If someone has hypoglycemia is it important that they take a fast acting sugar made totally out of glucose or would sucrose or high fructose corn syrup work just as well?
HFCS seems like it’d be more convenient anyway since that is what is in soda and juice.
This study
implies fructose doesn’t affect blood glucose as well as sucrose. Honey has a roughly 1:1 ratio of fructose to glucose (at least 70% of it does) so I am ‘assuming’ it is metabolized somewhat similar to HFCS.
Glucose is the sugar used by the body. Other sugars, such as fructose, are converted to glucose eventually. Sucrose is a compound made of one molecule of glucose and one molecule of fructose. So it makes sense that something that is not pure glucose would cause less of a spike in blood glucose levels right off the bat. That said, if you’re asking what is better for someone who is experiencing symptomatic hypoglycemia, I’d say, all else equal, pure glucose might up their blood glucose level quicker, but anything on hand with a high simple sugar content- sucrose, soda, honey, jam, syrup, Clark bar, jelly beans, etc - would do the trick. Best to get what you got in them quick rather than worry about finding the “best” thing.
Glucose is as simple as a sugar can get, so it would seem that nothing would be faster for spiking blood sugar. This discussion has taken place frequently here, in various forms over the times. Sometimes it comes in the form of a workout question, sometimes in the form of a medical question but the essence is always the same; which sugar spikes blood levels fastest?