What Is Sugar, Exactly?

Sugar comes in many different forms. Four of the most common are:
● Fructose
● Sucrose
● High fructose corn syrup (HFCS) ● Glucose

Fructose is a natural sugar found in fruits and veggies but consuming too much can still be bad for your health. It would be hard to over consume fructose from eating fruits and vegetables alone, but it is often used as an added sugar in processed foods. The only organ in your body that can break down fructose is the liver. It turns fructose into triglycerides (which can damage liver function), free radicals (which can damage cells), and uric acid (which may cause damage to your arteries).

[1] Sucrose is white table sugar. This is the stuff that many Americans sprinkle on cereal and what is added to baked goods, ice cream, and most processed foods. Sucrose is composed of a mixture of glucose and fructose. The glucose gets sent to your bloodstream, causing a spike in blood sugar, while the fructose is sent to your liver to be metabolized.

[2]High fructose corn syrup is made from cornstarch. Like sucrose, it’s about 50% fructose and 50% glucose. There’s debate whether it’s worse for you than sucrose, but there’s yet to be enough evidence to support any conclusion. Regardless, HFCS isn’t healthier than table sugar and certainly isn’t a good substitute.[3]
Glucose is your body’s primary source of energy. You don’t need to consume glucose; by eating the right foods, your body creates glucose for you. Having too much glucose in your system causes your blood sugar (otherwise known as blood glucose) to rise, possibly to unhealthy levels. Having too little in your blood can also be unhealthy.