Human beings consume sugar in three forms: sucrose, glucose, and fructose. All the forms of sugar are essential for the human body as a source of energy. It is also a critical additive necessary for the production of many foods.
Although many of you think that glucose monohydrate and dextrose are the same, there are specific differences. It's time to learn about these differences.
Glucose and Dextrose: Identical but different
Glucose is primarily sugar. It has a sweet taste, and the compound is entirely soluble in water. The chemical formula is C6H12O6. There are plenty of uses of glucose as sugar. Considering the chemical ground, glucose is a monosaccharide, a monomeric unit that forms the polymer molecules called polysaccharides. It is found in nature abundantly.
1) Glucose is present in both D-glucose and the L- glucose forms. But dextrose is in use only for the D- glucose molecules. But Dextrose is a term applicable for only the D- glucose molecules.
2) D- glucose can rotate plane-polarized light towards the right direction while L-glucose redirects polarized light in the left path. But Dextrose can turn the polarized only on the dexter or right side.
3) You can obtain glucose monohydrates from various carbohydrates, but dextrose is available only from the starches.
4) Although D- glucose is abundant in Nature, L- glucose is rare. However, dextrose is excellent too.
5) While glucose occurs as enantiomers, dextrose can never happen as enantiomers.
Dextrose: good or bad?
If you are keen to avoid fructose, dextrose is the easy option. It can be a healthier option as it is the remnant after removing fructose from cane sugar.
But as dextrose has a glycemic index of 100, it will be unsafe for the consumption of any diabetic. Consumption of dextrose can increase blood sugar levels dangerously and cause fluid buildup in the body. Even fluid accumulation may take place inside the lungs. Thus, if you are suffering from conditions like
1) High blood sugar
2) Swelling in body parts
3) Skin problems
You should avoid intake of dextrose. It can worsen depression and various skin conditions too. Frequent urination, Shortness of breath, nausea, vomiting, and stomach pain are some of the symptoms f excess dextrose consumption.
Processing of glucose
Blood sugar levels in the human body rise and fall at different times of the entire day. The fluctuations depend on the physical activities and when you ate last. Every human being gets glucose from the foods and drinks that they consume. The level of blood glucose monohydrate in a healthy person ideally ranges between 4 t 7mmol/l before eating.
But this level can be as high as 8.5 9 mmol/l if you check up to two hours post food consumption. The pancreas is the human body that secretes insulin, a hormone that will help the cells to absorb glucose by breaking down the compound molecule into a more straightforward form. As this happens, blood sugar will drop continuously until you eat the next meal.
A person has diabetes when the body cannot produce a sufficient amount of the insulin hormone or has a problem with the effective use of the hormone.
The global market for glucose
In 2020, market research studies show that the global glucose market size was about 42.9 billion USD. Marketers expect that the market's annual growth rate will be 5% from 2020 t0 20228 for glucose monohydrate.
Indeed, the demand is high as various industries like confectionery, food and beverage production, baking, and other sectors continuously use glucose as stabilizers, flavour enhancers, texture enhancers, preservatives, coating and bulking agents, as well as humectants.