# Can different sugars affect you differently? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 8, 2009, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-different-sugars-affect-you-differently/513080 "2009-10-08T18:07:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2009, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-different-sugars-affect-you-differently/513080/1 "2009-10-08T18:07:54Z")
So I got tired of my standard screwdriver and made a different drink this weekend. 3 parts rum, 1 part butterscotch liqueur, 1 part chocolate milk, 1 part Irish creme. Only about 3-5 oz worth of rum/whisky. When I woke up I had an enormous headache. It felt exactly like when I have more than a bite or so of “hard sugar”. Yeah, I know that once it’s in your body it supposedly acts the same. But when I have a screwdriver I have at least 3 if not more parts OJ to vodka, and OJ has a lot of sugar too, and I never get a headache afterward. This is my experience with OJ versus hard candy in other contexts as well as drinking. So, is it: – Completely psychosomatic, I only get affected by hard sugar because I have been told I will. – A genuine hangover caused by not having enough liquid in the drink versus alcohol. – A function of using cane sugar rather than fructose. come to think of it when I have rum I sometimes get that feeling afterward even if I don’t have it with a sugary drink. I wonder if it’s a residue of the rum making process that might make me feel like that? ---
**Author:** ![rhubarbarin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/eb9ed0/32.png) [@rhubarbarin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rhubarbarin)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2009, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-different-sugars-affect-you-differently/513080/2 "2009-10-08T18:26:13Z")
I absolutely believe that different sugars affect the body differently. But I don’t feel like arguing with people on here. One thing to keep in mind: 8 oz of orange juice has 24 grams of sugar. 8 oz of soda has 40 grams. You probably got quite a bit more sugar in your liquor/syrup/choc milk combo than you would with OJ. ---
**Author:** ![Cerowyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/82dd89/32.png) [@Cerowyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cerowyn)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2009, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-different-sugars-affect-you-differently/513080/3 "2009-10-09T02:51:29Z")
> [@rhubarbarin](#): > > One thing to keep in mind: 8 oz of orange juice has 24 grams of sugar. 8 oz of soda has 40 grams. You probably got quite a bit more sugar in your liquor/syrup/choc milk combo than you would with OJ. In looking up information for previous discussions, I’ve noted that Tropicana Orange Juice has more calories per fluid ounce than Coca-Cola. [This site](http://www.hookedonjuice.com/) bears that out, and indicates that Coca-Cola has slightly more sugar than orange, apple or cherry juice, but less than grape juice. ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2009, 10:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-different-sugars-affect-you-differently/513080/4 "2009-10-09T10:14:07Z")
I know that high fructose corn syrup will definitely trigger a migraine in me, and will make my body go nuts when I check my blood glucose. I just prefer to avoid HFCS totally, and minimalize added sugars anyway. Makes life a lot easier. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2009, 10:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-different-sugars-affect-you-differently/513080/5 "2009-10-09T10:42:03Z")
Don’t forget that there are a lot of other differences in the drinks you mention. Maybe something in the OJ is keeping you from having the headache. As for sucrose vs. fructose: I seem to remember there being a difference in insulin response, if nothing else. I mean, diabetics can usually eat more fruit than they can white sugar products… ---
**Author:** ![MarcusF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/67e7ee/32.png) [@MarcusF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MarcusF)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2009, 11:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-different-sugars-affect-you-differently/513080/6 "2009-10-09T11:04:50Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > As for sucrose vs. fructose: I seem to remember there being a difference in insulin response, if nothing else. I mean, diabetics can usually eat more fruit than they can white sugar products… Uh … No. Based on a sample of one (I’m married to her 🙂 ) fructose will impact a diabetic’s BG the same as sucrose (or glucose). The difference is that normally in fruit there are other things (fibre etc) to slow down the process. Experience has shown that for bringing her blood sugar up quickly when she has a hypo, apple juice is at least as quick as glucose tablets or plain white sugar. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2009, 11:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-different-sugars-affect-you-differently/513080/7 "2009-10-09T11:34:36Z")
[Here](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/2561/is-the-increased-use-of-high-fructose-corn-syrup-responsible-for-the-rise-in-obesity)is some interesting information. Cecil quotes an article that claims: > [@](#): > > A study appearing last April in the _American Journal of Clinical Nutrition_ lent support to Critser’s view. George Bray and associates noted that: (a) U.S. consumption of HFCS rose 1,000 percent between 1970 and 1990. (b) Americans’ rate of obesity increased sharply during the same period. (Currently 31 percent of the citizenry is obese and 64 percent overweight, compared to 15 percent and 47 percent, respectively, in the late 1970s.) **(c) Fructose affects the body differently from glucose, another common form of sugar–for one thing, it doesn’t stimulate a rise in blood insulin levels (diabetics use it for that reason). The researchers speculated that people tend to use more HFCS because it doesn’t trigger the “I’m full” hormonal response produced by traditional forms of sugar (e.g., cane sugar, known as sucrose).** (bolding mine) ---
**Author:** ![Athena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/35a633/32.png) [@Athena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Athena)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2009, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-different-sugars-affect-you-differently/513080/8 "2009-10-09T13:28:35Z")
> [@Khadaji](#): > > (c) Fructose affects the body differently from glucose, another common form of sugar–for one thing, it doesn’t stimulate a rise in blood insulin levels (diabetics use it for that reason). I hate to disagree with Cecil, but WTF? First off, what’s he talking about “blood insulin levels”? Does he mean blood GLUCOSE levels? You absolutely WANT a rise in insulin levels if/when you eat any kind of carbohydrate, because the insulin is what processes the associated rise in blood glucose. Granted, uncontrolled Type 2s may have issues with high blood insulin levels, but I have yet to hear a Type 2 say they can eat fruit without seeing a jump in glucose levels. Most Type 2s I know avoid fruit except in small quantities. Type 1s, of course, don’t have issues with high blood insulin levels, because they have to inject their insulin. If we’re talking glucose levels… fruit wreaks havoc on them, I have plenty of proof of that. I don’t think it has anything to do with the type of sugar, rather, I think that it’s next to impossible to accurately guess the carb level in fruits due to difference in ripeness. But they definitely cause blood glucose to go up, in many cases faster than plain sugar products (I think because sugar is often paired with fat - ie, candy, baked goods, etc, and that slows down the absorption rate.) ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2009, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-different-sugars-affect-you-differently/513080/9 "2009-10-09T13:43:26Z")
I am not at all an expert. I quoted Cecil who quoted George Bray. I cannot vouch for the veracity of Bray’s work. [Here](http://www.pbrc.edu/pdf/bray-final-paper-080508.pdf)is a PDF by Bray that says: > [@](#): > > Fructose differs in several ways from glucose, the other half of the sucrose (table sugar) molecule. Fructose is absorbed from the gastrointestinal tract by a different mechanism than glucose. When glucose is present with fructose it facilitates the absorption of fructose, which is rapidly taken up by the liver, its principal organ for metabolism. Glucose directly stimulates insulin release from the pancreatic beta-cell, but fructose does not. Fructose also enters muscle and other cells without depending on insulin, whereas most glucose enters cells in an insulin- dependent manner. Finally once inside the cell, fructose can enter the pathways that provide the triglyceride backbone (glycerol) more efficiently than glucose. Thus, high consumption of fructose, as occurs with the rising consumption of soft drinks and the use of high-fructose corn sweeteners, may be a “fat equivalent” (18). In spite of these differences, it is the similarities of fructose-containing products (either sucrose or HFCS) that need to be emphasized. The OP asked **Can different sugars affect you differently?** Bray makes a case that different types of sugar affects the body differently. I don’t know if his research helps explain why the OP feels as he does after drinking, but at least one published research says that sugars behave differently in the body. Unfortunately, you would have to ask Mr. Bray for better clarification than I can give. ---
**Author:** ![Athena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/35a633/32.png) [@Athena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Athena)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2009, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-different-sugars-affect-you-differently/513080/10 "2009-10-09T14:07:15Z")
I have no real opinion on what Bray says about fructose/sucrose. The thing that grabbed me was “diabetics use it for this reason.” I don’t see that diabetics ever do anything in order to raise blood insulin levels; if you’re Type 2, you’re insulin resistant, so if anything, you tend to have a whole pile of insulin in your blood, no reason to raise it. If you’re Type 1, you don’t produce insulin, so even if there was something that tended to raise blood insulin levels, it wouldn’t work for you because your pancreas is shot. But anyway, that’s all kind of a hijack of the OP, so I’ll bow out now. ---
**Author:** ![cher3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/da6949/32.png) [@cher3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cher3)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2009, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-different-sugars-affect-you-differently/513080/11 "2009-10-09T15:33:57Z")
You drank 5 ounces of rum/whiskey and you think it was the sugar that gave you a headache? ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2009, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-different-sugars-affect-you-differently/513080/12 "2009-10-09T16:19:11Z")
I’m really puzzled as well. I’ve seen news reports confirming what I already know, that different liquors produce different hangovers, with clearer liquors producing less in the way of hangover than dark liquors. If those studies are accurate, drinking whiskey and rum instead of vodka would be a pretty obvious reason for the headache. ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2009, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-different-sugars-affect-you-differently/513080/13 "2009-10-09T16:47:21Z")
Yeah, I work at a liquor store, and I can’t tell you how many customers buy vodka “because clear booze gives you less of a hangover than dark-colored booze.” Or who tell me about being at a party and drinking something different from their usual clear-booze routine drink and how terribly hung over they were the next day. Me, on the outside: 🙂 Me, on the inside: :rolleyes: but also 🙂 because hey, they’re buying something. Personally, I’ve never noticed a difference. However: - I have a really good tolerance and - I know that different bodies have different body chemistries and - I’ve learned that arguing this one with people who believe firmly that there’s a difference goes nowhere ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2009, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-different-sugars-affect-you-differently/513080/14 "2009-10-09T17:11:49Z")
> [@cher3](#): > > You drank 5 ounces of rum/whiskey and you think it was the sugar that gave you a headache? I’ve never had a hangover from alcohol. It’s always been dependent on how much hard sugar I’ve had, with or without alcohol. ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2009, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-different-sugars-affect-you-differently/513080/15 "2009-10-09T17:20:18Z")
What do you mean, “hard sugar?” ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2009, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-different-sugars-affect-you-differently/513080/16 "2009-10-09T20:45:13Z")
I was wondering the same thing. I let it go in the OP I think because my brain simply read it as “hard candy” but now I’m wondering, too … I’ve never even heard the term. Is this a UK/US thing?