Sugar
From the Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia that anyone can change
Sugar (spoken as "shugar") is something that is part of food or can be added to food. It gives a sweet taste, and it can look like a white or brown powder. You can get sugar from some plants, such as fruits. The sugar we add to food usually comes from a plant called sugarcane.
Scientists say that sugar is a name for a type of chemical. Regular sugar (the one we add to food) is called sucrose. Fructose is the sugar that is in fruits. As chemicals, both sucrose and fructose are made by two smaller sugars joined together. Glucose is the most common of these smaller sugars. When we eat regular sugar, our body breaks it apart into the smaller sugars.
Sugar can have many different kinds of effects on people, including hyperactivity, where people feel excited or jittery.
Scientists call sugars carbohydrates. This is because sugars are made from carbon and water. Hydro- or hydrate- is a way to say contains water. Carbohydrates can be simple carbohydrates or complex carbohydrates. Simple carbohydrates are made of only one or a few of the smallest sugars. Complex carbohydrates are made of many of the smallest sugars.
Starch is a chemical found in foods such as bread, crackers, and potatoes. It is a complex carbohydrate that is made from many, many glucoses. Starch is the way non-scientists say complex carbohydrates. When we eat starch, our body breaks it apart into smaller sugars. This starts in the mouth. When you hold a food with starch in your mouth for a few minutes, it starts to taste sweet. This is because the starch is broken into smaller sugars that taste sweet.
[change] See also
- monosaccharides
- disaccharides
- polysaccharides
