Glucose and fructose are two types of simple sugars. You may not know it but there is a huge difference in the way your body processes glucose and fructose. Glucose is the form of sugar that is used for energy by the cells. Fructose, on the other hand, is metabolized completely differently, and is not nearly as efficient a source of energy as glucose.
Glucose
Let me explain first about glucose. It is the most common form of carbohydrate. It is derived from starches. When we eat starches, your body converts them to glucose, which raises blood sugar levels and supplies our body with energy. Insulin is then released from the pancreas into the bloodstream. The insulin acts like a key, opening up cells so they can take in the sugar and use it as an energy source.
Problems occur when the body can't take up all the glucose. This can happen when you eat too many starches or sugar. The sugar that remains in the blood is sent to long term storage which is in the fat cells. We want the rate our blood sugar rises and falls to be slow and steady so the cells can take up what is needed. If we have too much sugar either the pancreas gets over worked and doesn't produce enough insulin or we wind up with too much insulin and the cells become resistant. Glucose is then no longer being delivered to the cells that need it, resulting in cell starvation and weight gain.
Fructose
Fructose has a low glycemic index, meaning it has minimal impact on blood sugar levels. That sounds good right? Not really, when fructose is eaten it goes on a different digestive journey. Fructose can't be utilized directly by the muscles and brain the way glucose can. Fructose goes straight to your liver, avoiding the gastrointestinal tract altogether. This places a heavy toxic load on your liver, which must work very hard to process it. Additionally fructose prompts the liver cells to produce glycerol which can raise the levels of triglycerides, a type of blood fat related to heart disease, weight gain, fatty liver and diabetes. Fructose is sometimes referred to as "the sugar that acts like a fat."
Glucose converts to sugar in the blood. Fructose converts to fat in the blood and puts some extra stress on the liver and even, for many of us, the colon. Ultimately, both lead to undesirable health issues including weight gain and need to be limited.
What foods contain fructose? Fruits, fruit juice, processed foods, soda pop, baked goods, crackers, canned goods, and many others. The traditional Western diet is very high in fructose. Studies show we have increased our consumption of fructose dramatically in the past few decades causing problems of obesity, diabetes and heart disease.
Also AGAVE is 97% fructose. Wasn't agave supposed to be good for you? It is the marketing that makes the general public think agave is a "healthy" sweetener used in "health" products . It is a myth that fructose is a "healthy" sugar while glucose is bad stuff. I consider agave to have a negative effect on health and beauty.
High levels of fructose in the body's system can lead to serious health effects including:
- Digestive Disturbances - gas, bloating and even IBS due to the fermentation of the sugars that can occur in the colon.
- Risk of Metabolic Syndrome - which is a combination of high blood sugar, high blood pressure, abdominal fat and can lead to diabetes and heart disease
- Liver Disease - Excess fructose will turn to fat and congest the liver, causing a condition called non alcoholic fatty liver.
- Inflammation - Fructose sticks to proteins and fats in our bodies 10 times more than glucose .This is called glycation and creates something called AGEs (Advanced Glycation End-products). AGE's are responsible for much of the body's inflammation and degeneration. They cause us to age .
- Fat around the middle
- Lowered HDL
- Increased levels of uric acid (associated with gout and heart disease)
The bottom line is the brain and the muscles all need glucose - not fructose - to function. There is no question that whole foods including fruits, veggies, nuts, seeds and whole grains are all part of a healthy and balanced diet. A little fruit is just fine -small amounts of fructose the body can easily metabolize. I stick to the low glycemic fruits like berries and green apples except in the summer when there are seasonal fruits our body can use more easily that time of year. It is fruit juices and concentrated fructose in high fructose corn syrup and agave that can cause a weight gain and real health problems.
