Dextrose (also known as glucose and corn sugar) is a monosaccharide or simple sugar that is about 20-30% less sweet compared to cane sugar. It is the main sugar that the body manufactures. The body makes glucose from all three elements of food, protein, fat and carbohydrates, but in largest part from carbohydrates. Glucose serves as the major source of energy for living cells. It is carried to each cell through the bloodstream. The cells cannot, however, use the glucose without the help of insulin.
Dextrose is used by some as a sugar substitute. Dextrose is pure glucose and glucose doesn't cause insulin resistance. This may benefit people who cannot eat other forms of sugar such as table sugar or fruit sugar. Dextrose can be mixed with fruits to remove insulin resistance side effect.
Some food packagers like to use "dextrose" on their packaging instead of "glucose" because they believe that people have negative associations with glucose. This sugar is extremely abundant in nature, and it can be found in numerous plant and animal tissues, often along with other sugars such as fructose. The body relies on glucose for energy, using this sugar to power cells. When people measure their blood sugar, they are actually measuring the amount of dissolved glucose in the blood.
Dextrose has a high glycemic index (GI) rating which means it enter the bloodstream very quickly. As a fast acting source of energy, Dextrose is suitable for all athletes looking for improved energy levels to induce an insulin spike and replace glycogen in muscle cells which is lost during training.
Glycemic index measures the rate in which carbohydrates enter the bloodstream. The higher on the glycemic index the carbohydrates are, the faster they are absorbed. Dextrose is very high GI and is absorbed extremely fast.
Dextrose is often added to energy drinks due to its sweet taste and great ability to dissolve in liquid as well as its ability to boost energy levels. Used before, during and after exercise Dextrose can increase stamina and endurance whilst also improving your ability to recover from intense exercise.
Dextrose raises insulin levels, which is why it's so effective at improving energy and recovery by driving nutrients into the cells of hungry muscle fibers, such as creatine monohydrate, beta-alanine, L-arginine, L-carnitine and others.
We all know that too much sugar is not good for us, but researchers have discovered that drinks sweetened with fructose as opposed to glucose were significantly more likely to increase insulin resistance and belly fat in obese and overweight people, leading to medical conditions that increased their risk of heart attack and stroke.
Dextrose is high in carbohydrates, as a 50 g serving contains 50 g of carbohydrates. Carbohydrates are your body's primary source of energy, so dextrose can be a good food supplement for athletes or other active individuals. Dextrose is higher in carbohydrates than even other carbohydrate-rich foods, such as spaghetti, which contains 34 g of carbohydrates per 50 g serving.
Dextrose is absorbed more quickly than whole foods, which can be crucial for post-workout recovery. High-glycemic carbohydrates that can be consumed as a liquid -- dextrose satisfies both requirements -- can deliver nutrients to your muscles at a more rapid rate than whole foods, which can help you maximize the effects of your training sessions.
Dextrose contains no fat, which means it can be suitable for low-fat diet plans. Additionally, the lack of fat facilitates a more rapid rate of absorption, as that nutrient tends to slow digestion. Because it contains no fat, dextrose is free of saturated and trans fatty acids, which may increase your risk of heart disease.
Dextrose contains no sodium, which can be beneficial for several reasons. While you do need some sodium for proper health, consuming too much of this nutrient may lead to water retention, which can give you a bloated appearance. Additionally, high sodium intake may increase your blood pressure.
Dextrose contains no cholesterol. According to the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, you should limit your daily cholesterol intake to 200 mg or less each day, as too much may increase your risk of heart disease.
In most cases, ingesting high GI carbohydrates is a bad idea. High GI carbohydrates are more likely to be stored as fat because they give the body too much energy at one time, more than it needs. If the body does not need the energy it will store it as fat. However, some athletes can benefit from taking dextrose directly after a training session.
Studies have shown that the optimal amount of dextrose needed to induce an insulin spike post workout is 60-75g. Dextrose is particularly effective when mixed with creatine, whey protein and glutamine. The insulin spike created by dextrose will move nutrients from these other supplements into the muscle cells very fast.
It is generally people who exercise regularly who may benefit from the use of Dextrose at appropriate times. For the average person dexrose is typically useless and should not be regarded as a direct energy booster or energy supplement.
There are 4 calories for every 1g of dextrose. Dextrose can be a very sweet tasting but not quite as sweet as regular sugar. For this reason it can often be much more palatable to drink 75g of dextrose than regular table sugar.
Perhaps the most severe side effects of dextrose are reserved for individuals with underlying disease processes. Type 1 and type 2 diabetics have an inability to either produce or respond to insulin, a pancreatic hormone that is released in response to high levels of blood sugar. If a diabetic eats foods containing large amounts of dextrose, their blood sugar levels will rise very high very quickly, explains Dr. Lauralee Sherwood in her book "Human Physiology." This leads to a number of symptoms, all of which are linked to hyperglycemia, or high blood sugar. Diabetic hyperglycemia is very serious and, if untreated, can lead to tissue damage, coma and death.
Even in those without diabetes, overuse of dextrose can result in some very undesirable side effects. While the body cells need dextrose to survive--the brain, in particular, is very dextrose dependent and uses it preferentially over any other form of fuel. The body also has mechanisms for storing extra fuel. These storage mechanisms are primarily in the form of fat storage. While fat storage helped humans survive periods of starvation during historical times when food was scarce, most modern Americans rarely need to rely on fat stores to survive. As such, one side effect of excess dextrose consumption--an increase in body fat--is very undesirable to most.
Interestingly enough, too much dextrose can actually lead to a paradoxical effect in individuals without diabetes. If blood sugar rises very high very quickly, the pancreas secretes very large quantities of insulin. This signals the cells to take up blood sugar quickly, since hyperglycemia is damaging to the tissues. As a result of the pancreatic overreaction to very high blood sugar, however, the cells can take up too much blood sugar, leading to low blood sugar levels, or hypoglycemia. This leads to feelings of nausea, hunger and dizziness--side effects that are quite uncomfortable.
The following reviews have been selected:
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Good product, June 26, 2010
By
A. Florey (San Diego, CA)
I was really surprised that I like this as a sweetener. I'm trying to get away from sugar and sugar-like sweeteners and from chemical sugar substitutes. I got a reference to this from [...], and if he recommends it, I have to try it. It works great in tea, but I don't like it so much in coffee. It's not very sweet, so if you like things really sweet, this is not for you. If you like more of a hint of sweetness, try it. I'll definitely be getting more of this.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Helps fructose intolerance, September 6, 2008
By
L. Guiher (Buffalo,NY)
I have fructose intolerance and eating dextrose really helps my symptoms. This product is 100% dextrose,there are no wierd ingredients in it. I will be ordering again when i get low.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars good product, May 17, 2010
By
Neil Mackinnon... (South Florida)
satisfied. much less sweet than standard sugar, but if that's what ur looking for...ur all set. Worked great in tea. Using while on a diet, instead of white processed sugar. Gives just a hint of sweetness which is what I was looking for, minus the sucrose and fructose. Like it and will order again.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Effective fructose antidote, April 29, 2008
By
Steven J. Ross "software engineer"
When I mixed this with high-fructose chopped fruits and ate them, I did not have any symptoms of fructose intolerance (a handful of fresh cherries on their own will cause full symptoms in me). It also can be good mixed with Gatorade as a cheaper substitute, and is probably most effective best baked with high-fructose foods (so the fructose and glucose can react and create sucrose).
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39 of 40 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Great For those with sensitive stomachs, February 9, 2007
By
M. L. Watson
Sucrose (table sugar is one common form) is a di-saccharide made up of one dextrose and one fructose. In order to be absorbed by the body, it requires digestion using the sucrase enzyme. For those with sensitive stomachs, fructose intolerance, or CSID (Congenital Sucrase-Isomaltase Deficiency), ingesting sucrose can cause considerable discomfort and unpleasant symptoms.
Dextrose is a mono-saccharide that can be readily absorbed by the intestines with minimal digestion. It is alternatively known as glucose or dextroglucose.
It is less sweet than sugar (about 1/3 as sweet). With a little math, you can substitute dextrose for sucrose in most recipes. It bakes well behaving similarly to sugar. You may need to adjust the liquid in a recipe to account for the additional amount needed to make the product as sweet as its sucrose containing counterpart.
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