Fructose – Friend or Foe?

Fructose, or fruit sugar, used to be considered the supposedly better sugar. It's no secret that sugar—and especially refined white household sugar—is not really good for your body. But what about fruit sugar, the natural sugar found in fruit? One might assume that this is inherently better and healthier than industrially produced sugar. Yes and no. Below, we'll clarify why we shouldn't consume endless amounts of fruit sugar and what we should pay attention to.

Fructose, sucrose, glucose – a brief definition of sugar

We all know normal household sugar. This can also be found under the scientific term sucrose. So if you read sucrose somewhere in an ingredient list, it means that typical white refined sugar is included. This is obtained from sugar plants such as sugar beets or sugarcane. Sucrose consists of individual, short sugar molecules. Each sugar molecule, in turn, consists of one glucose and one fructose molecule. Your body mostly uses the glucose molecule as a source of energy. Similar to glucose (dextrose), fructose also consists of short-chain monosaccharide molecules. It is found in varying concentrations in fruits and also in some types of vegetables. And it likewise serves the body as a fast and easily usable source of energy. As a sugar, fructose belongs to the group of carbohydrates. In itself, none of these types of sugar are bad per se. It all comes down to the amount. Which has been a problem in our Western world for decades. Because types of sugar literally hide in the food we consume. Almost every processed food contains sugar. Pay attention to this next time you go buy bread and take a quiet look at the ingredients list on all the bread packages. Anything ending in -ose (maltose, dextrose, fructose, etc.) is usually a sugar substance.

Is fruit sugar from fruit healthy or harmful after all?

Even if fructose was long touted as the healthier sugar because, for example, it doesn't cause an insulin spike like regular household sugar, it should be enjoyed with caution. And there are a few things about fructose you should know and keep in mind. First of all, fructose is also sugar, which can definitely cause damage in larger amounts and is not healthy. It really depends on the form and, above all, the quantity in which you consume fruit sugar. Here is the rule of thumb: Always prefer a whole piece of natural fruit over fruit juice. Juices like apple juice, orange juice, etc. contain an incomparably higher concentration of sugar than the whole fruit. Especially since an apple, for instance, brings additional healthy nutrients and fiber, whereas pure juice does not. An apple is certainly not harmful and can be eaten without hesitation. With several apples at once, things look quite different. Because if too large an amount of fructose reaches the body than it can metabolize at that moment, exactly the same thing happens with fructose as with conventional glucose: It is stored as glucose and converted into fat in the liver.

Which foods contain particularly little fruit sugar?

Not every type of fruit and vegetable contains the same amount of fruit sugar. To keep your fruit sugar consumption as manageable and low as possible, pay attention to which foods have particularly high and which have particularly low amounts of fruit sugar.

Foods with a relatively low fruit sugar content include, for example:

1. Berries such as raspberries, currants, blackberries, or blueberries

2. Clementines

3. Limes

4. Rhubarb

5. Avocado

Foods with a high to very high fruit sugar content include:

1. Bananas

2. Grapes

3. Sweet cherries

4. All dried fruits

5. Pears

What should I look out for when consuming fruit sugar?

There are a few quite simple things you can pay attention to. Generally regarding your sugar intake, but also with fruit sugar as it occurs in fruit (and vegetables):

• Always prefer natural food over concentrated options. Example: Eating an apple is always better than drinking apple juice. The juice is always the highly concentrated, and thus unhealthier form, lacking many important nutrients such as vitamins, fiber, or trace elements that are still present in the natural food.

• Natural, unprocessed foods are always healthier than industrially processed foods. Plus, at least you know that no other unhealthy ingredients have been added. So better bake a batch of oat cookies yourself instead of resorting to mass-produced industrial goods with too much added sugar.

• Sugar is almost always present in processed foods and canned goods because it serves as a preservative and makes the contents last longer. So feel free to check the shelf next time to see if there is canned fruit with no added sugar.

• Be careful with soft drinks. These also contain an excess of fruit sugar due to the fruit juices present in them. Even store-bought apple spritzer can be diluted further with water, as the pre-mixed drink is usually still far too sweet. Even better and significantly healthier is homemade flavored water: Simply squeeze a bit of fresh lemon or add cucumber slices to your pitcher of water.

• Smoothies that consist almost exclusively of fruit are disguised sugar bombs and should be avoided.

Fruit sugar yes, but in moderation

So there is nothing wrong with fruit sugar in reasonable amounts. The problem is that in our society, far too much fruit sugar is hidden in processed foods and we generally consume too much of it. At that point, it can become problematic when the body can no longer process the excessive amount of fructose. Additionally, fruit sugar remains in the intestines much longer than regular sugar. If you then don't exercise enough and your body cannot fully utilize the consumed fruit sugar, the leftovers are temporarily stored as glucose. So it always depends on your lifestyle as well. There should be no objection to a glass of orange juice every now and then. Or to a banana as a quick source of energy before a tough workout. Consumed in reasonable amounts, our body even relies on sugar. Nevertheless, as a general rule, the daily amount of vegetables consumed should be significantly higher than the daily amount of fruit. Then there's nothing wrong with a portion of healthy berries on your porridge or an apple as a snack.