THE DIGESTION PROCESS The portion of the food we eat that is glucose passes with the rest of the food through our mouth, down the esophagus, and into our stomach.  It is immediately absorbed through the stomach walls into the bloodstream.  Because glucose is the form of sugar that is readily soluble, the body is constantly converting all food stuff, including all the other sugars, into glucose so it can pass into the bloodstream. Glucose, insulin and diabetes: a tricky combo If we eat too much food, the amount of glucose in the blood becomes higher than it should be, and the body takes in more sugar than it can accommodate without exercising enough to burn it off.  Then the body produces a hormone called insulin in the pancreas that converts this over-abundant glucose to a substance called glycogen.  The body stores this glycogen in the liver and in the tissues as fat, where it can later be reconverted into glucose for the body to burn as energy. Diabetes is the condition resulting from chronic high levels of glucose in the bloodstream, which causes a condition in the cells called hyper- metabolism.  High glucose levels can lead to damage in organ cells.  Organs that are particularly prone to damage are the eyes, kidneys, and the nervous system.   There are two types of diabetes:                                      Type One Diabetes is also called insulin dependent diabetes, and results from progressive destruction of insulin producing cells in the pancreas, which increases the level of blood sugar.  Type Two Diabetes is also called non-insulin dependent diabetes, and is caused when the body's cells resist insulin and the body does not make enough insulin to overcome the resistance.  Type Two usually is linked to obesity.      Hyperglycemia Another ailment of excessive amounts of sugar in the blood is called hyperglycemia.  The body can try to expel this high amount through the kidneys via urination.  Some unscrupulous fad diets show how hyperglycemia forces the body to expel water resulting in victims losing weight at the expense of their health.  When cells lose the ability to use glucose, the cells convert stored glycogen (fat in the tissues) back into glucose for energy.  This breakdown of fats produces chemicals called ketones and when the cells can no longer process these excess ketones, a condition called ketoacidosis occurs which can lead to nausea, vomiting, loss of consciousness, and even death. FRUCTOSE Fructose, sometimes called fruit sugar, also contains carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen, but it has a different molecular structure which makes it insoluble in the bloodstream, so it has to be converted into glucose before it can be absorbed. When fructose enters the mouth, it is blasted by an enzyme called ptyalin, produced by the salivary glands.  A little of this fructose is transformed into glucose and is absorbed through the stomach walls into the blood stream.  Most fructose is not broken down right away but continues to be degraded until making its way into the bloodstream as glucose.  Because it is sweeter than sucrose (table sugar) and insoluble, fructose is preferred by people who crave the sweet taste of a sugar but want to guard against putting too much glucose into their blood stream in too short of a time. SUCROSE Sucrose is table sugar.  It is composed of one molecule of glucose and one molecule of fructose.  It is also a product of photosynthesis, as are all our other sugars.  The two main plants that yield sucrose are sugar cane and sugar beets.  Because sucrose is half fructose, it is not readily absorbable into the blood and ends up making its way as far as the small intestine before the intestine secretes the enzyme and break it down.  The glucose is then readily absorbed into the blood through the intestine walls. DEXTROSE There is another sugar on the market that people who make their own beer and wine like to use to increase the amount of alcohol.  This sugar is called dextrose and is prepared industrially by mixing starch (complex carbohydrate) with dilute hydrochloric acid, and then heating this mixture under pressure.  Dextrose is pure glucose and as such ferments easily into ethyl alcohol.  Weight lifters also like dextrose because it gives them instant energy.