Not All Sugars are Equal

Artical from Sunday Telegraph - October 29 2006
Not all sugars are equal - Sweet Juctice - By Joanna Hall.

One area of nutrition which has come under the spotlight in recent years is glyconutrients. These are dietary nutrients composed of sugars, also known as saccharides or plant sugars. But they shouldn't be mistaken with the white stuff you spoon into your coffee each morning. These sugars come from raw, unprocessed plant foods, and are important for nutritional health. They are also regarded as a "missing link" in nutrition.

Although research into this field started to emerge in the 1960s, it wasn't until about a decade ago that the specific role of glyconutrients first became known.
In 1996, a study published in Harpers Biochemistry reported that the body needed eight specific sugars, and that only two of them were prominent in our diets.

Robert Sinnott, Chief Science Officer and Vice President of Research and Development of US-based glyconutritional science, explains.

"The sugars which we receive in abundance in our modern diets are glucose and galactose.
"Glucose is by far the most abundant of these two, since the most common sweeteners in foods - sugar and corn syrup - contain very high proportions of glucose.
"People who consume substantial quantities of milk products get rather large amounts of galactose, since lactose, also known as milk sugar, is composed of one glucose molecule and one galactose molecule bonded together."
The "missing" sugars come from a diverse array of plant and animal sources. "Particularly rich sources of these materials include fresh, uncooked fruits, vegetables and seeds, and also plant gums and certain types of algae."