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Sucrose

Level 5 — High concernIn Winter's Dictionary3 sources

Sucrose is a natural sweetener — Sweetening additive, preservative, antioxidant

Also: Cane Sugar, Saccharose

What it does

Sweetening additive, preservative, antioxidant

Where you'll see it

foods, beverages

What the research says

Can stimulate production of fat in the body; workers handling raw sugar develop rashes [metabolical] Sucrose is a glucose-fructose disaccharide cleaved by intestinal sucrase in nanoseconds, delivering free fructose to the liver where it drives de novo lipogenesis, glycation, and insulin resistance. Sucrose establishes hardwired dopamine reward pathways in the limbic system, surpassing cocaine as a reward in rats. It is added to 74% of grocery store food, drives leptin resistance via insulin, and is a primary cause of dental caries via Streptococcus mutans fructanase. [salt-sugar-fat] Used as the foundational sweetener in processed foods to hit Howard Moskowitz's 'bliss point' — a precise concentration that maximizes pleasure. Disclosed alongside up to a dozen other sugar forms (corn syrup, HFCS, dextrose, inverted syrup, malt, molasses, honey) to disguise total sugar load.

Regulatory status

  • US FDA: GRAS
  • Notes: ASP

Sources

  • Metabolical (Lustig) — Chapter 11; Chapter 21: in ancient times, sugar was a spice. Through processing and purification, it's a drug
  • Salt Sugar Fat (Moss) — Chapter 1-2 (Sugar — Exploiting the Biology of the Child / How Do You Get People to Crave?): As the sensory intensity of sweetness increases, consumers first say they like the product more, but eventually consumers like the product the most at the bliss point
  • A Consumer's Dictionary of Food Additives (Winter): table sugar can stimulate the production of fat in the body, apart from its calorie content