Does a fructose free diet offer a significant improvement to health? Some argue only if you have fructose intolerance, meaning an enzyme deficiency causing its malabsorption. Yet, there’s growing chatter that this pervasive sugar may be an underlying cause of chronic health problems over time.
Good health is a condition free of disease and pain. Diet is a component, as well as other factors like genetics, environment and exercise. This health blurb focuses on why a diet free of fructose might improve your health.
Over the past century, the amount of fructose consumed has significantly increased. This sweetener can be found in many processed foods, predominantly in the form of sugar and high fructose corn syrup. And it’s relatively inexpensive, largely because government subsidies make it so. Now this sweetener is so prevalent that consuming a diet free of fructose would require a complete overhaul in what and how you eat.
Why bother? Research is piling up regarding the long term negative affects on our health by the over consumption of fructose. Although the full breadth of these health consequences remains a mystery, what is known is it offers no biological benefit. Thus, fructose is not essential and may be unhealthy in large quantities.
A couple of ways fructose is believed to impact health are changes in digestion, absorption, glycogen production, appetite, immune function, visceral fat accumulation and metabolism. In turn, these changes might be leading to the rise in:
- obesity
- diabetes
- inflammation
- insulin resistance
- metabolic syndrome
- cardiovascular disease
- nonalcoholic fatty liver disease
And cancer cells may be using fructose to proliferate.
Research is ongoing and nothing yet indicates recommending a fructose free diet. But for now, a lower intake for health improvement is definitely being encouraged.
