eli5: Sugars are carbs. What is different about sugar that requires it to be listed separately on a nutritionql label?
In: 66
Not all carbs are equal. The two act very differently when consumed.
There are some carbohydrates humans cannot even digest because we lack the enzymes, don’t chew our cud, and lack the hind-gut fermenting microbes horses and pigs possess.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u0q4XMzuzV4](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u0q4XMzuzV4)
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kWWTpe86ja](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kWWTpe86ja4)
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2yg5_SmLCps](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2yg5_SmLCps)
If you eat an amount of refined sugar equal to what is in an apple, it’s absorbed in the stomach in minutes, but if you eat an apple, those intra-cellular carbohydrates are still being absorbed in the distal small bowel hours later. The gut bacteria treat it differently, the liver treats it differently, the pancreas treats it differently, and on top of that, you get vitamins, other anti-oxidents, and fiber.
It’s true there is little practical difference between refined sugar and something like refined white flour, which is too prevalent in the Western diet, but between, say, sugar and a yam, there is a whole cascade of enzymes, hormones, and time that make a difference.
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