Sugar leads to decreased glucose tolerance.
2) Sugar can cause cardiovascular disease.
3) Sugar can increase systolic blood pressure.
4) Sugar causes food allergies.
5) Sugar can cause free radical formation in the bloodstream.
6) Sugar can cause toxemia during pregnancy.
7) Sugar can contribute to eczema in children.
8) Sugar can overstress the pancreas, causing damage.
9) Sugar can cause atherosclerosis.
10) Sugar can compromise the lining of the capillaries.
11) Sugar can cause liver cells to divide, increasing the size of the liver.
12) Sugar can increase the amount of fat in the liver.
13) Sugar can increase kidney size and produce pathological changes in the kidney.
14) Sugar can cause depression.
15) Sugar can increase the body's fluid retention.
16) Sugar can cause hormonal imbalance.
17) Sugar can cause hypertension.
18) Sugar can cause headaches, including migraines.
19) Sugar can cause an increase in delat, alpha and theta brain waves, which can alter the mind's ability to think clearly.
20) Sugar can increase blood platelet adhesiveness which increases risk of blood clots and strokes.
21) Sugar can increase insulin responses in those consuming high-sugar diets compared to low sugar diets.
22) Sugar increases bacterial fermentation in the colon.


    
        Brown Sugar              White sugar    


OTHER POINTS ABOUT THE SUGAR

1) One thing is bad for us is the white processed sugar. There is no nutrient in sugar.
2) This is my opinion that white processed sugar is very bad for everything such as mental, physical, and emotional health.
3) Artificial sweeteners are refined and it is poisonous material for our body, in fact it make you to put on more weight.
4) We need sugar, it is a energy and we can get it from brown sugar which is unprocessed and it is coming from sugar cane or sugar beets.
5) We also would have sugar from fruits, vegetables we eat.
6) There sugar in all kind of processed foods, such as beans, breads, sups, …which is very bad.
7) Sugar we get from the fruits and vegetables are nutrients because it has water, minerals, vitamins, protein, and other natural, it has all the nutrient which will not through you up and down, which sugar has nothing in it and through you up and down.
8) We need sugar and anything we eat it will be converted into sugar, but refined and artificial sweeteners are not good,
9) Honey is also sugar but it is coming from the bees and it is naturally processed and it is good for you.
10) If you want to be physically, mentally, emotionally feel good get rid of processed, refined white sugar;
11) If you want to be balanced and not be moody, feel tired, anxious, depressed and unhappy get rid of artificial sugar;
12) If you want to be a healthy first thing you should do to get rid of artificial sugar;
13) Sugar is drug like heroin; it is bad for you;
14) Baby foods are full of sugar when they grow up they become addicted to sugar therefore they suffer a lot because they are addicted to refined artificial sugar.
15) Because we are used to refined artificial sugar since we were a child it is not easy to get rid of it. When you try to come off the sugar then you will know how difficult it will be because you get used to it.
16) When you are having sugar your blood sugar goes up and your body suffers a lot to bring the blood sugar done, so the whole body system suffers
17) These refined and artificial sugars are toxin to your body and your body suffers a lot to get rid of the toxin