[dbcurtis]

Sorry, that makes little sense to me. The extra calories burnt in conversion to glucose is not going to be enough to cause weight loss. Any glucose that your body does not immediately consume gets converted to lipids and stored.

Show me the chemistry. Show me how sugar in a raisin is somehow significantly fewer net calories of glucose than just eating the equivalent in refined cane sugar or wheat flour. Sure, it takes a small amount of energy to reduce other sugars to glucose, but I can't see how it can be enough to make a difference in a weight loss diet.

[wolco]

One aspect is speed.

Eat white sugar you will quickly get an energy boost but whatever cannot be used will be stored.

Eat a complex carb and it requires more steps to breakdown. That allows for a slower release of energy and less of a need to store.

The digestive system is a pipeline of processes.