Fructose: Breaking Down the Facts

The simple sugar fructose can be found in many of the foods Americans eat each day, including fruits, corn syrup, and soda. Surprisingly, our nation consumes more high-fructose corn syrup than regular sugar. However, while fructose is cheaper and easier to transport, it has been associated with some hidden health risks.

In lab experiments where rats were fed a mixture of fructose and glucose, they gained large amounts of weight. To isolate which factor was causing the weight gain, the researchers conducted a second experiment in which the rats were fed either fructose or glucose. The glucose rats did not develop any abnormal health risks, but the fructose rats experienced early death, anemia, high cholesterol, and enlarged hearts.

In addition to the pricing and storage benefits, fructose has a longer shelf life than regular table sugar. Therefore, manufacturers use it in various types of food from energy bars to ketchup to cookies. The more you process fructose the sweeter it becomes and the more attractive it is to manufacturers looking to create the best-tasting product.

Scientists still aren't sure whether fructose is damaging to humans in small quantities, such as the occasional soda or dollop of ketchup. However, one thing that has been demonstrated is that the super-sweet foods treated with fructose encourage many people to keep eating them and to eat larger quantities. This could be one of the reasons why soda drinkers struggle with weight maintenance. The next time you're checking out the ingredients on a food label, be sure to look for fructose. Though nothing is clear yet, it can't hurt to know what you're putting into your body and to take into consideration any potential health risks.