Fructose - The Unfriendly Sweetener - This Seemingly Innocent Fruit Sugar Isn't So Sweet

by Mark J. Tallon, Clinical Reviews Editor

67th Annual Scientific Meeting of the American College of Gastroenterology, October 21-23, 2002, Seattle Convention Center, Seattle, WA.

Elliott, S.S., et al., "Fructose, Weight Gain, and the Insulin Resistance Syndrome," Amer J Clin Nutr 76.5 (2002) : 911-22.

Fructose is one of the most accepted sweeteners available in the food market—a simple sugar found in many widely available fruits, soft drinks, and protein shakes. However, researchers from the University of Kansas Medical Center in Kansas City presented information at the 67th Annual Scientific Meeting of the American College of Gastroenterology that might just change the way we look at this seemingly innocent fruit sugar.

Researchers feel that fructose could be responsible for some individuals' unexplained symptoms of abdominal pain, bloating, gas, and even diarrhea. In the study presented, the subjects consumed 25 grams of fructose, which is equal to an average 12-ounce soft drink sweetened with high-fructose corn syrup. A breath test was then taken. To the researchers' surprise, the results indicated that in approximately half the subjects, high levels of hydrogen gas were present. This indicated that the fructose was not digested efficiently.

In yet another study, subjects consumed 50 grams of fructose, and this time, over 3/4 of the group had abnormal levels of hydrogen present. The researchers concluded that fructose may play a major role in gastronintestinal problems, due to the fructose passing through the digestive tract into the colon, where bacteria uses the sugar as a food source. The result: gas, bloating, and possibly further gastrointestinal problems.

More Bad News for Fructose

But the unfriendly nature of fructose doesn't end there. It's also thought to contribute to the development of obesity and the accompanying metabolic abnormalities observed with the insulin resistance syndrome (e.g., abnormal blood fat and glucose metabolism).

Because fructose does not stimulate insulin secretion from pancreatic B cells, when we consume foods or drinks containing fructose, it produces smaller insulin elevations after a meal than we see after consuming glucose-containing carbohydrates. Leptin (a neurotransmitter involved in the regulation of appetite) production is regulated by these insulin responses to meals, and fructose consumption appears to reduce circulating leptin concentrations.

The combined effects of lowered circulating leptin and insulin in individuals who consume diets high in dietary fructose could therefore increase the likelihood of not only weight gain but also the health-related problems associated with weight gain. More and more research is indicating the direct problems associated with increased consumption of fructose, so you may want to look at that label a little more closely when choosing your foods or supplements in the future and make a healthier choice!

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