Our body runs on Glucose
Our body runs on glucose. Glucose is derived from the digestion of sugar and starch in carbohydrates in noodles, pasta, bread, rice and even vegetable and fruits.
When we consumed carbohydrates, digestion begins in the mouth. An enzyme called salivary amylase is produced which converts the starches in the food to sugars like dextrins, maltose and maltotriose.
Further digestion occurs in the small intestine. The pancreas secrets the enzyme amylase which breaks carbohydrates into simple sugar like maltose, lactose and sucrose.
As these sugars move down the intestine, the enzymes maltase, lactase, and sucrase respectively break maltose, lactose and sucrose down into smaller molecules. These are eventually converted to the simplest form of sugar – glucose – and absorbed through the intestinal walls into the bloodstream.
Source: Mind Your Body, The Straits Times, 17 Dec 2009
Additional Reading
Healthy Urban Kitchen Cookbook by Antonia Valladores and Jamie Larose
Related posts:
