{"id":607695,"date":"2026-04-26T16:02:26","date_gmt":"2026-04-26T16:02:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/607695\/"},"modified":"2026-04-26T16:02:26","modified_gmt":"2026-04-26T16:02:26","slug":"fructose-drives-chronic-disease-and-metabolic-syndrome-review-finds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/607695\/","title":{"rendered":"Fructose drives chronic disease and metabolic syndrome, review finds"},"content":{"rendered":"

A review has found that fructose has underestimated metabolic effects that may cause obesity, weight gain, and metabolic syndrome. The researchers found that while common dietary sweeteners contain both fructose and glucose, fructose has a more direct role in driving chronic disease.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cFructose is not just another calorie,\u201d says study lead author Richard Johnson, MD, professor at the University of Colorado Anschutz, US. \u201cIt acts as a metabolic signal that promotes fat production and storage in ways that differ fundamentally from glucose.\u201d<\/p>\n

The research team found that sugar-sweetened beverages with fructose in liquid form are especially harmful, as they are absorbed faster, reach the liver directly, and overwhelm intestinal metabolism.<\/p>\n

Metabolic syndrome<\/p>\n

The study<\/a> is published in\u00a0Nature Metabolism and outlines how fructose metabolism bypasses the body\u2019s key regulatory steps in energy processing.<\/p>\n

\"arrow\"<\/a><\/p>\n

It found that this may lead to increased weight gain of fat, depletion of cellular energy, and the production of compounds linked to metabolic dysfunction. According to the researchers, these effects can occur from fructose consumption, even when there is not an excess of calories consumed.<\/p>\n

Over time, this may accumulate to metabolic syndrome \u2014 five interconnected conditions of high blood pressure, blood sugar, abdominal fat, and triglycerides alongside abnormal cholesterol levels. These factors may lead to obesity, cardiovascular disease, insulin resistance, stroke, and type 2 diabetes.<\/p>\n

\"personOver time, fructose consumption may cause metabolic syndrome.Additionally, the study shows that the body can also produce fructose on its own from glucose. The authors stress that the impact of fructose stretches beyond dietary impact and that its role in disease may be broader than previously recognized.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThis review highlights fructose as a central player in metabolic health,\u201d says Johnson. \u201cUnderstanding its unique biological effects is critical for developing more effective strategies to prevent and treat metabolic disease.\u201d<\/p>\n

The authors note that the results come amid a time of increasing obesity and diabetes rates globally. \u201cAlthough some countries have seen declines in sugary beverage consumption, overall intake of \u2018free sugars\u2019 remains above recommended levels in many regions and continues to increase in others.\u201d<\/p>\n

Evolutionary process turned harmful<\/p>\n

Fructose mainly serves to help the body store energy and to aid survival during food scarcity. However, in today\u2019s food environment, the same evolutionary mechanism now instead contributes to chronic disease.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn modern society, however, this ancient signaling role can backfire. In the context of consistently abundant food, fructose intake is a hazard, promoting insulin resistance, hypertriglyceridemia, fatty liver, and elevated blood pressure,\u201d the study notes.<\/p>\n

On a global scale, more people are overweight than underweight<\/a>, according to the WHO.<\/p>\n

Beyond metabolic health, the study also notes emerging evidence from other studies of other health impacts from fructose consumption.\u00a0<\/p>\n

It details brain effects such as increased hunger and potential increased risk of dementia. It also points to increased cancer risk as it fuels tumor growth, kidney disease, hypertension, gut dysfunction, and inflammation.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThese studies suggest that the potential exposure to fructose is high in Western societies, not only from added sugars in the diet, but also due to the high dietary content of carbohydrates that can provide substrate for fructose production, a process amplified by intake of salty foods and alcohol,\u201d reads the study.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A review has found that fructose has underestimated metabolic effects that may cause obesity, weight gain, and metabolic…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":607696,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[61],"tags":[264074,97,31440,269,264075],"class_list":{"0":"post-607695","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nutrition","8":"tag-fructose-metabolism","9":"tag-health","10":"tag-metabolic-syndrome","11":"tag-nutrition","12":"tag-sugar-reduction"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/607695","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=607695"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/607695\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/607696"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=607695"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=607695"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=607695"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}