Fructose - better than sucrose or glucose? Yes says the EFSA

steve2kay

I just read this article on the guardian website which I found pretty interesting

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/oct/21/fructose-poison-sugar-industry-pseudoscience

The summary is that the European Food Safety Authority has decided that fructose offers health benefits over sucrose or glucose - the writer of this article disagees. I guess the worry is that food manufacturers will replace sucrose and glucose with fructose in soft drinks, sweetened food etc. He seems to suggest this is a bad thing,

nomeejerome

The author is Lustig....

http://www.alanaragonblog.com/2010/01/29/the-bitter-truth-about-fructose-alarmism/

billsica

My manhood contains fructose. So it can't be all that bad.

UsedToBeHusky

They already use fructose to sweeten drinks and food. High-fructose corn syrup.

The controversy is that some people believe that HFCS leads to obesity... but that is pretty much true of any food consumed in large quantities, including glucose and sucrose.

susannamarie

This just shows that paying attention to every food study that comes out is hazardous to your health.

RoseTears143

Everything is bad for us and causes cancer. We should just learn to survive without eating. :laugh:

mmapags

Lolstig!! Seriously, exactly what difference does this make in a overall balanced diet at proper calories levels??? Pretty much NONE!

magerum

Lolstig.

willdob3

I'm reading some info on this now. A combo of the sugars is worse than one alone because it is a lot harder on the liver.

I recall a mention that fructose might not be a problem now but that it can become a problem when consumed in large amounts over years. In other words, moderation now will prevent health problems later. Evidently it is not the best idea to avoid sugars only if you already have health problems. The idea is to eat in a way that doesn't lead to them. The source of the fructose and/or other sugars is also important - different sources are processed differently by our bodies so even when the caloric value is the same there can be a big difference in our bodies - and in fat loss results. .

But, I have only just started reading about this. Lots of research ahead...

acpgee

Isn't the problem with fructose the fact that it doesn't trigger satiety? We were designed to gorge on fruit when available.

tilmoph

I recall a mention that fructose might not be a problem now but that it can become a problem when consumed in large amounts over years. In other words, moderation now will prevent health problems later.

That's basically true of every food and element of food. Also, didn't the US already try the whole fructose is better thing, and now high fructose corn syrup is suppose to be the great satan of healthy weight?

amberkhan75

Fructose is in pretty much every fruit and vegetable you eat, so you better make sure you are consuming it. The problem comes down to HFCS which is a perversion of fructose. I consume supplements sweetened with fructose because a) it's better than artificial sweeteners and b) it is sourced from apples and beets. Our brains and bodies need a certain amount of fructose to function optimally.

Dr. Michael Colgan - All tree, bush, and vine fruits, and all berries that folk eat as fruits, contain fructose and glucose, as do most vegetables. In plants, fructose may be present as fructose, and glucose as glucose, or both as components of sucrose. Sucrose is composed of a molecule of glucose and a molecule of fructose bonded together.

If you are eating plant based foods you are consuming all three. Just avoid HFCS

RhonndaJ

One thing I've learned from researching this topic and other similar ones is that I end up spending a lot of time only to find out that what I thought in the first place was correct.

allisonrinkel

Watch this video, it explains how your body breaks fructose down into what is basically poison. All scientifically based.
This changed my life. I hope it helps others too.
It's not an add or anything, just a video on fructose
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cgTlFFWMNy0

To each their own though, I'm not here to tell anyone whats right or wrong, this is just what makes sense for me. Please just ignore this if you don't agree, as I don't like getting into MFP spats

HeidiCooksSupper

Those who refuse to recognize that there are nuances in nutritional knowledge that are constantly changing due to new scientific evidence are either snowed by the protestations of industry, are part of that industry, or are made so uncomfortable by changing knowledge and nuance that they find living in the 21st century very disturbing.

The fructose battle pits moneyed interests against science. The recent European decision certainly represents the triumph of money over science. Our bodies do, indeed, process different sugars differently. Fructose places a high burden on the liver. High fructose consumption seems to be linked to non-alcoholic liver disease, among other problems.

Yes, fructose is a natural substance that occurs in fruits. It seems fructose ingested with the related insoluble fibers in complete fruits does not create the same degree of fructose-related effects in the body as fruit juices and fructose-laden corn sugars. The complete science of this effect is not yet determined but is the subject of current research.

High fructose corn syrup is the preferred sweetener for many food manufacturers because it is inexpensive and tastes sweeter than many other sugars. The sweet flavors can induce increased consumption in many people so enables greater sales of HFCS-sweetened products.

ON AVERAGE, a calorie is a calorie and our body weights are determined by calories in, calories out. Our diets comprise a wide variety of animals, vegetables, and minerals that are processed in different ways by our bodies. As there is a great deal of variety in our diets, there is a great deal of variety in each of our dietary processes. We each have different biota living in our intestines, the importance of which is just coming to be understood by science.

Anyone who says "All fructose is evil" or "All sugars are the same" is being simplistic to the point of silliness. Different sugars are processed differently in the body. Recent scientific evidence seems to indicate that concentrated fructose ingestion without associated fruit fibers makes a hit on the liver similar to alcohol.

Many of us reading the literature on this topic choose to avoid fructose beyond one to two fruit servings per day. This seems the prudent approach. I choose prudence.

LAW_714

Anyone who says "All fructose is evil" or "All sugars are the same" is being simplistic to the point of silliness.

^ This.

The science makes a good amount of sense.

The demogoguery of either extreme, makes less sense.

_Pseudonymous_

I'm of the opinion that sugar is good... when it is in it's natural form. By that I mean sugar is fine when you are counting it as blueberries that you ate this morning or the sugar in the orange you had for a snack. it's when we process and refine it and add substances to it that it turns into a perversion of what itself and become unhealthy. That's why i don't even track the sugar in my fruits and vegetables. Only the stuff that is in the processed foods I eat, like bread or ice cream.

Showcase_Brodown

Just to add a possibly useful tidbit to the conversation:

Sucrose is 50/50 fructose and glucose.

The important thing is adding up your calories. in the big picture, it will make no difference which sugar you had more of.

ldrosophila

My manhood contains fructose. So it can't be all that bad.

this is true you gentlemen are basically one big sugar load

mmapags

I'm of the opinion that sugar is good... when it is in it's natural form. By that I mean sugar is fine when you are counting it as blueberries that you ate this morning or the sugar in the orange you had for a snack. it's when we process and refine it and add substances to it that it turns into a perversion of what itself and become unhealthy. That's why i don't even track the sugar in my fruits and vegetables. Only the stuff that is in the processed foods I eat, like bread or ice cream.

Please help me to understand exactly how the sugar in an orange or blueberries affects weight loss differently or is any way different from the sugar in Ice Cream or bread. What would the difference be?

willdob3

Just to add a possibly useful tidbit to the conversation:

Sucrose is 50/50 fructose and glucose.

The important thing is adding up your calories. in the big picture, it will make no difference which sugar you had more of.

Actually, it can. And does. Lots of new research coming out these days...I am only just starting to read up on it. Totally proves all sorts of things we "knew" to be true are flat out wrong.