Type 2 Diabetes - Does Fructose Frustrate Your Efforts at Blood Sugar and Weight Control?

Fructose is the familiar sugar found in fruit. High-fructose corn syrup is not 100 per cent fructose, but it's also a kind of sugar I suggest you never eat... it is a highly controversial product which is made from genetically modified corn. This high-processed chemically altered sweetener was created by a Japanese scientist in 1971... it has been used in almost all processed and pre-packaged foods since.

Where Do You Find High-Fructose Corn Syrup? High-fructose corn syrup is used in many processed foods including sodas or soft drinks, from yogurt to cookies. It is used in more than 40 per cent of the sweeteners added to many foods and beverages.

If you are going to consume fructose, I recommend that you get it from fruit, preferably fresh fruit.

What is Fructose? Fructose is an unusual sugar. A chemically rearranged form of glucose, fructose is much sweeter than other commonly consumed sugars. It takes a lot less fructose to impart sweetness to a recipe than cane sugar. Because you can eat less fructose and still taste more sweetness, some experts recommend fructose for Type 2 diabetics... in fact, before the advent of high-fructose corn syrup or aspartame, diabetics were told to use fructose as their sweetener.

The problem with fructose, however, is that it whets your appetite for more. When you eat fructose, one of the problems is it doesn't set into motion the chemical reaction or hormones that tells your brain when you are full. It makes you eat more... so it's bad news for your waistline and your health. You need less fructose than sucrose or glucose to have a sense of satisfaction with a serving of food, but the fructose raises production of a hormone called ghrelin, which makes your central nervous system more sensitive to pain until you eat more food.

Fructose raises insulin levels less than glucose, and lower insulin levels lead to less insulin resistance. When the liver processes fructose, however, it generates uric acid, a chemical that's associated with kidney stones, heart disease, and gout.

What Type of Sugar is Found in Fruit? Fructose is not the only sugar found in fruit. Fruits contain fructose, glucose, and sucrose, the latter two sugars being more predictably processed by insulin.

apples, pears, mangos, and papayas contain more fructose and less glucose and sucrose while bananas, cherries, figs, plums, fresh apricots, dried apricots, and dried plumes contain more glucose and sucrose and less fructose

When you see a food with high fructose corn syrup on the label, you will be doing yourself... (your weight and Type 2 diabetes), a good turn by putting it back on the shelf.