Simple sugars -- or simple carbohydrates -- are either monosaccharides or disaccharides, because they have one or two sugar units respectively. According to the Acu-Cell website, high consumption of simple sugars promote the formation of substances that increase your risk of cardiovascular disease. Unlike complex carbohydrates, simple sugars may cause pain if these foods contact exposed dental roots in your mouth.
Table Sugar
The Acu-Cell website includes table sugar on a list of simple carbohydrates. Granulated table sugar consists of a carbohydrate called sucrose. Sucrose comes from sugar beets or sugar cane and is considered a disaccharide, because it is composed of two monosaccharides known as glucose and fructose. According to Colorado State University Extension website, sucrose is the most abundant sugar found in nature. Elhurst College's Virtual Chembook indicates that sucrose is a carbohydrate that occurs naturally in all fruits and vegetables, because sucrose is a major product of photosynthesis in plants. Photosynthesis is the process that plants use to transform the sun's energy into nutrients. Food manufacturers produce sweet foods like molasses, brown sugar and confectioners' sugar by refining sucrose.
High Fructose Corn Syrup
High-fructose corn syrup is a common commercial sweetener and preservative that is like a combination of fructose and glucose. Producers make high-fructose corn syrup by converting glucose in cornstarch into fructose. High-fructose corn syrup may be an ingredient in soda, fruit-flavored drinks or other processed foods. According to the Mayo Clinic website, the health effects of high-fructose corn syrup are controversial. Obesity has been associated with higher consumption of sweetened beverages that may contain high-fructose corn syrup. However, high-fructose corn syrup may not be intrinsically less healthy than other sweeteners. The Mayo Clinic suggests that foods that contain high-fructose corn syrup may lack nutritional value and have a lot of calories. For example, sweetened beverages and other possessed foods are high calorie items that are made with high-fructose corn syrup and lack nutritional value. Higher consumption of these foods may increase your risk of type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure and coronary artery disease.
Honey
Honey is a simple sugar food that primarily consists of water and the monosaccharide sugars glucose and fructose. Honey contains smaller proportions of disaccharaide simple sugars like kojibiose, turanose and maltulose. According to the National Honey Board, sucrose makes up a little more than 1 percent of the composition of honey while other disaccharides make up approximately seven percent. Honey may provide a substitute for granulated table sugar. Honey is sweeter than granulated sugar and you may be able to use less honey than sugar in recipes that require sugar. According the Mayo Clinic website, there may not be a substantial benefit for substituting sugar with honey, because honey contains more dietary carbohydrates and calories than sugar.
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