Ask Dr. Denton: Sugar: Dextrose - Lactose - Fructose, So what is behind the name?

Virginia Beach, Va (Catholic Online) - Like most individuals, I spend a lot of time trying to be a good food consumer. I look for the cleanest grocery store. I sniff, poke, and punch each of the products I select with great consideration. I especially spend an inordinate amount of time with my trusty magnifying glass trying to read each of the ingredients listed on the products packaged for my convenience.

But what if the ingredients listed on the label don't make sense? What if the ingredients sound like chemicals? Are they? Or are they just different ways of putting a spin on an ingredient that I would not ordinarily add to my selection of healthy nutritional food standards I have set for my family's consumption?

The 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans cautions the public to choose food and beverages with moderate amounts of sugars. This comes as no surprise since the average American consumes 165 pounds of sugar per year! So how are we doing this? Simply by the foods we eat and the "added sugars" we consume. (List 1-Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2005) The confusion lies in the misunderstanding of what is a sugar. A sugar is a carbohydrate. There are good carbohydrates and bad carbohydrates. Good carbohydrates are slow to be digested. (i.e. unprocessed fruits and vegetables) Bad carbohydrates are absorbed quickly into the body and are empty calories with no nutritional benefit. (i.e. refined white sugar)

So what is sugar? Sugar is a carbohydrate that can be found in many forms. For example, our bodies use the sugar - glucose, which comes from fruits and vegetables, as our energy fuel, like gasoline for a car. The good carbohydrates are converted to glucose in our body slowly. Other sugars, such as the "added sugars" found in our food labeling system are often processed or refined sugar. These are bad carbohydrates because we absorb them too quickly. Large volumes of refined sugars that are absorbed quickly lead to stored fat.

I have included a second list to show you some of the names for commonly hidden sugars that are added to the processed foods that we consume. As the American public becomes more and more conscience of our health, it is important that we as the consumers seek out the hidden sources of obesity. In the end it is the foods that we eat that will largely define the destiny of our health.

Here is a list of major food sources along with the percentage of added sugars:

Regular soft drinks - 33%
Sugars and candy - 16.1%
Cakes, cookies, pies - 12.9%
Fruit drinks (fruitades and fruit punch) - 9.7%
Dairy desserts and milk products (ice cream, sweetened yogurt, and sweetened milk) - 8.6%
Other grains (cinnamon toast and honey-nut waffles) - 5.8%

There are also "Added Sugars" that appear on food labels:
Brown Sugar - Sucrose with molasses
Corn Sweetener - Commercially derived from corn
Dextrose - Commercially derived from starch, also called "corn sugar"
Fructose - Fruit sugar
Fruit Juice Concentrates - Commercially derived from fruit
Glucose - Ripe fruit, honey, flower nectars, leaves, saps, and root tissues
High-fructose Corn Syrup - Commercially derived from corn starch
Honey Bees
Invert Sugar - Commercially derived from sucrose using an acid hydrolysis method
Lactose - Milk sugar
Maltose - Commercially derived through a fermentation process
Malt Syrup - Commercially derived from a hydrolysis of starch
Molasses - A raw byproduct of sucrose (refined white sugar) production
Raw Sugar - Represents 97% sucrose (white sugar) before it goes through the final refining process
Sucrose - Refined sugar made from sugar cane or sugar beet
Sugar - 99% Sucrose
Syrup - Commercially derived from starch, can be made up of sucrose, fructose, and high-fructose corn syrup

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Dr Denton D. Weiss, M.D. is board certified in both Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery and Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery. He is sought after for his cosmetic and reconstructive surgery. Dr. Weiss' approach to his medical practice flows from his convictions about the meaning of life which are deeply rooted in his Catholic Faith. He and his wife, Michelle strive for an integrated approach to life which recognizes the unity of the body, mind and soul. They call this "Bella Vitae"... or "Beautiful Living".

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