Glucose in Fruits

359 Words2 Pages
Glucose: Glucose is a type of sugar and is a very important biochemical. For one thing, glucose is the only fuel used by brain cells. Glucose is also an important source of energy for muscles and other tissues in the body. The glucose in your blood comes from the food you eat. Complex carbohydrates, found in pasta or cereal, for example, are long chains of sugar molecules that are broken down by enzymes to simple sugars, such as glucose. Sucrose, or table sugar, is also broken down to form glucose. Because carbohydrates and sucrose in food are broken down to form glucose, the level of glucose in your blood goes up after you eat. Like most of the chemicals in your blood, the level of glucose must be tightly controlled. The level of glucose in your blood is controlled by insulin, a hormone made in the pancreas. Too little glucose, and your brain and other organs will not have the energy they need to function. Too much glucose in the blood can cause diabetes, which is a serious and growing health problem in the United States. Glucose is your body's main source of energy. It is obtained from your diet or your body can synthesize it from other chemicals. Fruits can provide you with various amounts of glucose. Understanding which fruits can provide you with glucose can help you create a diet that will provide you with adequate, but not excessive, amounts of glucose. Bananas Bananas are a yellow fruit that can provide you with glucose. Bananas contain 5.82 g of glucose per 100 g of banana, a January 1987 article in the "American Journal of Clinical Nutrition" explains. Bananas can also provide you with small amounts of protein, fiber and other dietary sugars. Apples There are many different types of apples that may provide you with glucose. According to the Biochemical Department of the King's College Hospital, on average, apples contain approximately

More about Glucose in Fruits

Open Document