Is fructose bad for you? It doesnt cause spikes in insulin and blood sugar, but large amounts of fructose may contribute to overeating. Most of the sugar we eat gets broken down and absorbed in the small intestine. Swarms of specialized enzymes attack larger molecules and convert them into three simpler sugars: mainly glucose, but also galactose (a part of lactose, the sugar in milk) and fructose. There are a few more steps involved in breaking down the starches in bread, potatoes, and the like, but ultimately starch shares a similar digestive fate. Our livers prudently stow away some of the absorbed glucose as glycogen, a molecule that can be turned back into glucose when we havent eaten for a while. But most of the sugary stuff is distributed right away. Glucose levels in the bloodshoot up, and the pancreas gets busy, pumping out the insulin that cells throughout the body need in order to take in glucose and use it for energy. Post-meal glucose and insulin spikes are perfectly normal and entirely unavoidable. But if theyre too big, or come too often, theyre harmful. Canadian researchers devised the glycemic index (GI) to make it easier to compare how different foods affect blood sugar levels: the higher the GI number, the bigger the increase in blood sugar. A number of studies have found that people who eat a lot of high-GI foods cookies, candy, bread made with refined flour, potatoes have higher rates of diabetes and heart disease. Specialized metabolism Pretty much all of the bodys cells come equipped with enzymes that allow them to harness glucose. But the enzyme that metabolizes fructose, called fructokinase, is found exclusively in liver cells. So although fructose isinvolved in glucose metabolism indirectly, fructose metabolism is pretty specialized. As a result, if you eat fructose, your blood glucose and insulin levels stay fairly level. If, as the GI-index research indicates, glucose and insulin increases are a problem, then substituting fructose for other sugars in the food supply looks like it might be a solution. But, alas, its more complicated than that. For all the mischief that glucose and insulin cause, they do trigger some helpful hormonal changes. Levels of leptin, the satiety hormone that gives us a full feeling, go up when insulin surges, and levels of ghrelin, the hunger hormone, go down. Theres fairly good evidence that fructose has just the opposite effect, reducing leptin, so we dont necessarily feel full after a fructose-filled meal, and not lowering ghrelin as much as glucose does, so we stay hungry. For this reason, some experts see high-fructose diets as contributing toovereating. Another problem: Oversupply the metabolic pathway for fructose with the sugar, and the liver ends up churning out triglycerides fat that circulates in the blood. The same is true of glucose and its metabolic pathway, but it takes larger amounts. That floozy is she to blame? Fructose is a naturally occurring sugar. Youll find it in honey, vegetables (in small amounts), and, of course, fruit. Not all the sugar in fruit is fructose, which is one of the reasons (lack of fiber is another) that some fruits, such as watermelon, have a high glycemic index. But most peoples intake of fructose from fruits and vegetables is dwarfed by what they get from sucrose better known as table sugar, or just sugar and high-fructose corn syrup. Sucrose is a two-sugar molecule (a disaccharide) consisting of fructose and glucose. High-fructose corn syrup is corn syrup that has been processed toincrease the fructose level, which makes it taste sweeter. The most common variety is 55% fructose and 45% glucose. In the United States, high-fructose corn syrup has replaced sucrose as a sweetener, especially in soft drinks, but in many other foods too. Sally Squires, the Washington Post nutrition columnist, has called it the floozy of the sugar world: sweeter and cheaper than sucrose, but viewed with distrust by some consumers. Experts debate how responsible high-fructose corn syrup is for the American obesity epidemic and the soaring type 2 diabetes rate. Those who see a connection note that the great American weight problem and the sweetening of the food supply with the suspect syrup happened at about the same time. They also point to fructose metabolism and its triglyceride output. Doubters counter with several arguments. Sucrose and high-fructose corn syrup contain about the same amount of fructose and glucose (a 50-50 split versus a 55-45one), so its questionable whether the metabolic effects are that different. Many of the damning metabolic studies have used all-fructose solutions, not high-fructose corn syrup. And the trouble is all the nutritionally empty, added sugar in our diets, not any particular form of that sugar. Eat fruit Where does this leave us? Certainly no one should stop eating fruit out of some misguided fear of fructose. Most varieties of fruit are brimming with nutritional virtue vitamins, minerals, fiber and have relatively little fructose and other sugar. Is high-fructose corn syrup especially harmful? Hard to say. At this point, the case against soft drinks sweetened with the stuff is pretty persuasive, although even that might be just a matter of the added calories.Group [EMAIL PROTECTED] [EMAIL PROTECTED]@yahoogroups.comWelcome To dimpill's gang! This is the Best Place to Hang around.We Give u the Best in Latest News, Jokes, Funny Pictures,Wallpapers,Latest Buzz and Much More! Connect your World with Us join Now http://groups.yahoo.com/group/dimpill_gang/join Affiliated group from dimpill_gang for Only Adult Mails http://groups.yahoo.com/group/fantazies/joinAffiliated group from dimpill_gang for Only Health and Food Mails http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Health_and_Gourmet/join
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