Fructose is a simple sugar that is used on a large scale in the food industry. It is now included in most of the products on the market, which has led to it being consumed in excess. Meanwhile, scientists have noticed that consuming large amounts of fructose can lead to serious diseases, including obesity (especially abdominal), type 2 diabetes and cancer.

Fructoseis a simple sugar that can be found in nature in fruits (hence its common name -fruit sugar ), fruit juices and honey.

In addition, fructose occurs in the form of sucrose, i.e. white food sugar (it consists of it together with glucose), and glucose-fructose syrup, also known as corn (42% of fructose), which it is present in virtually every product - from candy and fizzy drinks to … bread and cold cuts.

Fruit sugar may also be hidden in products with additives marked on the label with the symbol "E": E420: sorbitol, E473 and E474: carbohydrate esters, E491-E495: sorbitan esters that can release sorbitol.

Fructose favors cancer development

Fructose is the primary source of energy for pancreatic cancer, demonstrated scientists from the University of California in Los Angeles, whose research results were published in "Cancer Research". Cancer cells that were grown in a laboratory were given fructose and glucose. It turned out that pancreatic cancer cells metabolize the two sugars differently (until now, glucose and fructose were thought to be interchangeable energy sources for cancer). Cancer cells easily used fructose to accelerate their division and growth, the researchers explained. In their opinion, this applies not only to pancreatic cancer, but also to other malignant tumors.

Fructose and cardiovascular diseases

Excessive amounts of fructose in the diet can lead to the development of cardiovascular diseases. So say scientists from the University of California, whose research results were published in the "Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism". In their study, people who consumed high-fructose corn syrup (25% of the daily calories requirement) for two weeks, increased the level of cholesterol and triglycerides in the blood, which increases the risk ofheart attack or stroke. In addition, fructose increases the risk of heart disease in another way - it promotes the deposition of visceral fat (surrounding organs) in the abdominal cavity. This is what research published in The Journal of Nutrition showed. Moreover, it has been proven that excess fructose contributes to the development of hypertension.

Fructose and diabetes

Excessive and long-term consumption of fructose has a negative effect on the body's carbohydrate balance. It causes rapid changes in the concentration of insulin and glucose in the blood, which in he althy people leads to the development of insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes.

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Is fructose a good glucose substitute for diabetics?

Fructose is commonly considered an ideal glucose substitute in the diet of diabetics: it has a low glycemic index (fructose IG=20, for comparison, sucrose IG=70), it is sweeter than sugar and most importantly - its use by the human body takes place without insulin. Fructose, instead of directly entering the bloodstream, undergoes metabolism in the liver, and specific conversion into glycogen and fats. Unfortunately, scientific research shows that uric acid is a byproduct of these reactions. And long-term high uric acid levels are one of the risk factors for atherosclerosis leading to hardening of the arteries. Accordingly, specialists from the American Diabetes Association advise patients with diabetes not to replace glucose with fructose anymore.

Thenwhat to replace fructose ? For diabetics, xylitol or stevia is a good solution.

Fructose and obesity

Fructose is as caloric as white sugar - 100 g=400 kcal, but it is almost twice as sweet. This means you use twice as much (in theory, you get twice as few calories) to achieve the same sweetness effect as sugar. So why fructose promotes weight gain?

Fructose causes leptin levels to drop and ghrelin levels to rise after eating a meal. Leptin and ghrelin, as well as insulin, are hormones that regulate the appetite. When the stomach has been empty for a long time, it begins to produce ghrelin - the "hunger hormone" that forces you to eat something. After a meal, insulin triggers the production of leptin in adipose tissue, a hormone that makes you feel full and tells your brain to stop eating.

Fructose does not stimulate the secretion of insulin in the body, and thus - leptin is not produced. The level of the latter hormone in the body is constantly low, which disturbs the feeling of hunger - it is unrestrained all the timeappetite, especially for sweet, high-energy products. This is why, after eating a bar, you want one more, and then two more. Therefore, the higher the fructose intake, the greater the appetite.

Fructose and fatty liver

Fructose consumed in excess can also cause non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, argue researchers from the Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. monkeys that were on a fructose-rich diet were twice as severe as monkeys that did not consume excess fructose, possibly because fructose is metabolized primarily in the liver (as opposed to glucose, which is also Its excess increases the production of free fatty acids and triglycerides, which are fully deposited in the liver.

Fructose may be responsible for poor memory and Alzheimer's

In turn, scientists from the University of Georgia, together with Canadian researchers from the University of Waterloo (Ontario) in the Eurek Alert website, argue that excess fructose in the diet can weaken memory. All because fructose causes a decrease in the sensitivity of nervous tissue to insulin, which may negatively affect the functioning of the brain.

In contrast, laboratory animal studies at the University of Cambridge showed that increased fructose consumption caused the production of beta-amyloid plaques in the brains of animals. These plaques are often found in the brains of people with Alzheimer's disease.

Fructose can lead to arthritis

Fructose increases blood uric acid levels, which can lead to gout, according to a 22-year study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. People taking part in the experiment consumed freely available carbonated drinks sweetened with fructose and orange juice. Study participants who drank at least one can of soda a day had 74 percent. a higher risk of getting gout than people in the control group, who drank less than one can of the drink a month.

Fructose - is it he althy?

Is fructose he althy? These and other questions are answered by dietitian Jacek Bilczyński.

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