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Four Classes of Simple Sugars

Simple sugars are the primary energy sources of life on the planet. They can be divided into categories based on how the sugar is used in the body and where it occurs in nature. These sugars are integral components of almost all living beings on the planet, from the smallest chain of bacteria to the largest plants and animals.

  1. Glucose

    • Glucose is the most common simple sugar as it used by all green plant life, animals, bacteria and every human being on the planet. Glucose is a primary energy source for all of these groups. It is carried through the bloodstreams of humans and animals and is created in plants as part of the photosynthesis process. According to the Franklin Institute's website, this simple sugar is necessary to perform all manner of activities and can even affect brain function when its levels are low or exceedingly high.

    Fructose

    • Fructose is a simple sugar found in foods of many varieties like fruit, certain vegetables and honey. This simple sugar is the most readily dissolved in water, and as such it has been an important component of commercial food production for many years. Commercial food companies have been able to synthesize cheaper sweeteners using fructose derived from vegetables such as corn to reduce the costs of using more expensive sweeteners like sugar cane. This allows companies to deliver products on a much larger scale and at a lower cost.

    Galactose

    • Galactose is a simple sugar found in milk, honey and also in humans. An important component in the structures of cell walls, it is integral to the growth process of infants. According to galactose.org, high doses of galactose can act as a laxative, though in smaller doses it has no adverse effects. All healthy humans produce between two and 10 grams of this simple sugar per day.

    Disaccharides

    • Disaccharides occur when any of the simple sugars mentioned above combine to form a two-molecule sugar compound. An example of this is the combination of fructose and glucose which together form the basic bond for normal, everyday sucrose or sugar. Other disaccharides include lactose, which is found in milk, and dextrose, which can be found in fruits and vegetables. When people have a milk allergy it is generally because of an insufficiency of lactase, a compound needed to digest the disaccharide lactose.

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