Doctors choose 'sugar' as the ingredient to avoid the most when dieting. For health reasons, even among sugars, you should be cautious about consuming 'fructose'.

 

According to a survey conducted by Health Chosun and InterMD with 1,000 doctors last year, "sweets" were overwhelmingly identified as the foods most avoided during dieting. Specifically, ▲candied fruits and cakes (37.5%) ▲instant foods such as pizza and hamburgers (21.2%) ▲high-carbohydrate foods like tteokbokki (18.5%) ▲high-sodium foods such as ramen and stews (12.0%) ▲fried foods and other high-fat foods (9.4%) were listed in order.

When consuming carbohydrates such as sugar, all carbohydrates in the small intestine are broken down into monosaccharides and absorbed. Monosaccharides include glucose, fructose, and galactose. Galactose is a component of lactose, which is mainly found in milk, while the monosaccharides we usually consume are glucose and fructose. Both are harmful, but specifically, fructose is more harmful.

 

Glucose absorbed into the blood is taken up by the liver in 20% and stored as glycogen, while the rest is used as fuel for all the energy needed when we move. Of course, eating large amounts or consuming foods with a high glycemic index causes the hormone insulin, which lowers blood sugar, to be secreted excessively, leading to decreased pancreatic function. When blood sugar drops due to excessive insulin secretion, the body perceives a need for glucose even though enough has been absorbed, and continues to crave sweet foods. The excess glucose remaining after being used as fuel is converted into neutral fat and stored in fat cells. This increases the risk of developing diabetes and obesity.

 

Fructose has a more harmful effect on the body than this. It has the same chemical formula as glucose, but the arrangement is different, leading to a completely different metabolic process. Unlike glucose, most of the fructose is absorbed and stored in the liver. This places a burden on the liver. It is converted into triglycerides, which can cause fatty liver disease. This fat increases the risk of inflammation, allergic reactions, and autoimmune diseases. A research team from the Tianjin Food Safety Inspection Technology Institute in China stated in a paper that "the metabolism of fructose is similar to the metabolism of alcohol in the liver."

 

The research team measured the changes in metabolite levels after participants consumed fructose and glucose, and found that the levels of inflammation-inducing components increased significantly after consuming fructose. Moreover, fructose does not increase satiety, leading to continued cravings for sweet foods.

 

If you want to identify foods with high sugar content, you should first check the 'sugar' content in the nutrition facts label on the back of the product. The recommended daily intake is 50g, so if a product contains 20g or more of sugar, it is considered very high. In particular, you can determine if it contains a lot of fructose by checking the ingredient list.

 

Liquid glucose syrup made by mixing roughly half glucose and fructose is labeled as HFCS, corn syrup, corn sugar, maltodextrin, glucose syrup, high-fructose syrup, etc. If such expressions appear on the ingredient list, it is advisable to avoid them. Sugary foods are commonly found in soft drinks, bread, snacks, and rice cakes.

 

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These days, even zero-calorie products are available.

It is essential to check for additives.

I just don't drink well anymore.

 

Be careful with anything related to health.

You should also warn the children~