Then what is the difference from sugar, corn syrup and high fructose corn syrup?
The molecular structures differ slightly, but the body treats them all the same - as sugars.
“Then what is the difference from sugar, corn syrup and high fructose corn syrup?”
Sugar (sucrose, table sugar) is half fructose, half glucose, bound together in a single molecule. It is very quickly and easily broken apart into fructose and glucose. Metabolically it is 50% fructose, and 50% glucose.
Corn syrup (the old fashioned kind, “Karo”) is nearly all glucose made from corn starch.
HFCS is corn syrup (glucose) that has been changed to fructose. It can be in any proportion, but 50% fructose 50% glucose is a safe assumption here. It is nearly identical to table sugar, metabolically speaking.
Glucose is “the” sugar. It is the gasoline of our bodies. It is controlled by insulin, and in normal, healthy people, it is safe to eat in reasonable quantities. It is not quite as sweet as sucrose and fructose.
Starch is a long chain of glucose molecules.
Maltodextrin is short chains of glucose. No more or less healthy than glucose and starch, in reasonable quantities.
That ends the chemistry lesion.