David Baxter PhD
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Fructose and the Brain: Fructose May Not Make You Feel Full
By Erin Hicks, Everyday Health
Jan. 2, 2013
New brain research suggests that glucose, but not fructose, can help regulate appetite and feelings of fullness.
Researchers may have discovered why fructose has been linked to weight gain: The parts of the brain that regulate appetite don't get the message when we consume fructose and therefore don't tell us we're full.
Researchers from Yale University School of Medicine in New Haven, Conn., looked at the neurophysiological factors that underlie associations between fructose consumption and weight gain. They studied 20 healthy adult volunteers who underwent magnetic resonance imaging sessions while ingesting fructose and while ingesting glucose, another type of sugar. Fructose is found naturally in fruit and accounts for more than half of the sugars in high-fructose corn syrup.
The brain magnetic resonance imaging of study participants showed ingestion of glucose reduced cerebral blood flow and activity in brain regions that regulate appetite, but not fructose, according to preliminary results published in the January 2 issue of JAMA.
The authors concluded the different responses between fructose and glucose were associated with reduced levels of the satiety-signaling hormone insulin.
“Glucose but not fructose ingestion reduced the activation of the hypothalamus, insula, and striatum—brain regions that regulate appetite, motivation, and reward processing; glucose ingestion also increased functional connections between the hypothalamic-striatal network and increased satiety,” researchers wrote.
They wrote that fructose ingestion in rodents provokes feeding, however researchers aren’t sure how the behaviors translate to humans.
Background information in the article stated increases in fructose consumption have paralleled the increasing prevalence of obesity, and high-fructose diets are thought to promote weight gain and insulin resistance.
High-Fructose Corn Syrup and Weight Gain
High-fructose corn syrup, a processed type of sugar that’s found in many packaged foods including sodas, snack foods with fruit flavoring, and some candy has been linked with rising rates of obesity and type 2 diabetes around the world.
Past studies have showed that high fructose corn syrup is less healthy than regular sugar. Researchers at Princeton University showed that rats that drank water with high-fructose corn syrup gained more weight that rants that drank water with sugar.
Some states are reacting to the link between sweeteners and obesity by banning oversized sugary drinks. In September, New York City passed a ban on the sale of sugary soft drinks larger than 16 ounces.
By Erin Hicks, Everyday Health
Jan. 2, 2013
New brain research suggests that glucose, but not fructose, can help regulate appetite and feelings of fullness.
Researchers may have discovered why fructose has been linked to weight gain: The parts of the brain that regulate appetite don't get the message when we consume fructose and therefore don't tell us we're full.
Researchers from Yale University School of Medicine in New Haven, Conn., looked at the neurophysiological factors that underlie associations between fructose consumption and weight gain. They studied 20 healthy adult volunteers who underwent magnetic resonance imaging sessions while ingesting fructose and while ingesting glucose, another type of sugar. Fructose is found naturally in fruit and accounts for more than half of the sugars in high-fructose corn syrup.
The brain magnetic resonance imaging of study participants showed ingestion of glucose reduced cerebral blood flow and activity in brain regions that regulate appetite, but not fructose, according to preliminary results published in the January 2 issue of JAMA.
The authors concluded the different responses between fructose and glucose were associated with reduced levels of the satiety-signaling hormone insulin.
“Glucose but not fructose ingestion reduced the activation of the hypothalamus, insula, and striatum—brain regions that regulate appetite, motivation, and reward processing; glucose ingestion also increased functional connections between the hypothalamic-striatal network and increased satiety,” researchers wrote.
They wrote that fructose ingestion in rodents provokes feeding, however researchers aren’t sure how the behaviors translate to humans.
Background information in the article stated increases in fructose consumption have paralleled the increasing prevalence of obesity, and high-fructose diets are thought to promote weight gain and insulin resistance.
High-Fructose Corn Syrup and Weight Gain
High-fructose corn syrup, a processed type of sugar that’s found in many packaged foods including sodas, snack foods with fruit flavoring, and some candy has been linked with rising rates of obesity and type 2 diabetes around the world.
Past studies have showed that high fructose corn syrup is less healthy than regular sugar. Researchers at Princeton University showed that rats that drank water with high-fructose corn syrup gained more weight that rants that drank water with sugar.
Some states are reacting to the link between sweeteners and obesity by banning oversized sugary drinks. In September, New York City passed a ban on the sale of sugary soft drinks larger than 16 ounces.
