Acesulfam-K: Artificial sweetener.

Amylopectin: The branched part of Starch.

Amylose: The straight molecule chain of Starch.

Aspartame: Artificial sweetner. Aspartame is a combination of two amino acids joined together. The amino acids are Aspartic acid and Phenylalanine.

Average molecular weight: The average molecular weight of a substance. The higher the breakdown level, the lower the average molecular weight is. Take a good look at Vitargo’s breakdown level compared to other sport and energy drinks!

Carbohydrate: Carbohydrates, often shortened CHO, are often energy giving substances but not always. They are commonly known as sugar, Starch and fibre.

Complex glucose polymers: A mixture of Glucose polymers with different chain lengths (often used to describe starch syrup or maltodextrin).

Dextrose: Crystalline Glucose (see Glucose).

Disaccharide: Type of sugars that consists of two monosaccharides, i.e. Sucrose, Maltose and Lactose.

Fructose: Monosaccharide that is also called "Fruit sugar" or Levulose. It is present in most plants. Used in diabetic food as fructose. Is converted in the liver and therefore does not require Insulin for cell upptake as glucose does.

Glucose: Also called Dextrose. Glucose is a monosaccharide. Traditional sugar, Sucrose, is a combination of one Glucose and one Fructose. The monosaccharide Glucose is the most important sugar in the blood.
Glucose is also the fundamental element in the polysaccharide Starch.

Glucose polymers: Long molecular chains with Glucose as the fundamental building block.

Glucose syrup: Glucose syrup is among other things used to improve the consistency and to regulate sugar crystallisation and sweetness in for example confectionery (sweets), ice cream and beverages.

Glycogen storage: Energy from carbohydrates is stored in the muscles and in the liver as Glycogen. This is valid in both animals and humans. Plants store their energy in the form of starch.

Hydrolysed starch: Degraded starch. The catalysts for degradation are acids or enzymes.

Hypertonic: A solution that has a higher osmolality than blood. This means a slow passage of nutritional substances from the stomach to the small intestine.

Hypotonic: A solution that has a lower osmolality than blood. This means that the more hypoton a solution is the quicker it passes through the stomach to the small intestine where energy absorption occurs.

Isotonic: A solution that has the same osmolality value as blood.

Lactose: Disaccharide containing Galactose and Glucose. It is found in milk, where it is given the name milk sugar. In the absence of the enzyme Lactase results in the body being unable to make use of Lactose, however this is not generally a problem for Scandinaves, it is more of a problem for Mediterranean countries.

Maltodextrin: Partly hydrolysed Starch that has its breakdown point somewhere between Starch and Starch syrup. Maltodextrin is produced through enzymes or acidic Starch hydrolysis, in other words Starch is broken down into smaller molecules, binding water to them. Acids or enzymes initiate this process. Maltodextrin is easily dissolved but does not taste sweet. They are used mainly to enhance the consistency for powdered soup, children’s food, confectionery etc and as a bulking agent.

Monosaccharide: From a chemical point of view the simplest form of all sugar types. Nature’s most common and naturally occurring monosaccharides are Glucose and Fructose.

Oligosaccharides: Complex carbohydrates. Types of saccharides where the chain consists of 3-10 linked monosaccharides.

Osmolality: This parameter affects the transport of water and other solutes over the cellmembranes.

Osmosis: Concentration balancing ability of solutions with different concentrations.

Osmotic pressure: The driving force through a membrane to achieve equilibrium of water holding ability in solutions with different concentrations of solutes.

Simple carbohydrates: Short chained carbohydrates, e.g. mono- and disaccharides.

Starch: Starch is a polysaccharide that is present in the form of stored nourishment in many plants, especially potatoes and cereal crops. Starch is made up of interlinking Glucose molecules and they are relatively easy to split up with the help of acids or enzymes. Starch is the raw material for carbohydrates used in nutritional products.

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