indefinitely on long lived molecules such as collagen and DNA. Evidence suggests that these AGE molecules play a role in the aging process. The Maillard process is dependent on the reactivity of the sugar involved. Fructose is much more reactive than glucose. In vivo, the rate of non-enzymatic glycosylation of haemoglobin was 7.5 greater, and the rate of protein cross-linking (a marker of aging) was 10 times greater, in the presence of fructose than in the presence of glucose. Therefore, it is safe to conclude that fructose has a much greater implication in the aging process than glucose, taking the glycosylation of haemoglobin as an assay for this. [1]
As a reducing sugar, fructose reacts with protein molecules to form toxic advanced glycation end-products (AGEs) to a much greater extent than other sugars, which appears to contribute not only to the aging process but also play a role in the pathogenesis of diabetic complications in diabetic patients such as nephropathy, retinopathy, neuropathy and others. Supplementing the diet of healthy male volunteers with 3g of fructose per kg of body weight per day resulted in insulin resistance developing in as little as six days. A study carried out in non-diabetic rats fed a diet containing 68% carbohydrate, provided as fructose, shows that almost all retinas from the rats showed pathologic changes that were histologically indistinguishable from diabetic retinopathy. [1]
Absorption and Metabolism
Fructose is
4. Fructose is component of sucrose, normal table sugar, along with glucose. Whereas glucose is able to immediately enter into glycolysis, fructose is not. Fructose is broken down via fructokinase into fructose- 1-phosphate. Fructose – 1-phospate then gets converted into DHAP+ glyceraldehyde via aldolase B. DHAP+ glyceraldehyde is used in glycolysis to produce pyruvate that goes into the citric acid cycle to produce ATP
Fructose was considered to be beneficial to diabetics because it is absorbed only forty percent
Diabetes is one of the most prevalent diseases to this day. With over 171 million cases of diabetes all over the world, this disease is spreading exponentially fast. Lesser known as Diabetes Mellitus, this disease is all about the amounts of sugar in one's body. Glucose, in particular. Glucose is the powerhouse of the body. It helps run your body by transforming into the energy that we use to function on a daily basis. Whether or not one's diabetes is minor or even off the charts it can lead to terrible outcomes. These include stroke, blindness, vascular disease and heart disease. As mentioned before, the major symptom of diabetes is that too much sugar is in one's body. This is similar to a disease previously mentioned, hemochromatosis. However,
It is a known fact that all measures of physiological function decline in human aging. While genetics certainly play a role in the declining of physiological function with age, it can be argued that a fundamental part of aging can be reflected by chemical processes resulting in the appearance of harmful side products of the normal metabolism over time. When enzymes speed up reactions it is harder to slow them down. At the same time side reactions are constantly occurring and more and more unwanted side products are continuously being formed.
However, other indicators for the rise of obesity may include: diet, exercise, and changes in a person’s lifestyle. Sugars produce energy in the form of calories providing building blocks for other molecules in, which the body requires such as fats and proteins. Other benefits it provides other than as a sweetener consist of: texture, functions as a preservative, helps with brown baked foods, provides fermentable sugars, retains moisture, decreases the harsh vinegar or acid bite, regulates melting, boiling, and frizzing points in certain products (“About High Fructose Corn Syrup,”
As described by Bray et al. (2004), the digestive process for glucose and fructose are different and have different effects on the body. When disaccharides enter the intestine, the enzymes disaccharidases removes the glucose molecules so it can be absorbed immediately by a sodium glucose transporter. Once absorbed it is transported to the liver where it is either sent into blood circulation or converted into glycogen for storage. When glucose is in the blood circulation, it increases insulin release from the pancreas. The release of insulin, in turn, increases leptin release (Bray et al, 2004). Leptin is a hormone that is produced by adipocytes (fat cells) that regulate satiety by a negative feedback loop between adipose tissue and the hypothalamus. It basically lets the central nervous system (CNS) know the amount of energy stored in its cells so it can tell you whether you need food or not- aka if you are hungry (Bouchard and Katzmarzyk, 2010). So, since the presence of glucose raised insulin levels, which in turn raised leptin levels, adipose cells sent a signal to the hypothalamus that they are full of energy and do not require any more food intake. Now, on the other hand, when fructose enters the small
High fructose corn syrup is a sweetener used mostly in food industry as an alternative to sugar. There are several facts about this sweetener stating that it is fatal to our lives and may be the cause of several disease. In a study, researchers examined the effect of consuming beverages sweetened with high fructose corn syrup at zero, low (10%), medium (17.5%), and high proportions (25%) of energy requirements on circulating lipid/lipoprotein risk factor for cardiovascular disease, and uric acid in adults aged 18–40 years old with a body mass index ranged between 18–35 kg/m2. 1 Researchers observed that the consumption of beverages containing either low, medium or high concentration of high fructose corn syrup increased proportionally lipids/lipoproteins,
Although cells require sugar for energy, it is glucose the cells prefer as a source. However, much of the excess sugar consumed today is fructose. Excess fructose consumption has similar effects on the liver as excessive alcohol intake, as the liver metabolizes alcohol the same way as sugar and converting the carbohydrate into fat (Brandis, Lustig, & Schmidt, 2012). High concentrations of fructose is rare in nature and is typically found along side fiber. However, in the American diet, the fiber is
Your organs become fat when you eat fructose with is found in added sugar that causes your liver to store fat more efficiently. A another is diabetes in a way sugar primes your body for diabetes. So when you eat 150 calories thats 1.1% rise in chance of diabetes. Sugar is also the reason that people with type 2 diabetes have heart disease and strokes about 65% of diabetics die from them. Sugar also can lead to type 3 diabetes which is when your brain's ability to use glucose and make energy is damaged, it's like having diabetes in your brain. Sugar can also cause your arteries walls to tense up which can put you on the path to high blood sugar. Some people may think this reason is weird but sugar can be used as a drug. Sugar can give you a high but sugar basically takes more energy then its giving you. So when conducted a test on rats that binged on sugar the rats experienced chattering teeth, tremors, shakes, and anxiety when they were taken of the sugar. So it's common for people who are addicted to sugar to suffer from anxiety. Anxiety is when the blood sugar levels are pumped to the brain the brain reacts by sending a panic adrenaline alarm to your body. So the recommended sugar intake for an adult female is 5 tablespoons and an adult male is recommended 9
The introduction of low fat diets along with the flood of reduced fat foods has not facilitated the reduction of obesity and cardiovascular disease. The majority of processed food identified as “reduced fat” alternatively contains sugar as an added ingredient to cause the low fat food to be more palatable, according to Lustig. He additionally claims that when considering the potential detrimental health effects, sugar is worse than fat. Ingestion of either sugar or fat results in high levels of artery-clogging fats produced by the liver which are then dumped into the bloodstream. However fructose instigates even more damage to the liver and to structural proteins of the body while engaging in
The spike in blood glucose levels after ingestion of simple sugars is thought to be related to some of the heart and vascular diseases which have become more frequent in recent times. Simple sugars form a greater part of modern diets than formerly, perhaps leading to more cardiovascular disease. The degree of causation is still not clear, however.
Glucose enhances the aging process when it bonds to a protein or lipid molecule without undergoing enzymatic reaction. As this process progress, damage will occur between adjacent proteins. For example, irreversible dryness and loss of elasticity occurs in collagen and elastin shown as wrinkling of the skin that is prominent in aging. Proteins such as collagen and elastin will lose its structural integrity over time, and increase amounts of glucose contributes the advance the damaging process.
Galactose and fructose are products of carbohydrate digestion and are converted to glucose in the hepatocyte or liver cell.1 The liver then stores glucose as glycogen by undergoing glycogenesis and then returns it to the blood when glucose levels become low by undergoing glycogenolysis.1 The liver also produces “new” glucose from gluconeogenesis from precursors such as lactic acid, glycogenic amino acids, and intermediates
Sugar is the culprit for most chronic illnesses. We now recognize that excess sugar molecules in the bloodstream can combine with proteins and certain fats to produce compounds, called glycation end products (AGEs), which the body does not recognize as normal. The immune response sets off inflammation reactions. Excess
Although cells require sugar for energy, it is glucose the cells prefer as a source. However, much of the excess sugar consumed today is fructose. Excess fructose consumption has similar effects on the liver as excessive alcohol intake, as the liver metabolizes alcohol the same way as sugar and converting the carbohydrate into fat (Brandis, Lustig, & Schmidt, 2012). High concentrations of fructose is rare in nature and is typically found along side fiber. However, in the American diet, the fiber is removed, therefore it’s greatly concentrated thus flooding the body