The FASEB Journal, Vol 4, 2652-2660, Copyright © 1990 by The Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology

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Metabolic effects of dietary fructose

J Hallfrisch
Gerontology Research Center, National Institute on Aging, Baltimore, Maryland 21224.

Fructose, a naturally occurring hexose, is a component of many fruits, vegetables, and sweeteners. Because of the introduction of high fructose corn sweeteners in 1967, the amount of free fructose in the diet of Americans has increased substantially in the last 20 years. Fructose is sweeter, more soluble, and less glucogenic than glucose or sucrose, so it has been recommended as a replacement for these sugars in the diets of diabetic and obese people. Although an acute dose of fructose causes smaller increases in glucose and insulin than a comparable dose of glucose, there are a number of changes after dietary adaptation that may reduce its desirability as a sugar replacement in certain segments of the population. Fructose is absorbed primarily in the jejunum and metabolized in the liver. When consumed in excess of dietary glucose, it may be malabsorbed. Fructose is more lipogenic than glucose or starches, and usually causes greater elevations in triglycerides and sometimes in cholesterol than other carbohydrates. Dietary fructose has resulted in increases in blood pressure, uric acid, and lactic acid. People who are hypertensive, hyperinsulinemic, hypertriglyceridemic, non-insulin-dependent diabetic, or postmenopausal are more susceptible to these adverse effects of dietary fructose than healthy young subjects. Although consumption of fructose as a component of fruits and vegetables is an unavoidable consequence of eating a healthy diet, added fructose seems to provide little advantage over other caloric sweetners and compares unfavorably to complex carbohydrates in susceptible segments of the population.

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