Fruit and vegetables contain fructose. Fruit and vegetables are healthy. So fructose must be healthy too. Right? Wrong! Even fruit and vegetables shouldn't be eaten in excessive amounts, because too much fructose can be harmful and affect your health. Below you'll find out why that is and where else fructose can be found.
What exactly is fructose?
First, a definition: fructose, also known as fruit sugar, belongs to the group of carbohydrates and is a simple sugar, a monosaccharide. Together with glucose, it makes up household sugar. Fructose is found mainly in fruit and vegetables, but it also hides in many other everyday foods, so you barely notice it.
Fructose in everyday life
As mentioned, fructose isn't only found in fruit. The food industry very often uses it for sweetening and as a flavour enhancer. Besides soft drinks and sweets, muesli, dairy products and ready-made sauces in particular contain a lot of fructose. Among fruit, too, some varieties have a higher fructose content than others. Dried fruit in particular is packed with fructose. So some fruit is best enjoyed with caution. By comparison, vegetables contain much less fructose. For comparison: per 100 g, an apple has 8 g of fructose and raisins almost 33 g, while broccoli has just 1 g.
Fructose metabolism
Now to the actual problem: fructose can't be processed by all of our cells. Fructose also doesn't trigger the release of insulin, so it only slowly reaches the gut without using energy, where the sugar then enters the blood. Through the blood, the sugar is taken up by organs, especially the liver. With too much fructose, the liver is overwhelmed and converts the sugar into fat. Over time, this can lead to fatty liver.
Consequences of consuming too much fructose
This metabolism can lead not only to fatty liver but also to obesity and being overweight in general. There is also a risk of high blood pressure and type 2 diabetes. Another consequence is that the feeling of fullness decreases, since fructose inhibits the hormone leptin. This hormone, though, is responsible for sending the brain the signal that you're full.
Yes, you can keep eating fruit
Does that mean, conversely, that you should avoid fruit? And can you get a fatty liver from fruit? No, don't worry: the dose makes the poison. If you eat a healthy, balanced diet and exercise regularly, you don't need to be afraid of eating a fruit salad full of bananas, raisins, apples and plenty of other fruit. And not to forget: especially with natural products like fruit, vitamins, minerals, fibre and secondary plant compounds play a big role, as they balance out the fructose content.
Fruit and vegetables contain fructose. Fruit and vegetables are healthy. So fructose must be healthy too. Right? Wrong! Because even fruit and vegetables shouldn't be eaten in excessive amounts: too much fructose can be harmful and affect your health. Below you'll find out why that is and where else fructose is found.
What exactly is fructose?
First, the definition: fructose, also called fruit sugar, belongs to the group of carbohydrates and is a simple sugar, a monosaccharide. Together with dextrose and glucose it forms household sugar. Fructose is found mainly in fruit and vegetables, but it also hides in many other everyday foods. So that you barely notice it.
Fructose in everyday life
As mentioned, fructose isn't found only in fruit. In the food industry it is very often used for sweetening and as a flavour enhancer. Besides sweet drinks and sweets, muesli, dairy products and ready-made sauces in particular contain a lot of fructose. Among fruit, too, there are varieties with a higher fructose content than others. Dried fruit in particular is full of fructose. So some fruit is best enjoyed with caution. In comparison, vegetables contain much less fructose. For comparison: per 100 g, an apple has 8 g of fructose and raisins almost 33 g, while broccoli has only 1 g.
Fructose metabolism
Now to the actual problem: fructose can't be processed by all of our cells. Fructose also doesn't trigger insulin release, and so it only slowly passes into the gut without using energy, where the sugar then enters the blood. Through the blood, the sugar is taken up by organs, and especially by the liver. With too much fructose the liver is overwhelmed and turns the sugar into fat. In the long run, this can lead to a fatty liver.
Consequences of consuming too much fructose
Because of this metabolism, it can lead not only to a fatty liver but also to obesity and excess weight in general. There is also a risk of high blood pressure and type 2 diabetes. Another consequence is that the feeling of fullness decreases, because fructose inhibits the hormone leptin. Leptin is responsible for sending the brain the signal that you are full.
Yes, you can still eat fruit
Does that mean, conversely, that you should rather avoid fruit? And can fruit give you a fatty liver? No, don't worry: the dose makes the poison. If you eat a healthy, balanced diet and exercise regularly, you don't need to be afraid of eating a fruit salad full of bananas, raisins, apples and plenty of other fruits, or of doing a juice cleanse now and then. And don't forget: especially with natural products like fruit, vitamins, minerals, fibre and secondary plant compounds play a big role because they balance out the fructose content.
