Glucose Syrup !!

Glucose Syrup !!

The Glucose Syrup is now ubiquitous and has supplanted sucrose in confectionery production thanks to its lower cost, high viscosity and the ability to enhance the taste of food. It is therefore necessary to know it to understand its consequences in case it is used too much. Indicated in labels such as corn syrup, vegetable glucose syrup, etc., it is produced starting from starch. Starch is a polysaccharide consisting of long chains of glucose molecules that are broken using acids or enzymes. In the first case, using hydrochloric acid under conditions of high pressure and high temperature; in the second case using enzymes (alpha-amylase and gluco-amylase). Subjected to these processes, the long molecular chains of the starch are broken down into smaller elements, that is glucose and variable percentages of fructose (45-55%).

Saccharose, the normal sugar, is also made of glucose and fructose but chemically bound. Therefore, after the intake, in the stomach and also in the intestine intervene enzymes that split them and then make them assimilable. On the other hand, once ingested, glucose syrup does not need this passage and is therefore rapidly absorbed. It arrives at the liver where it is transformed into fats and stimulates the secretion of insulin by the pancreas: this process in the long run, besides causing problems in the liver, leads to insulin resistance, the first step towards diabetes.

Recall that the fructose contained in this syrup does not intervene on the regulatory hormones of satiety imposing the right balance in the caloric intake. Consumption of foods containing this ingredient is therefore associated with an increase in fat mass, to metabolic alterations that predispose to a greater risk of certain diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, fatty liver and tumors.

Unfortunately, this ingredient in various food products has become ubiquitous; easily the total doses reach levels that our health could be compromised. The result, once again, is an invitation to read carefully the labels and ingredients of the food we buy and choose consciously and accordingly.

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