Dieters Should Focus on Fructose, Not Carbs, Say Researchers

Dieters beware. You may be eliminating or reducing the wrong foods, said a recent press release. If you're staying away from carbs and starchy foods, you could miss the mark that you're seeking on your scale.

Researchers at the University of Florida released details of their findings. While most dieters cut back on carbs and starches, few pay close attention to the amount of fructose that they are consuming.

Wrong move, say the researchers. Rather than focusing on rice, potatoes, bread and other carbs and starches, our focus should be on fructose. Fructose is another form of sugar, and is found in nearly everything these days.

People who are dieting should shift their focus to determine how much fructose they are eating. Additionally, the amount of fructose that is in a product is a great, and easy way, to determine how healthy, or unhealthy, a product is.

More people are beginning to pay attention to the glycemic index. This is a way of measuring how the blood glucose levels are affected by eating different foods. Many diets are based on this principal, and they tell dieters to limit foods like potatoes and rice.

Yet, these same diets generally ignore, or give little attention, to foods that may be high in fructose. Researchers at the University of Florida stated that fructose causes the uric acid in our body to spike. When this happens, the insulin in our body is frequently blocked and our cells don't get the right messages on how to use and store nutrients and sugars.

"Certainly we don't think fructose is the only cause of the obesity epidemic. Too many calories, too much junk food and too much high-fat food are also part of the problem. But we think that fructose may have the unique ability to induce insulin resistance and features of the metabolic syndrome that other foods don't do so easily," said Dr. Richard Johnson, Johnson, the division chief of nephrology and the J. Robert Cade professor of nephrology in the UF College of Medicine and the senior author of the report.

One of the biggest sources of fructose is found in soft drinks. However, fructose or high fructose corn syrup is found in nearly everything. It's found in ketchup, fruits, jellies, pastries, and many processed foods, too. Sugar substitutes can even have high fructose corn syrup in them.

The researchers plan to conduct another study to determine the results of putting people on a low-fructose diet.

The complete study has been published in the European Journal of Nutrition.

Source:
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2007-12/uof-tmf121207.php