# Saccharide

Category: Metabolism

Monosaccharide -- a simple sugar; examples, glucose, fructose, ribose, galactose (galactose is also called cerebrose, brain sugar).

8 passages · 1 author · 1996–2021 · Most-cited: [Ray Peat](https://bioenergeticoracle.com/md/voices/ray-peat/index.md)

Canonical page: https://bioenergeticoracle.com/concepts/saccharide

## Synthesis

**Saccharide** is a term for a sugar molecule, classified by its structural complexity from simple **monosaccharides** like glucose, fructose, ribose, and galactose, to **disaccharides** such as sucrose, lactose, and maltose, through **oligosaccharides** (short chains), and finally to **polysaccharides** like starch, cellulose, and glycogen. [Source 1] Peat argued that the common vilification of sugars, particularly sucrose, is a misinterpretation driven by studies that fail to account for the confounding effects of *polyunsaturated fats* in the diet. [Source 3] He noted that while toxic effects can be produced in animals fed extreme 60% sucrose diets, many studies exaggerate these findings or misread adaptive metabolic signs as harmful. [Source 3]

Peat emphasized that the fructose component of sucrose is fundamentally *anti-stress* and *anti-insulin stimulating* because it is rapidly taken up by cells to promote glycogen storage, thereby steadying blood sugar without requiring significant insulin secretion. [Source 6] He contrasted this with pure starch or glucose, which have a much higher glycemic impact and demand a greater insulin response. [Source 6] The potassium naturally present in fruit functions with an insulin-like action, further easing the burden on the pancreas. [Source 6] Peat maintained that a minimum of 200 to 300 grams of carbohydrate per day is necessary for basic health, with individuals possessing a high metabolic rate potentially requiring closer to a pound daily. [Source 5]

The relationship between saccharides and gut health is dual-natured. Peat cited the bacteriologist René Dubos, who demonstrated that starving yeast like *Candida albicans* causes them to send out invasive filaments in search of sugar, suggesting that dietary sugar can be a defensive measure against systemic infection. [Source 4] Conversely, poorly digested starches and fibers that reach the lower intestine can feed bacterial overgrowth and increase the production of **endotoxin**, a toxic **lipopolysaccharide** composed of a sugar chain with attached fatty acids. [Source 2, 7] Peat explained that quickly digested sugars from fruit are largely absorbed in the upper intestine, leaving less substrate for problematic bacterial fermentation deeper in the gut. [Source 7]

In the context of systemic metabolism, Peat connected saccharide biochemistry to tissue integrity through the thyroid axis. He described how inadequate thyroid function leads to the overproduction of **mucopolysaccharides** and **glycoproteins**, mucous-like molecules that accumulate in joints and blood vessels, causing deformities and rigidity. [Source 8] Correcting thyroid function, alongside youth-associated hormones like progesterone and pregnenolone, could reverse these saccharide-based tissue distortions in a matter of weeks. [Source 8] Peat also cautioned that non-caloric sweeteners, while chemically harmless in themselves, can trigger a stress response by activating sugar-metabolizing systems through taste alone, confusing the body into releasing cortisol when no glucose arrives. [Source 4]

## People also ask

### How does fructose from sucrose affect insulin differently than starch?

Peat argued that the fructose in sucrose is rapidly taken up by cells to promote glycogen storage, steadying blood sugar without requiring significant insulin, whereas pure starch or glucose demands a much greater insulin response.

### Why did Peat believe dietary sugar could help prevent fungal infections?

Peat cited research showing that starving yeast like Candida albicans causes it to send out invasive filaments, suggesting that dietary sugar can act as a defensive measure against systemic infection by keeping the yeast in a non-invasive state.

### What is the connection between thyroid function and saccharide-related tissue damage?

Peat described how inadequate thyroid function leads to the overproduction of mucopolysaccharides and glycoproteins that accumulate in joints and blood vessels, causing deformities that could be reversed by correcting thyroid function.

## Related concepts

- [Albumin](https://bioenergeticoracle.com/md/concepts/albumin/index.md)
- [Endotoxin (Lipopolysaccharide, LPS)](https://bioenergeticoracle.com/md/concepts/endotoxin-lipopolysaccharide-lps/index.md)
- [Thymus Gland](https://bioenergeticoracle.com/md/concepts/thymus-gland/index.md)
- [Age Pigment (Lipofuscin)](https://bioenergeticoracle.com/md/concepts/age-pigment-lipofuscin/index.md)
- [Free radicals](https://bioenergeticoracle.com/md/concepts/free-radicals/index.md)
- [Fruit](https://bioenergeticoracle.com/md/concepts/fruit/index.md)

## Cited passages

Passage numbers match the `[Source N]` markers in the synthesis above.

### Source 1 — Glossary

Ray Peat · Glossary

> Saccharide
>
> Monosaccharide -- a simple sugar; examples, glucose, fructose, ribose, galactose (galactose is also called cerebrose, brain sugar).
>
> Disaccharide -- two monosaccharides bound together; examples, sucrose, lactose, maltose.
>
> Oligosaccharide -- a short chain of monosaccharides, including disaccharides and slightly longer chains.
>
> Polysaccharide -- example, starch, cellulose, glycogen.

### Source 2 — Endotoxin, Free Radicals, and Inflammation — KMUD July 2009

Ray Peat · Interview · 2009 · http://www.l-i-g-h-t.com/files/herb-doctors-bowel-endotoxinnew.mp4

> **Ray Peat:** Uhm, I'm not sure that people really know what it's doing in the bacterium but it's been known since 1892, it was called endotoxin to distinguish it from the older known bacterial toxins that the bacteria secrete to poison something on their environment, and, supposedly, the endotoxin it only comes out when the bacterium is broken apart but I think that it actually leaks a little bit all the time. So, I wouldn't that strictly like textbooks used to say, that it's somewhat of a structural protein but it's a medium to smallish molecule that can leak out in the process of growth, and cell division, and so on. It's other name is lipopolysaccharide, because its structure is a chain of sugar molecules with fatty acids attached, that gives it a soap-like behaviour that is part of why it's toxic so generally. They are so common in their environment that organisms have their basic defenses against them, one of our basic defenses is the high-density lipoprotein; they talk about it in terms of carrying cholesterol but I think its really historical main function is that it's our first defense against endotoxin once the endotoxin gets into the bloodstream. Normally the intestine is a good barrier against absorbing the endotoxins, and if some of it leaks through the walls of the intestines into the blood vessels and gets fwafbawf to the liver, the liver enzymes break it down, so it shouldn't normally reach the bloodstream in significant amounts; but it's a matter of 10's of mg that can circulate in the blood stream every day.

### Source 3 — EastWest Healing: Glycemia, Starch and Sugar in context

Ray Peat · Interview · Apr 27, 2011 · https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O_9Up2hq6PY

> ## Honey, Maple Syrup, and Sucrose
>
> **Josh Rubin:** Why is there so much misconception?
>
> **Ray Peat:** You can produce toxic effects in animals if you give them 60% of their diet as sucrose or fructose. However, many studies exaggerate these findings or misinterpret adaptive signs as harmful. There are studies where animals were given Coca-Cola or sucrose water in addition to their chow. These animals were able to eat 50% more food than the control group without getting fat. This shows a tremendous increase in metabolic rate. Fructose catalyzes the ability to oxidize glucose at a higher rate. It works like thyroid hormone to increase ATP production.

### Source 4 — EastWest Healing: Glycemia, Starch and Sugar in context

Ray Peat · Interview · Apr 27, 2011 · https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O_9Up2hq6PY

> **Ray Peat:** Rene Dubot said, who was a bacteriologist mostly, mentioned that I think he had some pictures of the candida-type yeast, which were starved. And when they're fed sugar, if you have a lot of them in your stomach, you can get drunk on the fermenting sugars. But in the intestine, normally, if they're living far enough up that they even get the sugar. They should be way down in the lower intestine. Your sugar should be absorbed in the upper couple of feet, two or three feet of intestine.

### Source 5 — #55: Bioenergetic Nutrition Basics  |  "The Ray Peat Diet"  |  Appetite and Metabolism with Ray Peat

Ray Peat (with Danny Roddy) · Interview · Apr 25, 2021

> ## Dietary Basics: Carbohydrates and Sugar
>
> **Danny Roddy:** Is there a base amount of carbohydrate you think a person needs to function?
>
> **Ray Peat:** I've experimented on people with a 100-gram carbohydrate diet, and I don't think that was even close to a good health level. I think it's probably around that range of 200 or 300 that's minimum.
>
> **Danny Roddy:** What does it mean when a person needs way more than that, like 400 or 500?
>
> **Ray Peat:** Or they just have a very intense metabolic rate. If you're consuming oxygen at twice the rate of normal, then it would be reasonable to expect that you need closer to a pound of carbohydrate per day.
>
> **Danny Roddy:** Would you expect them to increase the carbohydrate content getting into older age?
>
> **Ray Peat:** I think increasing it is helpful.
>
> **Georgi Dinkov:** What is your view of sugar alcohols like sorbitol in prune juice for constipation?
>
> **Ray Peat:** If it works as a laxative, you're going to absorb very little of it. But if it doesn't work as a laxative, then it would tend to get pushed into your tissues.
>
> **Georgi Dinkov:** What about xylitol as a mouthwash?

### Source 6 — Dr. Ray Peat, Day Two: Full Interview from On the Back of a Tiger

Ray Peat · Interview · Feb 18, 2021 · https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z3yVUELD2ZA

> **Ray Peat:** The nutritionists in the 1970s started talking about the glycemic index in connection with the idea that sugar is the cause of diabetes and so on. And in looking, they were saying that it's good to eat foods that don't have such a high glycemic index on the idea that glycemia is what is harmful, causing diabetes. But the actual figures show that a pure starch is much more glycemic than a pure sucrose. Pure glucose and pure starch have the absolute perfection of raising your blood sugar. Sucrose is much lower, and when you test the components, the glucose half of the molecule It is just like starch, and the fructose part of the molecule can actually lower the insulin because it goes into your cells so easily and is converted. It promotes the production of glycogen when it's taken in ordinary physiological amounts. It raises your glycogen, helps to steady your blood sugar over time because the glycogen is available as soon as your blood sugar falls to oxidize. So the glycogen, the fructose part of the sucrose molecule that you find in most fruits is anti-stress, anti-insulin stimulating. and anti-obesity because it prefers to increase your glycogen stores and steady your blood sugar rather than stimulating insulin insulin stimulating fat synthesis as well as glycogen synthesis so it's a little steadier to have a sugar diet rather than a starch diet And besides, the fruits come with a high concentration of certain minerals, pretty much the balance of minerals that we have in our cells. a high potassium concentration, for example. You hear about bananas and orange juice as rich sources of potassium, but that's typical of any fruit or any cellular material. And so it's compatible with supplying the nutrients that we need. Potassium itself has an insulin-like action, helps the cells to take up and use carbohydrates, bypassing the need to secrete insulin so it's easy on the pancreas.

### Source 7 — Endotoxin

Ray Peat · Interview · Nov 19, 2010

> **Herb Doctor:** Would you just describe endotoxin?
>
> **Ray Peat:** Its chemical name is lipopolysaccharide. There are several kinds of bacteria that make similar things. But this combination of a starch-like molecule with some fatty acids attached to it and it's so widely distributed that all animals have a system for reacting to it and defending themselves against it. And it seems to be partly a bacterial defence against the bacteria's environment. So there's an evolved back and forth relationship between the animals and the bacteria. And it's a matter of things getting out of balance that causes the endotoxin to be a problem.
>
> **Herb Doctor:** Okay, so I hear of many foods that promote this production. Would you be able to list some specific foods that people should think about before they consume them, given that we are going to open up the negative effects of endotoxin.

### Source 8 — The Thyroid 1996 Gary Null Radio Show

Ray Peat · Interview · 1996 · http://l-i-g-h-t.com/files/gary-null-thyroid.mp4

> **Ray Peat:** The mucousy materials that are overproduced can also cause blood vessel inefficiency and rigidity, and contributes to things like varicose veins. When this material gets in the joints, it causes cartilage deformities. The old textbooks used to show teenagers with deformed joints that caused the same deviation of the bones -- at the elbow joint especially, and the knee joint especially, with knock knees for example -- but in old people you see the fingers deviating to one side, because the cartilage is getting deformed. The right balance of thyroid and the youth associated hormones -- progesterone and pregnenolone, and to some extent, DHEA -- will rebalance the production of these mucous-like molecules -- the glycoproteins and mucopolysaccharides, they're called -- and in just a week or two, you can often correct the deformity in a permanent way, so that the joint functions without pain or distortion. All of the chronic diseases, to the extent that they involve this false adaptation, in which the thyroid tries to put you into a sort of hibernation state -- all of the chronic diseases tend to benefit from the right supplement of these youth associated hormones. And the history of medical thyroid treatment is necessary before a person can understand what the doctor is doing with the tests. Typically, a doctor will diagnose normal thyroid function on the basis of a test of the thyroxine in the blood, and sometimes backs that up with a normal range TSH, or thyroid stimulating hormone. The TSH usually is somewhere in the range between .5 and 6 units, and a person will be called normal when it's anywhere in that range. But when it's above 1 unit, in other words when it's just anywhere above the lowest normal range, the TSH is already causing excess production of the mucopolysaccharides that tend to load up the various tissues.

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