Fructose has popped up in just about every food you can imagine. This popular sweetener is added to all kinds of prepared foods and beverages. It can often be found in the list of ingredients in a concentrated form called “high fructose corn syrup.”
In recent health news, a red flag has been raised by health professionals about this highly processed sweetener. It may be the culprit behind a number of health problems, including obesity, diabetes, and metabolic syndrome.
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Now a combined research team from the University of Maryland and the University of Boston thinks that fructose consumption may be linked to certain cancers. Sugar consumption has increased dramatically in North America, with refined fructose intake skyrocketing upwards in the U.S. over the past 30 years. According to the researchers, fructose enhances protein synthesis and appears to promote a more aggressive cancer cell. They concluded that fructose intake is associated with an increased risk of pancreatic and small intestinal cancers, and possibly others.
In another clinical trial, this one conducted at the School of Public Health, Imperial College, London, researchers investigated whether dietary carbohydrates, glycemic load and glycemic index are associated with pancreatic cancer risk. After conducting a review, they found no association between diets high in glycemic index, glycemic load, total carbohydrates or sucrose and pancreatic cancer risk. However, when they analyzed data concerning fructose, they found that there was an increased risk for pancreatic cancer.
Avoiding fructose may be difficult, as it’s found in breads, cereals, breakfast bars, lunch meats, yogurts, soups, and condiments. The only thing you can do to try to limit your intake, is to read labels carefully and buy those products sweetened with honey, molasses, cane juice, or cane sugar.