Sugar Solubility and Intake

In exercise drinks such as Gatorade and Powerade, sugar is the main fuel source for the body. These drinks contain simple sugars because they are absorbed into the body faster and can be used as energy faster.  Athletes depend on these simple sugars as fuel and they need them for better performance.  For example, someone who races in a sport such as swimming or track will use these fast dissolving sugars as a quick burst of energy for a sprint.  However, they must monitor their intake of the sugars; they must take the appropriate amount and take it with the correct frequency.  When someone drinks Gatorade and the sugars enter their body, they are absorbed into the bloodstream quickly.  The pancreas must pump out insulin in order to compensate for the rise in blood sugar, also known as hyperglycemia.  But the sugars dissolve so quickly that the actual amount of them is overestimated and there is always insulin left over.  This extra insulin is stored as fat in the body, which is bad for the athlete.  In order to prevent this from happening, the athlete needs to have a continuous and constant intake of these sugars so that the blood sugar will not spike and there will not be extra insulin left over in the body.  Although it is good that these simple sugars can be used as fuel quickly, a lot of athletes make the mistake of ignoring the importance of intake frequency.  

This issue is caused because of the simple sugars' solubility properties.  Fructose is the most soluble of all the simple sugars.  In solutions, like dissolves like, meaning polar compounds will dissolve polar compounds and nonpolar compounds will dissolve nonpolar compounds.  Fructose is polar so it will easily dissolve in water, a polar solvent.  In addition, it is a smaller compound so it will dissolve faster than a larger one, such as sucrose, a disaccharide.