3 ms·

It's the same molecules. Like everyone else has noted, 1 sucrose molecule = 1 glucose + 1 sucrose. The proportion of glucose to fructos is just slightly diffe

by 3am 13y ago

It's the same molecules. Like everyone else has noted, 1 sucrose molecule = 1 glucose + 1 sucrose. The proportion of glucose to fructos is just slightly different in HFCS vs table sugar (55/42 or 42/53, versus 50/50). To your correlation/causation point, why don't you think that this is the result of having massive, inexpensive, and domestic sources of a molecule that makes the human brain want to eat more? Rather than some minor distinction in the ratio of the monosaccharides its composed of? Sugar is basically a drug with immediate gratification with only longer-term side effects to the health. Unless there are laws, companies that put the most of it in their products will 1) make more money because it's cheap and 2) sell more product. I don't know what happened in Canada, but I would guess either those interested in profiting even at the expense of public health either out-competed more ethical competitors or were able to weaken public health laws. Who knows, maybe the US public was the first target, and they went to the north only after our pancreases/adipose tissues were completely saturated...

dragonwriter 13y ago
> It's the same molecules. No, its not. Sucrose is a molecule. Fructose is a different molecule. Glucose is another different molecule. > Like everyone else has noted, 1 sucrose molecule = 1 glucose + 1 sucrose. You mean 1 sucrose molecule is broken down at the first stage of its metabolism into 1 glucose and 1 fructose, rather than sucrose being an infinitely recursive combination of 1 glucose + 1 sucrose. > The proportion of glucose to fructos is just slightly different in HFCS vs table sugar (55/42 or 42/53, versus 50/50). Yes, the proportion of fructose to glucose in HFCS is higher than than the fixed 1:1 ratio that sucrose is broken down into (the exact amount varies, because HFCS isn't a fixed ratio). Since fructose and glucose have different effects (one notable difference is that there is at least some indication that fructose doesn't trigger the body's mechanisms for satiety while glucose does), this can be significant.
- 3am 13y ago
  Dear god, how pedantic would you prefer that I be? It's a pain to type out monosaccharide and disaccharide all the time. Also, chemists will typically not use the term, "infinitely recursive". Outside of that, your point is totally valid. The location in the body where the enzymes that break the glycosidic linkage means that the absorbtion curve is different. But I was not addressing that point. Just that the body doesn't break them down differently, after they sucrose molecule is split in the small intestines.

by 3am 13y ago

dragonwriter 13y ago

> It's the same molecules. No, its not. Sucrose is a molecule. Fructose is a different molecule. Glucose is another different molecule. > Like everyone else has noted, 1 sucrose molecule = 1 glucose + 1 sucrose. You mean 1 sucrose molecule is broken down at the first stage of its metabolism into 1 glucose and 1 fructose, rather than sucrose being an infinitely recursive combination of 1 glucose + 1 sucrose. > The proportion of glucose to fructos is just slightly different in HFCS vs table sugar (55/42 or 42/53, versus 50/50). Yes, the proportion of fructose to glucose in HFCS is higher than than the fixed 1:1 ratio that sucrose is broken down into (the exact amount varies, because HFCS isn't a fixed ratio). Since fructose and glucose have different effects (one notable difference is that there is at least some indication that fructose doesn't trigger the body's mechanisms for satiety while glucose does), this can be significant.

3am 13y ago
Dear god, how pedantic would you prefer that I be? It's a pain to type out monosaccharide and disaccharide all the time. Also, chemists will typically not use the term, "infinitely recursive". Outside of that, your point is totally valid. The location in the body where the enzymes that break the glycosidic linkage means that the absorbtion curve is different. But I was not addressing that point. Just that the body doesn't break them down differently, after they sucrose molecule is split in the small intestines.