Future research will aim to confirm that the findings in mice translate to humans
According to a preclinical study from investigators at US-based Weill Cornell Medicine and NewYork-Presbyterian, eating fructose appears to alter cells in the digestive tract in a way that enables it to take in more nutrients.
These changes could help to explain the well-known link between rising fructose consumption around the world and increased rates of obesity and certain cancers.
The research focused on the effect of a high-fructose diet on villi, the thin, hairlike structures that line the inside of the small intestine. Villi expand the surface area of the gut and help the body to absorb nutrients, including dietary fats, from food as it passes through the digestive tract.
The study found that mice that were fed diets that included fructose had villi that were 25 percent to 40 percent longer than those of mice that were not fed fructose. Additionally, the increase in villus length was associated with increased nutrient absorption, weight gain and fat accumulation in the animals.
“Fructose itself is not harmful. It’s a problem of overconsumption. Our bodies were not designed to eat as much of it as we do”, said the researchers.