F stands for fructose and fat

摘要

Adrastic increase in dietary sugar consumption in the western world during the past four decades has been paralleled by epidemics of obesity and metabolic syndrome, suggesting a cause- and- effect relationship. Yet the relative contribution of individual sugars - as opposed to total caloric intake - to this epidemic remains controversial. For instance, increased intake of fructose, which is enriched in soft drinks and processed foods, has been proposed to greatly contribute to these disorders. However, this proposal has not been universally embraced. Two studies by Johnson and colleagues, published in Hepatology (Ishimoto et al.) and Nature Communications (Lanaspa et al.), now investigate the role of fructose metabolism in obesity and metabolic syndrome using a mouse model that cannot metabolize this sugar. The results strongly support the theory that fructose over-consumption has toxic effects.