High dietary fructose intake: Sweet or bitter life?

Epidemiological data show that the consumption of added sugars as ingredients in processed or prepared foods and caloric beverages has dramatically increased. Fructose and fructose-based sweeteners are the most commonly added sugars and high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS-55: 55% fructose, 42% glucose and 3% higher saccharides) accounts for over 40% of all added caloric sweeteners. Concerns regarding the health risk of added sugar follow the demonstration that the consumption of foods and beverages high in sugars is associated with an increased prevalence of obesity, insulin resistance, dys-lipidemia and, more recently, ischemic heart and kidney diseases. The molecular mechanism(s) underlying the detrimental effects of sugar are not completely under-stood and their elucidation is critical to provide new insights on the health risk of fructose-based sweeteners. A better understanding of the key role of fructose over-consumption in the development of metabolic disorders may contribute to planning new strategies for preventing deleterious dietary behaviors from becoming established and, thus, curbing the rise in the number of insulin-resistant, obese and diabetic populations worldwide. (C) 2011 Baishideng. All rights reserved.