Quote:
Originally Posted by realmuscle
Structure
Simple carbohydrates are classified as either monosaccharides or disaccharides. Monosaccharides are the simplest, most basic units of carbohydrates and are made up of only one sugar unit. Glucose and fructose are monosaccharides and are the building blocks of sucrose, a disaccharide. Thus, disaccharides are just a pair of linked sugar molecules. They are formed when two monosaccharides are joined together and a molecule of water is removed -- a dehydration reaction.
Glucose
The most important monosaccharide is glucose, the body’s preferred energy source. Glucose is also called blood sugar, as it circulates in the blood, and relies on the enzymes glucokinase or hexokinase to initiate metabolism. Your body processes most carbohydrates you eat into glucose, either to be used immediately for energy or to be stored in muscle cells or the liver as glycogen for later use. Unlike fructose, insulin is secreted primarily in response to elevated blood concentrations of glucose, and insulin facilitates the entry of glucose into cells.
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That's fascinating. I use an app like Myfitness Pal to track macro intake, and I've always wondered why they didn't separate the type of sugars. I knew fruit sugar was different than say Soda, but now you explained why. It really should be separated. I don't drink soda, but it would be nice to have two categories of suger.
It's clear why dextrose makes me feel refreshed after a tough workout. This is exactly why I love this site, because people have a lot of great information. I don't have time to wade through the scientific papers, you just laid a path in, what, less than two or three paragraphs. Thank you for that. I truly appreciate it.