Fructose Containing Sugars at Normal Levels of Consumption Do Not Effect Adversely Components of the Metabolic Syndrome and Risk Factors for Cardiovascular Disease

Abstract

The objective of the current study was to explore our hypothesis that average consumption of fructose and fructose containing sugars would not increase risk factors for cardiovascular disease (CVD) and the metabolic syndrome (MetS). A randomized, double blind, parallel group study was conducted where 267 individuals with BMI between 23 and 35 kg/m2 consumed low fat sugar sweetened milk, daily for ten weeks as part of usual weight-maintenance diet. One group consumed 18% of calories from high fructose corn syrup (HFCS), another group consumed 18% of calories from sucrose, a third group consumed 9% of calories from fructose, and the fourth group consumed 9% of calories from glucose. There was a small change in waist circumference (80.9 ± 9.5 vs. 81.5 ± 9.5 cm) in the entire cohort, as well as in total cholesterol (4.6 ± 1.0 vs. 4.7 ± 1.0 mmol/L, p < 0.01), triglycerides (TGs) (11.5 ± 6.4 vs. 12.6 ± 8.9 mmol/L, p < 0.01), and systolic (109.2 ± 10.2 vs. 106.1 ± 10.4 mmHg, p < 0.01) and diastolic blood pressure (69.8 ± 8.7 vs. 68.1 ± 9.7 mmHg, p < 0.01). The effects of commonly consumed sugars on components of the MetS and CVD risk factors are minimal, mixed and not clinically significant.

Effect of Dietary Sugar Intake on Biomarkers of Subclinical Inflammation: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Intervention Studies

“…The 13 intervention trials that addressed dietary fructose, sucrose, glucose, or HFCS intake as a nutritional exposure variable [ 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 , 36 , 37 , 38 , 39 , 40 , 41 , 42 , 43 , 44 , 45 , 46 ] lasted between 2 weeks and 3 months, and included a total of 1141 participants (range: 20–355), aged 11–72 years, with a BMI ranging from 19 to 40 kg/m². Two studies were performed on men only [ 37 , 39 ], and one study included women only [ 40 ].…”

“…These sucrose studies had diverse exposures in the control groups, which they compared to dietary sucrose intake. Three of them compared sucrose-sweetened beverages to glucose-, fructose-, or HFCS-sweetened beverages in isocalorically matched or differing intake amounts [ 38 , 39 , 43 ]. Two of these three administered sugars in a milk medium: sucrose-sweetened low-fat milk was compared to HFCS-, fructose-, and glucose-sweetened low-fat milks in Angelopoulos et al [ 38 ] and sucrose-sweetened milk was compared to HFCS-sweetened milk in Lowndes et al [ 43 ].…”

Chronic Stress Contributes to Osteosarcopenic Adiposity via Inflammation and Immune Modulation: The Case for More Precise Nutritional Investigation

“…Additionally, fructose may cause the bacterial overgrowth in gut, increasing its permeability and leakage of endotoxins and lipopolysaccharides triggering the release of pro-inflammatory cytokines [110]. On the other hand, fructose has a lower glycemic index than sucrose (or glucose alone), which might lower some of the post-prandial stress responses of the high sugar diet [111]. Furthermore, fructose is present in fresh fruit and therefore would be considered part of a healthy diet; it even seems higher fruit consumption is associated with a reduced risk for type 2 diabetes [112].…”

Frequent Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Consumption and the Onset of Cardiometabolic Diseases: Cause for Concern?

“…Here SSBs emerge as a strong culprit with estimates showing that it provides ~46% of added sugars [ 8 ]. Nevertheless, there is controversy regarding findings from various studies investigating the relationship between SSBs and the onset of cardiometabolic diseases [ 9 – 13 ]. In light of this, the current mini-review explores the links between SSB intake and the risks for cardiometabolic disease development, focusing on three main aspects: MetS, T2DM, and hypertension.…”