I'm trying to improve my diet - one way is by attempting (oh foolish me) to avoid high-fructose corn syrup.
I'm eating yogurt, and noticed that among the ingredients is something called "fructan".
A fructan is a polymer of fructose molecules - Plants storing their food as fructans are able to thrive at low temperatures since fructans confer tolerance to freezing. They bind to membranes, thereby helping to keep cells intact.
So...does "fructan" count as "fructose"? It seems essentially a sugar, but is it a bad sugar? I've read a bunch of stuff online (mostly research papers) and it's hard to tell, since I lack the scientific vocabulary.
Help Help!
I'm eating yogurt, and noticed that among the ingredients is something called "fructan".
A fructan is a polymer of fructose molecules - Plants storing their food as fructans are able to thrive at low temperatures since fructans confer tolerance to freezing. They bind to membranes, thereby helping to keep cells intact.
So...does "fructan" count as "fructose"? It seems essentially a sugar, but is it a bad sugar? I've read a bunch of stuff online (mostly research papers) and it's hard to tell, since I lack the scientific vocabulary.
Help Help!
You rang?
ReplyDeleteSo, I don't think fructan really does count. It may be made up of fructose molecules, but it is often many of them linked together is a way that you won't be able to break down. Depending on the specific type (which is way outside of anything I'd know much about), it is probably in the list of ingredients as a sweetener or as a source of fiber.
However? Giving up fructose completely? Does this mean you'll stop eating any fruit? HFCS is more of an issue because it's had its sugar (sucrose) broken down into fructose and glucose. Apparently, this combination has different effects on blood sugar and other things than if your body breaks it down on its own.
Craig, Yay, and thank you.
ReplyDeleteI'm trying to minimize the HFCS I ingest, but no - I misspoke when I said 'all fructose'.
If it's naturally ocurring in a fruit, that's cool - I'm just trying to edge towards a better diet, eating less of the highly-processed crap I've been eating for the past 40 years or so.
Thanks again for your help!