Quite often, you can hear the opinion that fructose, compared to sugar, has some advantages, despite the fact that glucose is traditionally considered the most popular to use. How true is this opinion and is fructose useful enough to replace sugar with it?
What is fructose and how is it useful?
The rationale that fructose, or fruit sugar, can replace regular sugar is most often due to its origin, as it is synthesized from fruits. However, due to its high fiber content, fruits are absorbed much more slowly than granulated fructose. Therefore, you should not compare the benefits of natural fructose with an independent concentrated powder from it, which manufacturers use to make soda, packaged juices, syrups and nectars.
Due to the technology of synthetic processing, synthesized fructose loses most of its nutritional value and nutrients.
Earlier, the use of fructose, which surpasses sugar in taste and calorie content, was relevant for diabetics, since insulin is not required for its absorption. However, scientists have found that the body uses fructose differently than glucose - its synthetic analogue negatively affects the work of the cardiovascular system by increasing lipogenesis and increasing triglyceride levels. For this reason, replacing sugar with fructose is categorically not only unhealthy, but also not recommended.
How to consume fructose
Doctors and nutritionists do not recommend getting carried away with excessive consumption of sugary juices in packets that contain fructose. They can increase the risk of diabetes in both adults and children. Another dangerous property of fructose is increased hunger despite its high calorie content, which threatens the development of obesity. To avoid this danger, fructose should be consumed in moderation and taken from natural sources in the form of honey and fruits.
However, excessive eating of fruits and honey will also not bring you to good, so they need to be consumed in quantities adequate to age and lifestyle.
To insure against high doses of fructose, which is not taken into account in a balanced diet, it is necessary to limit the use of absolutely all sweets that contain the element to the maximum. To do this, you just need to carefully study the labels of all purchased confectionery products. In addition, you need to minimize the use of packaged juices and carbonated sugary drinks in your diet. Nutritionists recommend replacing them with clean water and freshly squeezed vegetable / fruit juices that you can drink, but also in fairly moderation.
