Fructose-sweetened beverages appear to raise the level of fat particles in the blood called triglycerides, a well-documented risk factor for heart disease. That’s worrisome, because fructose consumption is also on the rise, surveys show.

The latest findings come from a study of 17 obese men and women conducted at the Monell Chemical Senses Center in Philadephia. The volunteers were fed meals on two separate occasions. The menus were identical except that the beverages were sweetened with glucose at one meal and fructose at another. Testing the participants’ blood after the meals, researchers found that the total amount of triglycerides over the next 24 hours was almost 200 percent higher after consuming fructose-sweetened beverages.

Here’s why that’s cause for concern. Triglycerides are tiny fat particles transported in the blood. Although triglycerides are essential to health, abnormally high levels of these particles are strongly linked to artherosclerosis and heart disease. “Increased triglycerides after a meal are known predictors of cardiovascular disease,” explained metabolic physiologist Karen L. Teff, PhD, who led the study. “Our findings show that fructose-sweetened beverages raise triglceride levels in obese people, who already are at risk for metabolic disorders such as cardiovascular disease and diabetes.”

The effect was particularly pronounced in volunteers who were insulin resistant, an early warning sign of diabetes risk, and in those whose triglyceride levels were already high. Unfortunately, that profile describes millions of Americans today: overweight or obese, with elevated triglycerides and insulin resistance.

The new study comes hard on the heels of a nationwide survey showing that fructose consumption is soaring. Analyzing data from 21,483 children and adults around the country, researchers pegged the average daily intake of fructose at almost 55 grams, up from 37 grams in a survey conducted in the late 1970s. Over 10 percent of Americans’ daily calories come from fructose, the analysis showed. Not surprisingly, perhaps, adolescents consumed the most, a whopping 73 grams a day. One in four adolescents consumed at least 15 percent of their calories from fructose. The biggest source: fructose sweetened beverages.

© 2009 PDQhealth

Tags: fructose, heart disease, insulin resistance, obesity, triglycerides