eli5: Sugars are carbs. What is different about sugar that requires it to be listed separately on a nutritionql label?
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Sugars are generally called simple because of their molecular structure (they digest rapidly) and enter the blood stream faster. This in turn causes a rapid rise in blood glucose, which can be harmful to the body sp you get a rapid spike in insulin. Insulin causes your cells to absorb the sugars super fast. This leads to weight gain as often the sugar is converted to fat. There’s a lot more to that, but that’s simple sugars.
Complex carbs, or the ones not listed as simple, are much larger molecules that take a long time to digest. Therefore, the rate of glucose rise in your body is slower which results in less of an insulin spike.
TL:DR:
Sugar = simple carb = small molecule = fast digesting.
Other carbs = complex carbs = larger molecules = slower digesting.
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