What Has More Sugar an Apple or a Krispy Kreme Glazed Doughnut?

The reason why I chose to write about this is because I mentioned this to a person the other day.  Their response was probably the same response that most people would give, “But the apple is a natural sugar.”

Sugar is sugar.  They consist of carbon (C), oxygen (O), and hydrogen (H) molecules which are classified as carbohydrates.  There are three main groups of sugars depending upon the structural arrangement of the molecules.  These groups are simple sugars (monosaccharides) disaccharides and polysaccharides. The word “saccharide” is derived from the Greeks which simply means sugar.  A simple sugar (monosaccharide) is just composed of one single molecule.  The disaccharides are composed of two and the polysaccharides are composed of 3 or more.  Just to make it a little more confusing, there are three types of sugars that contain the same calories per gram.

Glucose is a monosaccharide that can be absorbed into the body quickly.  It is found in food rich in carbohydrates, such as bread, pasta, potatoes, and some fruit.

Fructose is also a monosaccharide that can be found naturally in such things as fruit, agave, some vegetables, sugar cane, and even corn.

Sucrose, which is another name for table sugar, is made up of one molecule of glucose and one molecule of fructose.

Due to the molecular composition of the sugars, it would make sense that the simpler the composition the easier it is to break down and be absorbed.  Glucose (monosaccharides) can be absorbed into the bloodstream directly which will result in a higher spike of insulin.  Disaccharides must be broken down before being absorbed.   Fructose can only be converted into glucose in the liver before the body can use it for energy.

Our high carbohydrate diets and our overwhelming intake of sugars lead to an increase in insulin resistance.  As our cells resist insulin, our bodies need to produce more insulin.  This leads to prediabetes and Type-2 diabetes.

Before you get officially traumatized by this information, just cutting back on your intake of carbohydrates will allow your body to not be so overwhelmed by glucose.

I believe that the real problem is that most people believe they are eating healthily.  The results occur slowly over time depending upon diet, and they don’t know there is a problem until their doctor tells them they have prediabetes.

I found this article (https://www.eatthis.com/foods-more-sugar-donut/) which might surprise you.  Once again, according to the Krispy Kreme website, their glazed doughnut has 11.9 grams of sugar.  Here is the list of the 30 that have more sugar.

1. Kind Bar Almonds & Apricots in Yogurt (16 grams)
2. Blue Diamond Breeze Vanilla Almond Milk (13 grams per cup)
3. Activia Vanilla Greek Nonfat Yogurt (20 grams)
4. Ken’s Fat Free Sundried Tomato Vinaigrette Dressing (12 grams per 2 Tbsp)
5. Bear Naked Fruit and Nutty Granola Goodie Bag (14 grams per ½ cup)
6. Thomas Cinnamon Raisin Swirl Bagel (11 grams per 1 bagel)
7. Healthy Choice Sweet & Sour Chicken (22 grams)
8. Mott’s Original Applesauce (22 grams)
9. Campbell’s Slow Kettle Style Tomato & Sweet Basil Bisque (24 grams)
10. Ocean Spray Original Craisins (29 grams per ¼ cup)
11. Chunky Ragu Tomato, Garlic & Onion (12 grams per ¼ cup)
12. Quaker Instant Oatmeal Apples & Cinnamon (12 grams per 1 packet)
13. Digiorno Small-Sized Four Cheese Traditional Pizza (12 grams per 1 pizza, 260g)
14. Raisin Bran (18 grams per 1 cup)
15. Dannon Fruit on the Bottom Cherry Yogurt (22 grams of 1 container)
16. Planter’s Tropical Fruit & Nut Trail Mix (17 grams per 2 oz.)
17. Sweet Baby Ray’s Honey BBQ Sauce (15 grams per 2 Tbsp)
18. Tropicana Original No Pulp Orange Juice (22 grams per 8 oz.)
19. Kashi Black Bean Mango Bowl (11 grams)
20. Cliff Bar Carrot Cake (25 grams per 1 bar)
21. Smucker’s Seedless Strawberry Jam (12 grams per 1 Tbsp)
22. Special K Fruit & Yogurt (13 grams per 1 cup)
23. Silk Chocolate Soy Milk (17 grams per 1 cup)
24. Bertolli Tomato Basil (12 grams per ½ cup)
25. Nutri-Grain Strawberry Bar (11 grams per 1 bar)
26. Skinny Cow Vanilla Ice Cream Sandwich (15 grams per sandwich)
27. Gatorade Fruit Punch (20 oz.) (34 grams)
28. Annie’s Organic Swirly Strawberry Really Peely Fruit Tape (13 grams per roll)
29. Minute Maid Lemonade (28 grams per 8 oz.)
30. Nutella (21 grams per 2 Tbsp)

If you notice some of the items on the list, you will think are healthy.  Other items are targeted towards children.  It also shows that the companies that process not only these foods but others as well, have a lot of added sugar.  Hopefully, this has given you something to think about.

For further reference, refer to https://www.eatthis.com/foods-more-sugar-donut/ by Christina Stiehl, “Eat This, Not That!”