Researchers have raised the alarm over the negative impact of
sweetened drinks to health, saying they pose a greater diabetes risk
than other sugary foods containing fructose, a naturally occurring
sugar. According to findings of a new study review published in the
British Medical Journal (BMJ), fruits and other foods containing
fructose seem to have no harmful effect on blood glucose levels, while
sweetened drinks and some other foods that add excess energy to diets
may have harmful effects.
Researchers analysed the results of 155
studies which suggested fruit and fruit juice – when these foods do not
provide excess calories – may have beneficial effects on blood glucose
and insulin control, especially in people with diabetes, a medical
condition that impairs the body’s ability to process blood glucose,
otherwise known as blood sugar.
Normally, the pancreas (an organ behind the stomach) releases insulin
to help the body store and use the sugar and fat from the food the
consumed food. Diabetes is when the pancreas does not produce any
insulin called Type 1 diabetes or when the body is unable to effectively
use the insulin it produces called Type 2 diabetes. Gestational
diabetes causes high levels of blood sugar during pregnancy.
The leader of the study, Dr. John Sievenpiper, who is a researcher in
the Clinical Nutrition and Risk Factor Modification Centre of St
Michael’s Hospital in Toronto, Canada, said these findings may help
guide recommendations on important food sources of fructose in the
prevention and management of diabetes.
Fructose, or fruit sugar found in
honey, trees, vine fruits, flowers, berries, and most root vegetables,
is a simple ketonic monosaccharide found in many plants, where it is
often bonded to glucose to form the disaccharide sucrose.
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