Fructose is a sugar with unique attributes that facilitate its conversion into body fat. It is a simple sugar (monosaccharide) found in many foods. It is a simple ketonic monosaccharide found in many plants, where it is often bonded to glucose to form the disaccharide sucrose. It is also one of the three most important blood sugars, the other two being glucose and galactose. It’s also found in various sugary sweeteners like high-fructose corn syrup and agave syrup. If a product lists added sugar as one of its main ingredients, you can be pretty sure it’s high in fructose. It is found in modern diets and is frequently used as a sweetener in a variety of food items.
Fructose is a type of simple sugar that makes up 50% of table sugar (sucrose). Scientists are concerned that excessive intake may cause metabolic disorders.
Fructose was discovered by French chemist Augustin-Pierre Dubrunfaut in 1847. The name “fructose” was coined in 1857 by the English chemist William Allen Miller. Pure, dry fructose is a sweet, white, odorless, crystalline solid, and is the most water-soluble of all the sugars.
Fructose is a natural sugar that is present in fruits, fruit juices, certain vegetables, and honey. It also occurs naturally in abundance in fruits and in lesser amounts in tuberous vegetables such as onions and potatoes. Honey; tree fruits; berries; melons; and some root vegetables, such as beets, sweet potatoes, parsnips and onions, contain fructose, usually with sucrose and glucose. In these forms, fructose sugars can be part of a healthful diet. However, the major source of fructose as an ingredient in food is from the hydroxylation of starch to glucose, which is then converted to fructose. Excess fructose alone can cause all the problems associated with the metabolic syndrome (diabetes, obesity, heart disease).
Pure fructose is produced commercially from corn or sucrose into a crystalline form for use as an ingredient in packaged foods and beverages. Commercially, fructose is derived from sugar cane, sugar beets, and maize. High-fructose corn syrup is a mixture of glucose and fructose as monosaccharides. Many scientists believe that excess fructose consumption may be a key driver of many of the most serious diseases of today. These include obesity, type II diabetes, heart disease and even cancer. Researchers are studying the links between high-fructose foods and obesity, diabetes, and even some cancers. However, there is also some evidence that indicates that fructose is not necessarily a public health concern when a person consumes it in moderation.
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