Let's talk about sugar, sugar.

It's always nice to start on a sweet note!

Sugar has a few names that you may see used interchangeably. They are:

Sugars * Carbohydrates * Saccharides

There are two main groups of carbohydrates; ‘simple’ and ‘complex’. These groups tell us how each sugar is actually formed and also explain why some sugars are better for us than others. For example, the sugar in chocolate compared to the sugar in whole grain products.

SIMPLE sugars are also known as monosaccharides (mono= ONE, saccharide= sugar) AND disaccharides (di= TWO, saccharide = sugar). So, in short, monosaccharides are made up by ONE sugar molecule, and disaccharides are made up of TWO.

You would have heard of most of these names before. So here they are- your simple sugars:

MONOSACCARIDES

*Glucose

*Fructose

*Galactose

DISACCHARIDES

*Maltose = 2 X Glucose molecules

*Sucrose = 1 X Glucose molecule + 1 X Fructose molecule

*Lactose = 1 X Glucose molecule + 1 X Galactose molecule

COMPLEX sugars are known as polysaccharides (poly= many, saccharides=sugar).

They are bigger and made up of many sugar molecules.

POLYSACCHARIDES

*Glycogen

*Starch

*Fibre (cellulose)

Glycogen- this is a form of energy that is stored in the liver and muscles. When it is needed for our everyday activities, it breaks down to its most SIMPLE form, GLUCOSE, for energy!

Starch- This is a form of energy that is stored in plants. When plants require energy, they break down starch to glucose for energy.

Fibre/Cellulose- Gives the structure to plants.

Simple and complex carbohydrates are your natural sugars.

REFINED or ADDED SUGARS

Refined sugar start out as sugar cane or sugar beets before being processed. They are processed and commonly become table sugar known as SUCROSE which is one of the disaccharides ( 1 X glucose and 1 X fructose).

SUGARS AND THEIR FOOD GROUPS (just a few examples)

Simple sugars (mono/disaccharides) can be found in fruit, vegetables, milk and honey.

Complex sugars (polysaccharides) starch and dietary fibre can be found in whole grain products, vegetables (corn, potato), pasta, legumes, oat bran and barley.

Refined/added sugars can be found as table sugar, chocolate, cake, breads, pastries and pretty much all delicious junk food!

Because simple sugars are smaller, they break down more quickly which can lead us to feeling hungry shortly after eating. Complex sugars are bigger and take longer to break down which is why we feel fuller for longer after consuming them!

Remember, there are always exceptions to the rule! Please contact for any more info. X

Whitney, E., Rady Rolfes, S., Crowe, T., Cameron-Smith, D., Wals, A. (2011). Understanding nutrition: Australia and New Zealand edition. Melbourne: Cengage Learning, pp. 94-104.