Glucose, also known as C6H12O6, D-glucose, dextrose, or grape sugar, is a simple form of natural sugar and a carbohydrate. This type of sugar comes from digesting carbohydrates into a chemical that we can easily convert to energy. Glucose is the primary fuel used by most cells in the body to generate the energy that is needed to carry out cellular functions. Glucose tastes only about three-fourths as sweet as table sugar (sucrose).
The body makes glucose mostly from carbohydrates, but also from proteins and fats. This carbohydrate occurs in the sap of most plants and in the juice of grapes and other fruits. Glucose is carried to each cell through the bloodstream. Cells, however, cannot use glucose without the help of insulin. When glucose levels in the bloodstream aren't properly regulated, one can develop a serious condition, such as diabetes.
Foods like rice, pasta, grain, potatoes, fruits, a few vegetables, processed sweets, milk, cane sugars, maltose, cellulose, or glycogen qualify as carbohydrates. Our digestive system, using bile and enzymes, breaks down the starch and sugar in these foods into glucose. This functional form of energy then gets absorbed through the small intestine into the bloodstream. There, a chemical known as insulin, excreted by the pancreas, meets the glucose. Together, they can enter cells in muscles and the brain, allowing glucose to power activities like lifting a book or remembering a phone number.
Glucose may be consumed or given IV to increase the level of blood glucose when the level falls too low (hypoglycemia). In hypoglycemia, cells cannot function normally, and symptoms develop such as nervousness, cool skin, headache, confusion, convulsions or coma. Ingested glucose is absorbed directly into the blood from the intestine and results in a rapid increase in the blood glucose. IV glucose acts even more rapidly to relieve hypoglycemia.
Since glucose is such a vital form of energy, and interacts with both the digestive and endocrine system, keeping glucose within a normal range is extremely important to health. Our body has adapted to maintain this ideal level by storing extra glucose in the liver as glycogen, so it can be reabsorbed when our levels drop. We can also speed or slow the release of insulin. However, at any step in the process, problems can arise in keeping the right amount of glucose circulating in the blood.
Excessively high glucose levels, called hyperglycemia, might be due to too much sugar or too little insulin. The opposite, extremely low glucose levels, can result from too little food or variable insulin excretion. A common disease related to irregular management of glucose is diabetes. Sometimes, diabetes can be controlled by strict dietary requirements, or a diabetic might need insulin injections. Your doctor can measure your glucose levels with a simple blood test to determine if you are within a healthy range.
Are Sugar and Glucose the Same Thing?
Glucose is a TYPE of sugar. Glucose is the simplest sugar available. Glucose is the type of sugar used in your body for fuel. SOME glucose is necessary for you to continue living! Without glucose, your cells would starve and you would die.
The objective of the digestive process is to turn everything you eat into glucose, vitamins and minerals, water (H2O), and carbon dioxide (CO2).
But too much glucose causes all kinds of medical problems. When you have too much glucose in your blood, this is called Diabetes.
The "-OSE" suffice usually indicates a sugar in chemical terms. There are other sugars that occur in nature:
Lactose -- milk sugar
Fructose -- fruit sugar
Maltose -- a plant sugar usually found in fermenting grain
Dextrose -- another name for glucose.
But the most famous "-ose" is SUCROSE -- plain old table sugar.
Uses of Glucose
Glucose is used in the manufacture of candy, chewing gum, jams, jellies, table syrups, and other foods, and for many other purposes. Glucose is also used in soft drinks, especially diet sodas, in order to improve flavor and mouth feel and to control the level of sweetness of the drink. Liquid glucose's low freezing point makes it ideal for use in ice cream, making the ice cream smoother and the mix more stable.
In the chemistry industry, glucose in its raw form is used as a base to create gluconic, citric and kojic acids, which are then used in a variety of applications. In the medicine-making process, liquid glucose is useful as a sweetener for syrups and tonics. It is also used to coat tablets for ease of swallowing and as a granulating agent. Glucose can also be used as a medication for diabetic patients with a very low blood sugar level. Ingested orally or through injection, liquid glucose can raise blood sugar immediately.
Glucose Benefits
Sugar is sucrose that becomes glucose. Glucose is easily regulated by our body if we eat it regularly. If our levels are low and we get some glucose, the body does rush to consume it. But this is because glucose is so essential for us to live. Glucose is our energy. It keeps our body sustaining a regular temperature. Our brain thinks using glucose. The production of myelin requires glucose and its derivative, glucosamine. Collagen, the basic fabric of our body is made with glucose and glucosamine. Glucose contributes to transport monocytes. Diabetic people end up with poor defenses because of their poor glucose levels. Glucose and its derivative, glucosamine are essential for muscle formation. Two of our skin main components are collagen and elastin. Both need glucose and glucosamine to be formed. Without sugar our skin ages. In fact, without sugar our body ages much faster. Sugar is good for living, for thinking, and for the regeneration of our bodies.
Good for the brain
Glucose is particularly important for learning and memory skills as it is the only source of energy used by the brain. So when our blood sugar levels are low it is typical to see the brain react with symptoms like lack of concentration, tiredness, depression and other energy related problems. However if you are concerned about your performance during an exam it is better to get your supplies of glucose from carbohydrates rather from that rather tempting chocolate bar as the benefits from the carbohydrate source of glucose will last much longer.
Foods That Contain Glucose
Good sources of glucose are unsurprisingly sweet to taste and natural sources include honey, raisins and dried plums. It may not be a shock to learn that the top 100 foods that contain the highest amount of glucose are pretty unhealthy for you and it is also unlikely that you will have to supplement glucose as more often than not our diets contain more than enough carbohydrates and sugars.
Available Forms
Glucose is available as a gel in an 80 gm bottle or a 25 gm tube. It also is available as a flavored tablet for swallowing and a chewable 5 gm tablet.
Glucose Side Effects
Sugar side effects age your skin, depress your immune system and is the preferred fuel of cancer cells. It feeds cancer cells and has been connected with the development of cancer of the breast, ovaries, prostate, rectum, pancreas, lung, gallbladder and stomach. It can cause autoimmune diseases such as: arthritis, asthma, multiple sclerosis. It greatly assists the uncontrolled growth of Candida yeast infections. It can increase the size of your liver by making your liver cells divide and it can increase the amount of liver fat. It can increase kidney size and produce pathological changes in the kidney such as the formation of kidney stones. It can increase your risk of Alzheimer's disease. It can cause hormonal imbalances such as: increasing estrogen in men, exacerbating PMS, and decreasing growth hormone. Your body changes it into 2 to 5 times more fat in the bloodstream than it does starch. It has the potential of inducing abnormal metabolic processes in a normal healthy individual and to promote chronic degenerative diseases. It upsets the mineral relationships in your body causing chromium and copper deficiencies and interferes with absorption of calcium and magnesium.
Sugar Overdose
If a non-diabetic individual consumes glucose in small quantities, they'll have no problem whatsoever--glucose isn't significantly different from other sources of sugar, like soda and candy. In large amounts, however, glucose quickly leads to sugar overdose. This is because the gut can absorb plain glucose--that is, glucose consumed apart from any protein, fiber, or fat--very quickly. This increases blood glucose levels very rapidly, leading to symptoms of sugar high. While chronic high blood sugar, or hyperglycemia, can damage tissues and organs, short-term hyperglycemia does little more than create a buzzing, slightly nauseated feeling, until such time as the body cells adjust glucose levels.
Hyperglycemia
In diabetics, misuse of glucose is a bit more severe. By definition, diabetics have difficulty regulating blood sugar. Type 1 diabetics don't produce the pancreatic hormone insulin that signals cells to take up glucose from the blood. Type 2 diabetics do produce the hormone, but their cells can't respond to it, meaning that in the end, the effect is the same--they can't signal cells to take up glucose. If a diabetic takes glucose liquid when they're not severely hypoglycemic (low in blood sugar), the liquid rapidly leads to severe hyperglycemia, or high blood sugar, which can cause a severe reaction and requires treatment with insulin in Type 1 diabetics.
Insulin Oversecretion
As innocuous as a sugar high in non-diabetics using glucose seems, it actually can lead to another, more harmful, side effect. If the body senses that blood sugar is rising very high very quickly, the pancreas will secrete very large quantities of insulin in a non-diabetic individual. While normal quantities of insulin signal cells to take up blood sugar slowly, and in accordance with the cells' energy needs, large quantities of insulin send stronger, more urgent signals. As a result, cells can take up too much glucose, leading to hypoglycemia (low blood sugar). This causes dizziness, fatigue, nausea, and hunger. Cells also respond by over-storing fat, which is another undesirable side effect for most individuals.
Glucose Safety
Is Glucose Safe During Pregnancy?
Glucose may be ingested during pregnancy.
Is Glucose Safe For Nursing Mothers?
Glucose may be used to manage hypoglycemia in nursing mothers.
Any Drug Interactions?
There are no known scientifically proved drug interactions with glucose.
What Dose Is Used?
The usual dose of glucose is 10-20 gm in a conscious patient experiencing hypoglycemia. The dose may be repeated in 10 minutes if hypoglycemic symptoms do not resolve. Oral glucose must be swallowed to be effective.
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