Effect of dietary fructose on lipid metabolism, body weight and glucose tolerance in humans

Figures & data

Table 1. Effects of dietary fructose/sucrose on serum lipids in healthy humans

Subjects and study design	Amount consumed	Main results
Healthy subjects (normoglycaemic)
11 subjects, 2 weeks of F feeding; sampling: 0, 3 and 14 days 6	Range 63–99 g day^-1	No changes in TG, minor decrease in TC and HDL
8 subjects, cross-over, F or sucrose (one-third of carbohydrates); sampling: 7 and 14 days 7	Range 50–107 g day^-1	No changes in TC, TG, LDL, HDL
11 healthy men, cross-over, 20E% from F or starch, 5 weeks 8	183 g starch or 167 g F	Increased TG and TC higher after F
7 men and 7 women, cross-over, 4 weeks, 20E% from F or < 3% from F 9	20%: 100 g F + 132 g starch; < 3%: 14 g F + 201 g starch	No differences in TG; TC and LDL decreased by 7% with starch but no change was seen with F
12 men and 12 women, cross-over, 17E% from F or glucose, 6 weeks both diet 10	80 g F in F diet and 10 g in glucose diet	No differences in TC, LDL or HDL in men or women; TG did not differ in women but in men fasting and postprandial TG higher with fructose
11 volunteers, fat meal (40 g) with or without F, acute postprandial 10 h study 11	50 g of F and 0 g of F	Increased postprandial TG with F; the higher the fasting TG the greater the response
9 men and 12 women, cross-over, fat meal with F, sucrose or glucose, acute postprandial study 12	50 g of F, sucrose or glucose, or 100 g sucrose with the meal	Increased TG with 50 g F and 100 g sucrose, but not with 50 g sucrose or 50 g glucose
12 subjects, cross-over, 3 meals with 30E% as F or glucose in beverages, postprandial design 13	45 g of F in each meal	Higher postprandial TG after F than after glucose

F: fructose; TC: total cholesterol; TG: triglyceride; HDL: high-density lipoprotein; LDL: low-density lipoprotein; E%: percentage of energy intake.

Table 2. Effects of dietary fructose/sucrose on serum lipids in hyperinsulinaemic and diabetic subjects

Subjects and study design	Amount consumed	Main results
Subjects with hyperinsulinaemia
10 men with hyperinsulinaemia and 11 healthy men, cross-over, 20E% from F or starch, 5 weeks 8	183 g starch or 167 g F	Increased TG and TC higher after F in both groups; in hyperinsulinaemic men VLDL also higher after F
12 men hyperinsulinaemia and 12 healthy men, cross-over, 0E%, 7.5E% and 15E% from F, 5 weeks 17		TG increased by 30% and 60% with 7, 5% and 15% F in hyperinsulinaemic men, but not in normal men
12 men and 12 women, sucrose 5, 18 or 33E%, 6 weeks 20	Amount of sucrose 33, 124 and 229 g day^-1	Dose-dependent increase in fasting TG, TC, VLDL and LDL in men, but not in women
Diabetic patients
14 diabetics (3 type 1 diabetes), 8 weeks of high-fibre high-carbohydrate, then 24 weeks supplemented with F and again high-fibre diet 14	50–60 g of F	No differences in TG or TC with F
5 type 2 diabetic subjects, 13E% from F, 100 days 15	Range of F 76–124 g	No differences in TC, TG, LDL or HDL with F
16 well-controlled type 2 diabetic subjects, cross-over, 3 isocaloric diets: 20E% from F, 19E% from sucrose, 5E% from sugars; each diet 4 weeks 16	F diet: 63 g of F day^-1; sucrose diet: 78 g of sucrose	No change in TG, TC, LDL, HDL with F or with sucrose
13 poorly controlled type 2 diabetic patients, cross-over 6 months with crystalline F 18	60 g of F	No differences in TC, TG, LDL or HDL after 1, 3 or 6 months with F
9 type 2 diabetic patients, 12 weeks with crystalline F; another 9 type 2 diabetic patients without F 19	60 g of F	No differences in TC, TG, LDL or HDL with F
7 type 2 diabetic subjects, 2 weeks with F (24E% of carbohydrates as either sucrose or F) 21	F range 80–115 g day^-1	No differences in TC, TG or HDL with F
12 type 2 and 6 type 1 diabetic subjects, cross-over, 20E% from either F or starch, 4 weeks 22		TC and LDL increased by 9% and 11% in F compared with starch; no changes in fasting or postprandial TG
10 type 2 diabetic subjects, cross-over, 20E% from either F or starch, 4 weeks 23	Range of F 45–65 g	No change in TG, TC, LDL, HDL with F
6 type 2 diabetic subjects and 6 healthy subjects, F or starch (0.75 g kg^-1 body weight), 4 weeks + postprandial acute design 24	F or starch 0.75 g kg^-1 body weight	Increased postprandial TG response to F compared with starch

E%: percentage of energy intake; F: fructose; TG: triglyceride; TC: total cholesterol; VLDL: very low-density lipoprotein; LDL: low-density lipoprotein; HDL: high-density lipoprotein.

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