Fructose vs Glucose | Why Is Fructose Bad for You?

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3. Fructose vs Glucose | Why Is Fructose Bad for You?

Fructose is classified as a simple sugar and is found naturally in the diet in the form of fruits or honey. Fructose is a type of sugar that makes up around 50% of table sugar and high-fructose corn syrup. Its consumption has drastically increased with increased intake of sweeteners, high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) and sucrose. These sweeteners are present in many sugary soft drinks.

Sweetening effect of Fructose is higher than that of glucose. This can cause people to crave for more foods or soft drinks, that contain fructose. High fructose ingestion can cause obesity and several other chronic health conditions.

Effect of Fructose on Liver

There is a huge difference between how fructose is metabolized and how glucose is metabolized. Glucose can be metabolized by every cell. But, fructose is only metabolized by the liver. Consuming a large amount of fructose in a day can put a lot of stress on the liver.

When large quantities of fructose reach the liver, the liver uses excess fructose to create fat, a process called lipogenesis. Excessive consumption of fructose can develop nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, a condition in which too much fat is stored in the liver cells.

It is believed that excess fructose consumption may be a key driver of many of the most serious diseases of today. These include obesity, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and even cancer.

The Harmful Effects of Excess Fructose

How Fructose can lead to Metabolic Syndrome or Insulin Resistance?

Metabolic syndrome is a collection of risk factors that increase your chance of developing heart disease, stroke, and diabetes. The condition is also known by other names including insulin resistance syndrome, Syndrome X, and dysmetabolic syndrome.

Glycemic index of fructose is very low compared to glucose.

Fructose can be converted into fat. This can lead to a dangerous condition called metabolic syndrome. When you consume fructose, you also generate glucose from the fructose. Consuming fructose can create insulin resistance.