Glucose is a type of simple sugar that is found in apples and a variety of other foods. A medium raw apple with skin intact contains about 4.42 g of glucose. Glucose is an important nutrient because it provides your body with the energy it needs to function.
Nutritional Information
Glucose belongs to the sugar family of carbohydrates. Carbohydrates come in three types -- sugar, starch and fiber. Apples contain all three types of carbohydrates but are particularly high in sugar and fiber. One medium apple with skin contains approximately 18.91 g of total sugar. Glucose makes up about 1/4 of the sugar in apples. The same apple also contains about 0.09 g of starch and 4.4 g of total dietary fiber.
Blood Glucose
Your blood glucose levels measure the amount of sugar present in your bloodstream. Consuming an apple will cause your blood glucose levels to rise. This is because apples contain carbohydrates, a nutrient that affects your blood sugar. After you eat an apple, it travels to your stomach to be digested. During digestion, the sugar and starch carbohydrates are broken down into the simplest form of sugar molecules. The sugar molecules then go through the lining of your stomach and get absorbed into your bloodstream. Because glucose is already a simple sugar, it is known as a fast-acting carbohydrate -- it gets absorbed into your bloodstream at a rapid rate.
Fiber
Unlike sugar and starch, fiber is a carbohydrate that does not affect your blood glucose levels. This is because fiber is not converted into sugar molecules. Instead, fiber makes its way out of your body, undigested. There are two main types of fiber -- soluble fiber and insoluble fiber. Apples are a source of soluble fiber, a nutrient that may help lower your blood pressure and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and can prevent type 2 diabetes by helping improve your blood glucose levels.
Recommendations
Glucose is a naturally occurring sugar, as opposed to an added sugar. Many processed foods contain added sugars, such as granulated sugar and high fructose corn syrup. While you should limit your intake of added sugars to approximately 5 to 15 percent of your total daily caloric intake, you do not need to think of glucose in this way. Instead, count glucose as part of your total carbohydrate intake. Approximately 45 to 65 percent of your daily caloric intake should come from carbohydrates.
References
- MayoClinic.com; Nutrition and Healthy Eating -- Glycemic Index Diet: Losing Weight with Blood Sugar Control; Nov. 24, 2009
- United States Department of Agriculture Nutrient Database
- American Diabetes Association: Food and Fitness -- Carbohydrates
- MayoClinic.com; Nutrition and Healthy Eating -- Dietary Fiber: Essential For A Healthy Diet; Nov. 17, 2009
- MayoClinic.com; Nutrition and Healthy Eating -- Healthy Diet: End the Guesswork with these Nutrition Guidelines; Feb. 22, 2011
