Simple explanation for total carb to sugar conversion

science
(Robin) #1

Is there a simple way to explain through a conversion how carbohydrates turn into sugar once consumed. I’m trying to explain to my husband the evils of boxed cereals foru kids and he keeps pointing out that there are less sugars than carbs in a box of Cheerios. I want to be able to say carbs = x tsp of sugar.
Is there a source to back up this?
Thank you.

(Lazy, Dirty Keto 😝) #2

https://www.bd.com/resource.aspx?IDX=9850

Mainly this page of the slideshow:

It is the amount of carb you eat that is important, not the type of carb.
A serving of ice cream does not raise blood sugar higher than one equal carb serving of potatoes,
rice, or pasta. This is true whether you have type 1 or type 2 diabetes.
For example: These three foods will all raise your blood sugar by the same amount: • 1 cup of vanilla ice cream that has 30 grams of carbs
• A 2 oz. roll that has 30 grams of carbs
• 2/3 cup of spaghetti that has 30 grams of carbs

(Duncan Kerridge) #3

Here’s a page from a sugar research group - so he can’t suspect keto-bias…

https://www.srasanz.org/sras/basics-sugar/digestion-absorption-and-transport-carbohydrates/

All carbs are made from sugars. Either simple sugars - monosaccharides such as glucose or fructose. Or chains of simple sugars bonded together - polysaccharides. Things like starches and fibre. The body breaks the bonds in starches apart back into simple sugars to use.

(You've tried everything else; why not try bacon?) #4

A carbohydrate is a string of glucose molecules joined together. The body very easily separates these strings into individual glucose molecules. A high level of glucose in the blood is dangerous—if not dealt with, it can cause coma or death—so insulin is mobilized to deal with it. The beta cells in the pancreas secrete a quantity of insulin sufficient to force the glucose out of the bloodstream and into muscle cells to be metabolized, and into fat cells to be stored as fat. As we get more and more insulin-resistant, the required amount of insulin rises, with all the attendant damage caused by high insulin levels.

Table sugar (sucrose) is different from other carbohydrates, being composed of a glucose molecule and a fructose molecule linked together. The glucose in table sugar is handled the way all other glucose is, but the fructose can be metabolized only in the liver—and by the same metabolic pathway the liver uses to deal with ethyl alcohol. The liver can handle only a certain quantity of fructose—or ethanol—at a time, and if it is overloaded (say by drinking a couple of sodas, or a couple of Scotches), there are consequences: the accumulation of fat in the liver, damage to liver cells and their mitochondria, and so forth. Fatty liver disease is the first visible symptom of a liver overloaded by fructose or ethanol, and the progression, if not halted, leads to steatohepatitis (Greek for an even fattier liver), cirrhosis, and eventually death.

Doctors used to believe that anyone with fatty liver disease was, ipso facto, an alcoholic, until children started coming down with the disease from drinking too much soda and fruit juice. For a while, it was called non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) in children, but it is the same medical problem as alcoholic fatty liver disease, being caused by an overload of exactly the same mechanism in the liver.

(Full Metal KETO AF) #5

Thanks for the very relevant explanation. :call_me_hand::call_me_hand:

(Robin) #6

Thank you all for these explanations. This is a great start to help me support the information to my husband. I am not good at articulating this information and get tongue tied when pressed for proof :blush:

(Running from stupidity) #7

I have no likes left, but good explanations. Nice work.

(You've tried everything else; why not try bacon?) #8

That goes without saying! :grin:

(Scott) #9

I liked this until you started bashing scotch.:tired_face:

(You've tried everything else; why not try bacon?) #10

I wasn’t bashing Scotch. I love Scotch. Altogether too well, in fact, but that’s another story. :grin:

(Todd Allen) #11

Some carbohydrates such as starch are composed of glucose. But carbohydrate is a broader category including other sugars and related compounds such as sugar alcohols.