Fructose, whose calorie content is as much as 400 kcal, despite this is considered almost a dietary product, unable to harm the weight. But is this really true, and what are the main benefits and harms of fructose, is described in detail in this article.
What is fructose?
Calorie fructose is 400 kcal per 100 grams. However, it is considered a low-calorie carbohydrate in foods. Many people call fructose a natural analogue of sugar. Most often, this substance can be found in various fruits, vegetables and honey.
A brief description of what fructose is:
- calorie content - 400 kcal / 100 g;
- food group - carbohydrates;
- natural monosaccharide, glucose isomer;
- taste - pronounced sweet;
- the glycemic index is 20.
Many, for example, saw on the shelves of stores dietary oatmeal cookies on fructose, the calorie content of which is about 90 kcal per piece.
Fructose is one of the few sweets that is approved for people with diabetes. The thing is that, unlike sucrose, fructose does not affect the production of insulin and does not lead to an increase in blood sugar. That is why many people add this substance to food instead of sugar.
However, is fructose so safe, the caloric value of which exceeds the similar indicators of some fast foods, for a figure? And how many grams of fructose per day can you consume?
Fructose and overweight
Many girls, trying to limit themselves to sweets, replace regular sugar with fructose, believing that in this way they will reduce the negative effect of carbohydrates on the body. The calorie content of fructose and sugar is almost the same - in the first case 400 kcal per 100 g, in the second - 380 kcal. However, despite this, for some reason, it is fructose that is considered by people to be safer for the figure.
The theory that replacing sugar with this substance, you can avoid problems with excess weight, is erroneous. In fact, fructose, among other things, can cause a feeling of hunger. And with prolonged use - a violation of certain hormones, which is responsible for the energy balance.
However, these negative effects occur only in cases when fructose is consumed in excessive quantities. The daily norm of a substance for an adult is 25-40 g.
Fruit content
If we talk about the permissible rate of fructose per day, it is worthwhile to understand in more detail what fruits and berries it contains in the greatest quantities. 25-40 grams of substance is:
- 3-5 bananas;
- 3-4 apples;
- 10-15 fruits of cherries;
- about 9 glasses of strawberries.
In addition, significant amounts of fructose are present in grapes, dates, pears, figs, raisins, watermelons, melons and cherries. That is why most of the products on this list are absent in the diet of people who monitor their figure. However, fructose has a number of positive properties.
Benefit for health
With proper use, fructose is not only not dangerous to health, but can also be useful, which ordinary sugar is definitely not capable of. For example, it has a tonic effect, helps restore energy and reduce fatigue.
Unlike sugar, moderately consumed fructose does not harm your teeth. Moreover, this monosaccharide reduces the risk of tooth decay.
But its main advantage is that fructose does not increase blood sugar, assimilated without the participation of insulin. And insulin, as you know, not only helps break down complex carbohydrates such as sugar and glucose, but also leads to the appearance of fatty deposits. Therefore, fructose in reasonable amounts is recommended in some diets.
Fructose Harm
As for the negative aspects of the impact on the human body of this substance - there are several of them at once:
The first - as mentioned above - high energy value of fructose (400 kcal per 100 g). However, even the most avid sweet tooth will not be able to eat such a large amount of this monosaccharide. Therefore, do not be so afraid of this figure. You can evaluate information on the other hand. So, for example, the calorie content of a teaspoon of fructose is only 9 kcal. But this is quite enough to add sweets to some dish, since fructose is much sweeter than sugar.
The second negative side - excessive consumption of fructose can lead to the development of cardiovascular diseases and metabolic disorders of the body.
In addition, Israeli scientists have been able to establish that frequent intake of this substance can lead to premature aging. Although it is worth clarifying here that the experiments were carried out not on humans, but on mice.
There are no special prohibitions on the use of fructose. But it should be remembered that you need to use this monosaccharide in moderation.