The Facts About Sweeteners: How Science Sees It

Sweetness of Selected Sweeteners

Relative to Sucrose

Although newspapers, social media and television reporters have a lot

to say about sweeteners, the facts and the science behind nutritive

Sucrose

sweeteners often get lost. And although the debate over which sweeteners
is most associated with optimal health has changed over the years, the
evidence-based facts regarding how the human body treats all sweeteners
remain the same. The way science sees it, glucose, fructose, galactose,
honey, high fructose corn syrup, agave nectar, lactose and sucrose are

20

40

60

80

100

Lactose 16
Galactose 32
Glucose 60-70
High Fructose Corn Syrup 92-99

Hanover LM, White JS. Manufacturing, composition, and applications

of fructose. Am J Clin Nutr. 1993;58(suppl):724S-32S.

much more similar than you might think.

120

140

Honey 95-100*
Sucrose 100
Agave Nectar 105-110*
Fructose 117
*Estimated Sweetness

SWEETENER

Fructose

Glucose

Galactose

Agave Nectar

Honey

High Fructose
Corn Syrup

Sucrose

Lactose

TYPE

Monosaccharide

Monosaccharide

Monosaccharide

Primarily
Monosaccharide

Primarily
Monosaccharide

Primarily
Monosaccharide

Disaccharide

Disaccharide

CALORIES
per gram

COMPOSITON

6-carbon sugar
made of carbon,
hydrogen + oxygen

6-carbon sugar
made of carbon,
hydrogen + oxygen

6-carbon sugar
made of carbon,
hydrogen + oxygen

fructose + glucose
+ other sugars

glucose + fructose
+ sucrose
+ other sugars

fructose + glucose
+ other sugars

glucosefructose

galactoseglucose

Fitch, C., and K. S. Keim. Position of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics: Use of Nutritive and Nonnutritive Sweeteners. Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics 112.5 (2012): 739-58.

Gropper, Sareen, Jack L. Smith, and James L. Groff. Advanced Nutrition and Human Metabolism. 4th ed. Belmont: Thomson/Wadsworth, 2005.

Guthrie, Helen A. Introductory Nutrition. 6th ed. St. Louis: Times Mirror/Mosby College, 1986.

Mahan, L. Kathleen, and Sylvia Escott-Stump. Krauses Food and Nutrition Therapy. 10th ed. Philadelphia: Saunders, 2008.

White, J. S. Straight Talk about High-fructose Corn Syrup: What It Is and What It Aint. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 88.6 (2008): 1716S-721S.

OH

OH

OH

sucrose

glucose

Once sweeteners are

absorbed, the body cannot
distinguish between them

OH

fructose

CO2

CH2OH
CH2OH
O

50%

HO

OH

HO

CH2OH
OH

OH

Glycogen

Triglycerides
>15%

Glucose

sucrose

The body cannot distinguish between most sweeteners that are based
on fructose and glucose once they are absorbed into the blood stream as
monosaccharides. Take a closer look at this diagram for more details about
digestion, absorption, storage and transportation of nutritive sweeteners.

50%

Lactate

CO2

DIGESTION

25%

VLDL TG
TG

CH2OH
CH OH

2
This sweetened
O
beverage
contains
+
HO
either
HO HFCS or sugar.

OH

Digestion

HO

OH

CH2OH

OH

OH

Most sweeteners are digested in the small intestine, where

disaccharides and polysaccharides are broken down into
the smallest unit of sugar: a monosaccharide (glucose,
fructose and galactose are examples). HFCS, honey, and
agave nectar are already available as monosaccharides
and are not changed in the digestive process.

glucose

liver

HO
H

OH

Glucose

CH2OH

CH2OH
H

H
OH

DIGESTION

OH

OH

HO

CH2OH
OH

OH

Fructose

HO

OH

OH

Glucose

CH2OH

Fructose

stomach

Absorption
After polysaccharides and disaccharides are broken
down into monosaccharides, they are absorbed
from the small intestine into the blood stream.

Storage/ Transportation
After absorption and a minor amount of
metabolism by the small intestine, fructose
and glucose are taken up by the liver. Glucose
in the liver can be stored as glycogen or enter
glycolysis, the process of transforming glucose
into energy. Most of the fructose is converted
to glucose and glycogen. A small portion of
fructose is converted to lactate and a very small
amount (< 3%) can be converted to fatty acids.

H
HO

Lactate

CO2

Sucrose
CH2OH

Glucose

fructose

Example:

CH2OH

Fructose

Fructose

esophagus

1
O

O
O

O
O

O
O

Sucrose

small intestine

Glucose
Fructose

INTESTINAL CELLS

large intestine
O

BLOOD VESSEL

Fructose
O

O
O

O
O

sucrose

sucrose
O
O

glucose

Glucose
O

REFERENCE: Tappy L, Le KA. Metabolic Effects of Fructose and

the Worldwide Increase in Obesity. Physiol Rev. 2010;90:23-46.