Fructose

levels, risk factors for heart disease.
Fructose-sweetened drinks also caused increased fat production in the liver and deep intraabdominal
fat gain. (Intra-abdominal fat sits closer to the organs and increases the risk of heart
disease and diabetes.)
And earlier this year, a Princeton University research team found that rats with access to highfructose
corn syrup gained significantly more weight and had higher blood triglycerides than those
with access to table sugar (sucrose), even though their overall calorie intake was the same.
Fructose is handled almost exclusively by the liver where it's more likely be metabolized into fat.
Recent work also suggests that fructose influences appetite hormones. A high intake of fructose
may blunt satiety and trick you into overeating.
It's becoming more and more evident that fructose and high-fructose corn syrup are different from
other sweeteners when it comes to weight gain and obesity. And last week's findings hint that the
same may be true for cancer cell growth.
It's estimated that Canadians consume 13 per cent of our day's calories – about 16 teaspoons
worth – from added sugars, including sucrose, maple syrup, honey, high-fructose corn syrup,
glucose syrup and dextrose.
In an effort to help cut heart disease risk, the American Heart Association advises slashing added
sugars to 5 per cent of daily calories – five teaspoons worth (80 calories) for women and 9 teaspoons
(144 calories) for men.
The following tips will help you reduce your intake of added sugars, especially high-fructose corn
syrup and sucrose:
Scan ingredient lists
Rein in your sweet tooth
Make a plan to reduce the amount of sweets you eat. Reserve these foods for a once-a-week treat.
Gradually reduce the amount of sugar added to coffee, tea and other foods.
Added sugars go by many names such as brown sugar, corn syrup, dextrose, fructose, fruit juice
concentrate, glucose-fructose, honey, invert sugar, liquid sugar, malt, maltose, molasses, rice
syrup, table sugar and sucrose. You might be surprised to see how many different types of sugars
are added to one product.
Read nutrition labels
The Nutrition Facts box discloses the grams of sugar in one serving of food. (Four grams of sugar
is equivalent to one teaspoon of table sugar.) Keep in mind, however, the sugar number includes
both naturally occurring sugars (e.g. fruit or milk sugars) and sugars added during processing.
When buying packaged baked goods or cereal bars, choose products with no more than half the
total carbohydrate from sugar.
Choose breakfast cereals with no more than six to eight grams of sugar per serving. Cereal with
dried fruit is an exception.
Avoid sugary drinks
Replace soft drinks, fruit drinks, lemonade, sweetened iced tea and the like with plain water, low
fat milk, unflavoured soy beverage, vegetable juice or tea.
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