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The Advantages of Fructose

Fructose is a monosaccharide carbohydrate, which makes it a simple sugar.

Fructose is the most important ketose sugar and is also a reducing sugar, according to elmhurst.edu. Fructose can be found in fruit, fruit juices, honey and sweet vegetables. Fructose is often confused with high fructose corn syrup and crystalline fructose. These are processed mixes of fructose, glucose and corn syrup. They do not have the same properties and effects as fructose. Bees gather sucrose from flowers and, when making honey, break it down to fructose and glucose.

  1. Sweetness

    • "An important difference is that fructose is up to twice as sweet as sucrose, and sweeter than HFCS," according to caloriecontrol.org. Because fructose is sweeter than other sweeteners, less of it is needed to make a product taste sweet. This helps those trying to lose weight to reduce their overall calories. The sweetness of fructose also differs from other sweeteners by tasting like fruit as opposed to table sugar. This makes fructose an ideal sweetener for making products taste more like fruit. Products such as fruit-flavored yogurt, cake and baked goods use fructose for a fruit-like taste.

    Additive

    • Products with long shelf life such as nutrition bars, cookies and frozen juices use fructose as a sweetener because it has a long shelf life. Fructose freezes at a lower temperature than other sweeteners. This makes fructose the ideal sweetener for products like ice cream, frozen yogurt and sorbet, and it allows for these soft frozen foods to remain scoopable and soft at freezing temperatures.

    Low Glycemic Index

    • When sugar is ingested, the amount of sugar in the blood spikes. After the spike the blood sugar levels dips below base levels. Insulin manages the sugar in the blood. When the body cannot produce enough insulin, the person is at risk for heart disease. If the body becomes too inefficient at creating insulin, the person will become diabetic. Fructose is a low glycemic food. A lower glycemic food does not cause a large spike in blood sugar as do higher glycemic foods. Replacing high glycemic foods with low glycemic options can reduce the risk of heart disease and diabetes.

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