Fructose vs Glucose

Fructose is a simple sugar commonly found in fruits and vegetables. Glucose, also known as grape or blood sugar, is present in all major carbohydrates like starch and table sugar. While both are a good source of energy, excess of glucose can be fatal to diabetic patients, and excess of fructose can lead to health problems like insulin resistance and liver disease.

Comparison chart

Improve this chart	Fructose	Glucose
Other names:	Fruit sugar, levulose, D-fructose	Blood sugar, dextrose, corn sugar, grape sugar
Kind of sugar:	Simple sugar (monosaccharide)	Simple sugar (monosaccharide)
Molecular formula:	C6H12O6	C6H12O6
Uses:	Source of energy. Often added to food and drinks to improve taste.	Source of energy. Fuels cellular respiration.
Produced by:	Photosynthesis, the breakdown of glycogen.	Photosynthesis, the breakdown of glycogen.
Sources:	Honey, flowers, berries, most root vegetables.	All major carbohydrates
Molar mass:	180.16 g/mol	180.16 g/mol
Density:	1.694 g/cm3	1.54 g/cm3
Melting point:	103 °C	α-D-glucose: 146 °C, β-D-glucose: 150 °C
CAS number:	57-48-7	50-99-7 Y
PubChem:	11769129	5793
ChemSpider:	388775	5589 Y
UNII:	6YSS42VSEV	5SL0G7R0OK Y
EC number:	200-333-3	200-075-1
KEGG:	C02336	C00031 N
ChEBI:	CHEBI:28645	CHEBI:4167 Y
ChEMBL:	CHEMBL604608	CHEMBL1222250 Y

Fruits and vegetables are a natural source of fructose

1 Calories
2 Effects on the body
3 Beneficial uses in the human body
4 Sources of fructose and glucose
5 Commercial use
6 Production
7 See Also
8 References

edit Calories

1 ounce of fructose contains 104 calories.

1 ounce of glucose contains 110 calories.

edit Effects on the body

Excessive consumption of fructose has been linked to insulin resistance, obesity and non-alcoholic liver disease. Studies suggest that it leads to added fat in the belly, which is linked to an increased risk for heart disease and diabetes. Fructose also leads to higher cholesterol. Studies suggest that fructose lowers activity in the cortical control areas of the brain.

An excessive amount of glucose in the blood can be fatal. However, this only occurs in diabetic individuals when their pancreas does not release enough insulin into the bloodstream. Most fat gained from excessive intake of glucose is subcutaneous, or under the skin, which is not connected to heart disease or diabetes. Glucose is not linked to insulin resistance or higher cholesterol. Studies suggest that the consumption of glucose significantly raises the level of activity in the brain.

In a recent study conducted by Lane MD at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore,US revealed that:

Fructose increases food intake whereas glucose decreases food intake. This is because glucose leads to an increase in hypothalamic ATP which gives rise to a suppression of food intake. Whereas fructose requires an enzyme that requires ATP, which causes ATP depletion thereby giving rise to an increase in food intake.
The rise in consumption of high-fructose sweeteners, soft drinks and corn syrup parallels the rise in the obesity epidemic.
High fructose diets promote insulin resistance and glucose intolerance which increases the rate of hepatic lipogenesis.
On a average Americans consume 140lbs of high fructose sweeteners per year, of which 77lbs is high fructose corn syrup.

The following video discusses the harmful effects of sugar:

edit Beneficial uses in the human body

Fructose is used in respiration to produce ATP and to build glycogen. It can also produce fat to store energy.

Cells also use glucose to fuel respiration. It is also used in Vitamin A production and for the synthesis of several substances, including starch and glycogen.

edit Sources of fructose and glucose

Fructose is naturally found in most fruits and vegetables (including sugar cane) and honey. Foods that contain table sugar, high-fructose corn syrup, agave nector, maple syrup and fruit juice also contain fructose.

All major carbohydrates contain glucose. Examples include starch and table sugar.

edit Commercial use

Fructose is commercially added to many foods and beverages as a low cost sweetener. High fructose corn syrup is often added to processed food and drinks is the United States as a cheap sweetener, and has been the subject of many controversies, as it is allegedly associated with obesity, cardiovascular disease, diabetes and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.

Glucose is also used as a sweetener in the form of corn syrup.

edit Production

Fructose is produced by plants during photosynthesis.

Glucose is naturally produced during photosynthesis in plants or during the breakdown of glycogen. It is also produced commercially through the enzymatichydrolysis of starch.

Relative sweetness of various sugars and sweeteners

edit See Also

edit References

Comments: Fructose vs Glucose

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Anonymous comments

Fructose "decreases cortical control." Thus also a suspicion related to increased ADHD. ADHD is PRECISELY due to decreased activity of frontal lobe cortical control centers. Furthermore, severe ADHD is essentially no different than Asbergers (mild autism). And Asbergers diagnoses are on the rise. We must not say this is an all-or-nothing, black and white proof of causation. But there is much more evidence here than against vaccines regarding association with behavior problems.
184.✗.✗.1 on 2013-03-23 23:28:27