Fructose: Is Sugar In Fruit Good Or Bad For Your Health?

Changing your eating habits is difficult for everyone, so it is good to be aware of the composition, benefits, and harms of each product on our menu.

Excessive fruit consumption is one of the most common dietary mistakes when aiming to reduce pounds or burn fat.

We are all aware of the curative and useful and at the same time, the delicious food is the fruit. That is why fructose ("fructus" - a fruit), which is mainly found in them, leads us to the conclusion that it is a safe and even a favorable substitute for refined white sugar.

Its use is undergoing a rise in the diet for understandable reasons - an alternative for diabetics, for the recovery of athletes, a sweetener in the food industry, and more.

However, as we know, each coin has its two sides, so it is a good idea to be aware of the downsides of fructose - both as a sweetener and when used for other purposes.

Fructose is a monosaccharide found naturally in many fruits, vegetables, and honey.

It is also added to various drinks (soda, fruit-flavored drinks, etc.). However, it is very different from other sugars because it has a different metabolic pathway and is not a preferred source of energy from the muscles or brain.

It is absorbed twice as fast as glucose, metabolized only by the liver, and is more lipogenic (produces more fat) than glucose.

Unlike glucose, it does not cause insulin release, ie. does not stimulate the production of leptin, a key hormone for regulating appetite.

When we have low levels of leptin, the feeling of satiety decreases, leading to obesity and an imbalance in the ratio of "good" "and" bad "cholesterol.

If we consume excess fruit sugar, this has proven to lead to leptin resistance - or in other words - exacerbates our appetite!

These factors raise concerns about chronically high fructose intake, as it promotes the formation/retention of body fat more than other carbohydrates.

Based on its origin, it is itself a simple carbohydrate. Recall that simple carbohydrate are made up of two or more sugar chains. They are sweet, have a low nutritional value for the body, but unlike complex carbohydrates, they quickly raise blood sugar levels and increase insulin accordingly (as we know it inhibits fat burning).

A healthy diet typically includes 40% to 60% carbohydrates (may vary), with 2/3 of them being recommended to be complex.

For some, it may be interesting how exactly the exchange of fruit sugar occurs. In brief:

(1) It is taken with food in the form of disaccharide sucrose (sugar), as a monosaccharide with fruits (fruit sugar) and with honey (nearly 50% fructose and 50% galactose.);
(2) Absorbed in the small intestine by light diffusion (GLUT 5);
(3) It is transported to the liver where it is digested - key enzymes are fructokinase (activates fructose to fructose-1F) and aldolase B (breaks down fructose-1F);
(4) In extrahepatic tissues (only at high concentrations in the blood) - activated by hexokinase to fructose-6F, which enters glycolysis. Hexokinase has little affinity for fructose.

* glucokinase - glucose is phosphorylated by hexokinase;
* hexokinase - glucokinase in the liver;
* extrahepatic biliary tract - biliary tract outside the liver.

Fruits and vegetables

Countless studies have found that the consumption of fruits and vegetables is associated with weight loss due to their high content of healthy fiber.

Although their sugar has nothing to do with refined sugar, their overdose can not lead to imbalances and negatives.

Therefore, they should not be overused and it is best to take them raw or in the form of freshly squeezed juice.

For reference, you can see a table (here and here) with the value of sugar in some of them (up to 100g). As follows - Natural Source Amount of sugar The amount of fructose The amount of glucose.

The content of mono- and disaccharides in vegetables is very low and this justifies their widespread use as low-energy foods. However, more substantial amounts of sugars are contained in some traditional Bulgarian canned vegetables. For comparison:

• 1 jar of homemade chutney: about 70-80 g of sugar

• 1 jar homemade pickle: about 3 tbsp sugar (60g)

• i.e. half of these sugars are fructose (the rest is glucose)

* Data are taken according to traditional recipes for making half a liter jar (500g)

Bearing in mind that canned tuna is much more flavored, it is very important to look at the amounts of sugar and additional ingredients on the label.

Suggestions for fruits containing small amounts of sugar:

• Cranberries: sugar 4.3 g; fiber 3.6 g

• Raspberries: sugar 5.4 g .; fiber 8 gr.

• Blackberries: sugar 7 g .; fiber 7.6 g

• Berries: sugar 7.4 g .; fiber 3 gr.

• Watermelon: sugar 9.4 g .; fiber 0.6 g

• Melon: 9.4 g sugar; fiber 0.6 g

The values ​​shown are for 100 grams of fruit.

Cranberries, raspberries, and blackberries are among the most recommended fruits among weight-loss diets.

In addition to their strong antioxidant properties, they also contain a large concentration of companies, which in turn enhances the feeling of satiety.

Watermelons and melons are fruits with a higher glycemic index because they are poorer in fiber than other fruits. However, they actually have little effect on the increase in blood sugar because they contain a lot of carbohydrates and have the highest amount of water. Consuming them improves the lipid profile and can help reduce fat (in certain amounts).

Honey and fructose

We consume 40 times more sugar than honey. It has been used as a "natural sweetener" for centuries.

While sugar is 100% sucrose, it consists of about 75% sugars, of which about 50/50 glucose and fructose (these proportions may vary, depending on the source of the nectar) and about 25% water.

Because of this difference, honey has fewer calories per 100 grams. For comparison:

• 100 grams of white sugar contains 406 calories;

• 100 g of honey contains 334 calories.

A common practice when using it as a sugar substitute is to not change the quantity (simply the size of a spoon) and therefore take even more calories.

When using it, we should not forget the fact that the honey is thicker and one tablespoon weighs 28 grams, while the same with sugar - 16 grams.

* Important: Bee honey has an average GI of 88 - even higher than regular sugar.

HFSC or glucose-fructose syrup

Glucose-fructose syrup (HFCS) is a sweetener derived from corn.

The glucose in it burns quickly but is stored in the muscles, liver, or fat.

Due to its rapid absorption, it stimulates the pancreas to produce a lot of insulin, which is often associated with weight gain.

The liver has limited ability to process fructose and when an excessive amount of it enters the body, much of it becomes fat.

In an experiment with rats fed high amounts of fructose, they all developed anemia, high cholesterol, and cardiac hypertrophy (heart enlargement).

The liver, however, was harmed as if overuse of alcohol.

So - do not be fooled by the new, modern sweetener, which is present in almost all diet stands in various interpretations of desserts (waffles, sweets, ready-made sauces, nuts, smoothies, etc.).

Unfortunately, it is precise because of the harm it causes that this product is also detrimental to people with pre-diabetic or already complicated diabetes.

According to scientific research, the consumption of HFSC can permanently reduce memory and learning opportunities.

Studies show that students who consume baking soda and sweets in less than six weeks reduce their success. Not only does HFSC harm the body (through its role in diabetes, obesity and liver function), it also has a negative effect on the brain.

Scheme for comparison

Both compounds have the same formula C6H12O6 but are metabolized differently in the body.

All carbohydrates are absorbed as monosaccharides in the intestine and are broken down into glucose, which is absorbed into the bloodstream.

When it enters the bloodstream, it is converted to energy, and its excess is stored as glycogen in the liver, muscle cells, and adipose tissue.

Fructose has a lower glycemic index than glucose, but a much higher glycemic load (contains more carbohydrates). It loads more cells because it binds to cellular proteins seven times faster.

The glycemic index (GI) of different sugars is different. This is an indicator that measures the extent to which a carbohydrate diet increases blood sugar over time and, to that extent, the effect of an increase in insulin in the blood (it regulates this sugar and keeps it within normal limits).

The higher the GI, the higher the insulin after consumption of the given sugar and the more of these sugars turn into fat.

Fructose has a GI of only 21 (compared to glucose - 100) and sucrose (regular crystalline sugar) with a GI of 65.

Unlike glucose, however, fructose does not stimulate pancreatic cells to produce insulin, and therefore leptin does not increase its concentration in the blood.

This may be a major reason for us to continue to eat uncontrollably.

The fact that fructose-rich foods saturate us much more slowly than glucose-rich foods means that we can inadvertently take in far more than we need.

Because fructose does not require insulin, it has been a lifeline for diabetes for many years.

It leads to an increase in blood pressure after drinking, but the increase is slower than glucose, which is especially important for people with diabetes.

Excessive use of it can deplete the liver's capacity and overload the body.

The uncontrolled use of fructose, even in perfectly healthy people, is neither safer nor safer than sugar intake.

However, when used in moderation, it has its health benefits:

• normalizes glucose concentration;

• strengthens the protective functions of the body;

• prevents caries;

• does not allow the development of diathesis (unusual sensitivity to bleeding);

• inhibits carbohydrate accumulation;

• has a tonic effect.