DIGESTION AND METABOLISM OF SUGARS

Many factors potentially influence the digestion, absorption, and meta bolism of the various species of sugars occurring in the human diet. E xperimental evidence indicates that the source of sugars in foods does not in itself affect the rate of absorption or the metabolism of the sugars. However, the form in which the sugars are ingested and the phy sical and chemical properties of the food matrices do have significant effects on the rates of absorption. Food matrices influence gastric e mptying and through their physical properties affect the rate of trans port across the small intestinal mucosa. Disaccharides form the major propertion of ingested carbohydrates in the small intestine and the di gestion and transport systems for these sugars, except for lactose, ar e the most efficient. After absorption, the pathways of the different dietary sugars converge and the original dietary source has only minim al effects on metabolism.