Sugar, Fat, and Salt Trivia Quiz

Answer: Digested in the small intestine by enzymatic hydrolysis

In hydrolysis, a water molecule (H20) breaks the bond in sucrose between the glucose and the fructose. The connecting oxygen gains a H atom from the H2O molecule to complete glucose, leaving the OH- to complete the fructose.

Sucrase, secreted in the small intestine, catalyses (speeds up) this reaction, which is otherwise quite slow. After the breakdown from disaccharide sucrose to monosaccharides glucose and fructose, they are absorbed into the bloodstream.
Amylase IS in the mouth and involved in digestion of other carbohydrates, and if you chew bread for a while, you will notice it becomes sweet. However, it does not act on sucrose.

Answer: Oxygen

Aerobic respiration is the preferred means of 'burning' glucose for its energy, as it is several times more efficient than anaerobic respiration. In a simplified reaction, oxygen + glucose -> carbon dioxide + water.

In anaerobic respiration, lactic acid is created in muscles as a by product of 'burning' glucose without oxygen, and this lactic acid eventually builds up, reducing the effectiveness of muscles. The body only uses anaerobic respiration when it needs energy quickly, for example in a sprint. Increased oxygen is required to break down the lactic acid, which is why we often breathe quickly and deeply after a sprint.

Answer: No

It is a myth that overconsumption of sugar is the only cause of type 2 diabetes (or type 1, for that matter). Insulin is required to act as a key of sorts to our cells for energy use. When insulin is a) greater in demand than supply and/or b) not able to be produced to overcome insulin resistance levels, hyperglycemia develops, and from that, diabetes. Causes include genetically passing it down, but also, obesity is said to be a risk factor, as well as age (older people at greater risk). Poor eating habits, lack of exercise, and a higher body weight have been noted to explain the growing prevalence of DM2 in younger people (below 18).

Diabetes mellitus type 1 is caused by a rejection of the pancreas - the body creates antibodies and inflammatory cells for the purpose of removing the pancreas, and is often suggested to have a genetic cause, or as a reaction to certain viruses and toxins.

Answer: The extra energy is stored as fat

When it isn't immediately used, glucose is put together and converted to glycogen, which is a role of insulin. Glycogen is stored in liver and muscles for 'active' usage. A good example might include a marathon runner. Some people refer to 'hitting the wall' and this occurs when the glycogen stores run out. On the other end, when people don't use these glycogen stores, carbohydrates will be converted into fat in a de novo lipogenesis method.

This is a concern with modern day life in developed countries, where inactivity AND overeating combine to contribute to increased storage of fats, leading to becoming overweight.

Answer: Soluble in organic solvents but not water

Generally, we refer to fats in consumption as either saturated (usually solid) or unsaturated (usually liquid). In general, neither oils or solid fat do not dissolve in water. This is because water is polar, and fats are not. Examples of organic solvents include acetone and ethanol, which are non-polar and thus will dissolve fat.

In a water molecule, electrons will be closer to the oxygen atom, as it has greater pull than the hydrogen atoms. This causes the oxygen to become slightly negatively charged, (as electrons are negatively charged), and the hydrogen atoms to become slightly positively charged. Now, in relation to other water molecules, the slightly negative oxygen atom and slightly positive hydrogen atoms attract. This is known as the hydrogen bond.

Now, as the majority of fats do not have this polarity, particularly the hydrocarbon constituents, hydrogen bonds are not formed. They do not dissolve because the energy required would require the breaking of a large number of these hydrogen bonds in the water. Thus the water repels them, to float if possible, minimising the amount of the surface area of the water around the fats.

Answer: Less double bonds between carbon atoms in saturated fat

Typically, and this is not a cast iron rule, saturated fats are more likely to be solid than unsaturated fats. Fats are a long chain of carbon and hydrogen atoms with a carboxyl (COOH) group at one end. The reason a saturated fat is called as such is because there is a lack of double bonds between the carbon atoms. When there are no double bonds, extra hydrogen is bonded. This reduces the flexibility of the molecule chain. Thus, the chains pack together in a more brittle, crystalline manner. The double bonds cause the unsaturated fats to curve and bend, making them pack in a less uniform manner. This often makes them liquid at room temperature.

It's also interesting to know that saturated fats do not oxidise as readily, and thus will keep longer than unsaturated fats. The double bonds cause less chemical stability, and thus will more readily break down.

Answer: Hydrogenation in unsaturated fats

Hydrogenation involves an unsaturated fat, for example a vegetable oil, reacted under pressure with hydrogen gas for several hours, with a nickel or platinum catalyst. The aim is to improve its texture, make it solid, and increase its shelf life. Vegetable shortening is an example of a hydrogenated vegetable oil.

Partial hydrogenation does not always remove double bonds - and this is where the problem lies. The double bond in the fatty acid is reformed to lie in an unnatural state. In unsaturated fatty acids a double bond would naturally cause a slight curve or bend, due to atoms only being on one side at the joint (known as a cis formation). This curve is now straightened out, known as a trans formation, which is unnatural to our body.

Imagine a production line where the workers only know how to act with certain items. This trans-fatty acid is the equivalent of a foreign object to the workers. The fatty acids are the building blocks of fats, as amino acids are to proteins. Our body does not typically work with trans-fats well, because they are not natural to our body, and enzymes, for example, will only act on specifically shaped compounds. Trans-fats have been correlated with increases in LDL cholesterol and reductions in health-promotive HDL cholesterol, and several forms of cancer.

Answer: Lipase

Triglycerides form the majority of stored fat tissue. A triglyceride is effectively three chains of fatty acids bound onto a glycerol molecule. It has over twice as much energy as carbohydrates, and is more space efficient, so is ideal for storing energy. Triglycerides are too large to fit through membranes, so they must be broken down. Glucagon, the same hormone involved in breaking glycogen to glucose, acts as a signal to release these fatty acids with pancreatic lipase, which lowers the activation energy required for reaction.

These fatty acids travel to the areas which need the energy, and are transported to the mitochondria within the cells which work to produce the energy.

Answer: Sodium is naturally made in our bodies

Sodium is not naturally made in our bodies, and we gain the sodium we need through consumption of salt. However, in these modern times, there is really no shortage of salt. Something to bear in mind for food label watchers - if there is a label displaying 'sodium', the actual salt content is 2.5 times higher (as there is about 0.4g sodium per gram). Salt regulates not only our water content, but our blood pressure - sodium helps to raise it, and chloride to reduce it, both must be balanced. The recommended intake for salt varies based on age, but is typically between 1.5-6g.

Answer: Iodine

Iodine was added to table salt in the 1920s by the USA as, in some regions, iodine was not present in the soils. The thyroid gland needs iodine to create thyroxine and triiodothyronine, used in metabolic functions. A lack of iodine can lead to goiter, an enlargement of the thyroid gland, and too much iodine can also affect metabolic functions. We do not need very much iodine, just a few micrograms (100-160) per day. A good source of iodine elsewhere is seafood.