Brown Rice Syrup Vs. High Fructose Corn Syrup
Food labels contain a stunning variety of ways to refer to what is, in essence, sugar. Different sweetening agents added to food all bind to the sweetness receptor in the mouth, leading to their flavor. Chemical differences between sweeteners, however, mean that different sugars are often processed by the body in different ways. High fructose corn syrup and brown rice syrup are two common sugaring agents added to foods.
Grain Chemistry
Both brown rice and corn, like all starchy grains and foods, contain large quantities of the chemical amylose. Amylose consists of long chains of glucose molecules, where glucose is a monosaccharide, or single sugar unit. If you ate plain glucose that wasn't chemically bonded to anything else, it would bind to the sweetness receptor and taste like sugar. Bound together in long chains, however, glucose molecules assembled into amylose don't taste sweet; for this reason, if you eat brown rice or corn, you don't taste sugar, even though it's there.
- Both brown rice and corn, like all starchy grains and foods, contain large quantities of the chemical amylose.
- Bound together in long chains, however, glucose molecules assembled into amylose don't taste sweet; for this reason, if you eat brown rice or corn, you don't taste sugar, even though it's there.
Grain Syrups
Fructose Vs. Sucrose
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Any grain, since it's a source of amylose, is also a source of glucose. It's possible to take a grain, such as corn or brown rice, and extract the amylose. By processing the amylose with a variety of enzymes, which are digestive chemicals that break the amylose into smaller pieces, you obtain a syrup that consists of individual glucose units; units of two glucose molecules connected to one another, called maltose; and units of three glucose molecules connected to one another, called maltotriose. Different levels of digestion produce different ratios of glucose, maltose and maltotriose.
- Any grain, since it's a source of amylose, is also a source of glucose.
- By processing the amylose with a variety of enzymes, which are digestive chemicals that break the amylose into smaller pieces, you obtain a syrup that consists of individual glucose units; units of two glucose molecules connected to one another, called maltose; and units of three glucose molecules connected to one another, called maltotriose.
High Fructose Corn Syrup
To make high fructose corn syrup, explain Drs 3. Reginald Garrett and Charles Grisham in their book "Biochemistry," corn amylose is enzymatically digested to completion, that is, until all glucose units are independent of one another 1. The resulting syrup, corn syrup, tastes slightly less sweet than table sugar. Processing plants then use another enzyme, called invertase, to turn half of the glucose into a related sugar called fructose, which is much sweeter 2. The resulting mixture of 50:50 glucose and fructose tastes as sweet as table sugar and is called high fructose corn syrup.
Brown Rice Syrup
Sucrose, Dextrose & Maltodextrin
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To make brown rice syrup, manufacturers digest amylose into a blend of maltotriose, maltose and glucose. The maltose is about 40 percent as sweet as table sugar and the maltotriose is about 30 percent as sweet as table sugar, explains the Amano Enzyme Company 2. Brown rice syrup doesn't taste as sweet as table sugar, but because all sugars — regardless of how sweet they taste — have identical caloric content per unit mass, brown rice syrup contains the same number of calories per gram as high fructose corn syrup and table sugar.
- To make brown rice syrup, manufacturers digest amylose into a blend of maltotriose, maltose and glucose.
- The maltose is about 40 percent as sweet as table sugar and the maltotriose is about 30 percent as sweet as table sugar, explains the Amano Enzyme Company 2.
Health
All sources of sugar — table sugar, high fructose corn syrup, brown rice syrup and others — provide energy, and your body can convert them to fat if you eat them in large quantities. There's some evidence that eating large quantities of high fructose corn syrup affects cellular signaling and increases risk of type 2 diabetes and obesity, notes a 2004 study by Dr. George Bray and colleagues in the "American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 3"
Related Articles
References
- “Biochemistry”; Reginald Garrett, Ph.D. and Charles Grisham, Ph.D.; 2007
- Amano Enzyme Company: Processing of Starch
- "American Journal of Clinical Nutrition"; Consumption of High-Fructose Corn Syrup in Beverages May Play a Role in the Epidemic of Obesity; George Bray et al; April 2004
- Popkin BM, Hawkes C. Sweetening of the global diet, particularly beverages: patterns, trends, and policy responses. Lancet Diabetes Endocrinol. 2015;4(2):174-186. doi:10.1016/S2213-8587(15)00419-2
- New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services. How much sugar do you eat?. Updated August 2014.
- DeSilver D. How America's diet has changed over time. Pew Research Center. Updated December 13, 2016.
- Lakhan SE, Kirchgessner A. The emerging role of dietary fructose in obesity and cognitive decline. Nutr J. 2013;12:114. doi:10.1186/1475-2891-12-114
- Djiogue S, Nwabo Kamdje AH, Vecchio L, et al. Insulin resistance and cancer: the role of insulin and IGFs. Endocr Relat Cancer. 2013;20(1):R1-R17. doi:10.1530/ERC-12-0324
- Page KA, Chan O, Arora J, et al. Effects of fructose vs glucose on regional cerebral blood flow in brain regions involved with appetite and reward pathways. JAMA. 2013;309(1):63-70. doi:10.1001/jama.2012.116975
- Goran MI, Ulijaszek SJ, Ventura EE. High fructose corn syrup and diabetes prevalence: a global perspective. Glob Public Health. 2013;8(1):55-64. doi:10.1080/17441692.2012.736257
- Walker RW, Dumke KA, Goran MI. Fructose content in popular beverages made with and without high-fructose corn syrup. Nutrition. 2014;30(7-8):928-35. doi:10.1016/j.nut.2014.04.003
- American Heart Association. Added sugars. Updated April 17, 2018.
Writer Bio
Kirstin Hendrickson is a writer, teacher, coach, athlete and author of the textbook "Chemistry In The World." She's been teaching and writing about health, wellness and nutrition for more than 10 years. She has a Bachelor of Science in zoology, a Bachelor of Science in psychology, a Master of Science in chemistry and a doctoral degree in bioorganic chemistry.