New Study Reveals Fructose May be More Toxic Than Table Sugar

Fructose may be more toxic than table sugar--at least in mice. Scientists found that female mice that ate the fructose-glucose mixture found in high-fructose corn syrup had both a reduced lifespan and reproduction rate.

Both high-fructose corn syrup and table sugar contain roughly equal amounts of fructose and glucose. In corn syrup, though, they are separate molecules, called monosaccharides. In contrast, sucrose or table sugar is a disaccharide compound formed when fructose and glucose bond chemically.

In this latest study, the researchers used a new, sensitive toxicity test. Mice were fed table sugar and fructose while they competed in the seminatural environment of room-sized "mouse barns." In the end, the researchers found that female mice fed high-fructose diets had both a reduced lifespan and reproduction rate in comparison to those fed sucrose diets. In contrast, male mice experienced no differences in survival; this is possibly due to the fact that both sugars are equally toxic to male mice.

"Our previous work and plenty of other studies have shown that added sugar in general is bad for your health," said James Ruff, the first author of the new study, in a news release. "So first, reduce added sugar across the board. Then worry about the type of sugar, and decrease consumption of products with high-fructose corn syrup."

The findings reveal that it's important to monitor what type of sugar is being consumed. That said, more studies will need to be conducted to see if the findings also extend to humans. That said, it's clear that this is an issue that merits further investigation, especially since high-fructose corn syrup has increased in products since the 1970s.

The findings are published in the Journal of Nutrition.

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