Fructose, glucose, sucrose and high-fructose corn syrup drinks
What it found
In short and long studies in people, drinks sweetened with fructose raised blood triglycerides more than glucose drinks.
A short study found high-fructose corn syrup and sucrose raised triglycerides as much as pure fructose.
What they found
Studies in people
Insulin and leptin lower
In people, fructose-sweetened drinks with meals led to lower 24-hour levels of glucose, insulin and leptin than glucose-sweetened drinks. The authors say these lower levels held up in both short and long studies.
Blood fats rise
Fructose-sweetened drinks raised blood triglycerides after meals compared with glucose drinks. In overweight women, 10 weeks of fructose drinks at 25% of energy needs raised 24-hour triglyceride exposure by 140%.
Apolipoprotein B higher
In longer studies, apolipoprotein B went up in people drinking fructose-sweetened drinks but not in those drinking glucose-sweetened drinks. The authors link this to a blood fat pattern tied to hardening of the arteries.
HFCS and sucrose similar
In a short study in men, drinks sweetened with high-fructose corn syrup or sucrose raised triglycerides after meals as much as pure fructose did. Their effects on glucose, insulin and leptin fell between those of pure fructose and pure glucose.
Animal and lab studies
Monkey weight study
In 16 adult male rhesus monkeys, those given fructose drinks gained weight at 3 and 6 months, while those given glucose drinks did not. By 12 months, weight gain did not differ between the groups, and the authors call the results equivocal.
Other findings
How HFCS is made
In 1970, a process was developed to turn corn sugar, which is glucose, into high-fructose corn syrup. The main type used in soft drinks is 55% fructose and 45% glucose, and it replaced sucrose as the main sweetener in soft drinks.
What the authors conclude
“Results from a 1-year study in nonhuman primates were equivocal, and testing this hypothesis in human subjects is likely to be difficult and costly.”
Also in their conclusions
- They say that prolonged consumption of diets high in energy from fructose could lead to increased calorie intake or decreased calorie burning, contributing to weight gain and obesity.
- They conclude that fructose consumption substantially increases blood triglycerides after meals, and that high-fructose corn syrup and sucrose do so to the same degree as fructose alone.
- They call for further long-term studies on fructose, sucrose and high-fructose corn syrup, including different ages, genders and metabolic states, and dose-response studies.
How it was done
Some scientists have suggested that rising fructose consumption may be tied to the current rises in obesity and metabolic syndrome. The authors wanted to test whether fructose pushes the body toward weight gain and toward a blood fat pattern linked to heart disease.
They ran short studies in normal-weight young women and in overweight men and women, and longer studies lasting 10 weeks in overweight people, giving drinks sweetened with fructose or glucose at 25% to 30% of energy needs with meals. They also ran a 12-month study in 16 adult male rhesus monkeys given glucose- or fructose-sweetened drinks, and a short study in men comparing fructose, glucose, sucrose and high-fructose corn syrup drinks.
What it can’t tell you
- The monkey study was small and its results were equivocal, so it cannot show what long-term fructose drinking does in people.
- The human studies measured blood markers over weeks, not body weight over years, so they cannot show whether these drinks cause weight gain in people.
- The short study comparing high-fructose corn syrup and sucrose was small, and the authors say long-term studies are needed to confirm those results.
Who paid
- Funding
- Funded by NIDDK NIH HHS; NCCIH NIH HHS; NCRR NIH HHS; NHLBI NIH HHS (from the PubMed record).
- Conflicts
- The authors have no conflicts of interest.
- Authors work at
- University of California, USA
The paper
- Title
- Endocrine and metabolic effects of consuming beverages sweetened with fructose, glucose, sucrose, or high-fructose corn syrup
- Type
- ReviewThe authors read earlier studies and describe what they found. It isn’t a new study.
- Evidence
- Studies in people · animals · lab
- Summarised from
- Full text
- Cite
- Stanhope KL, Havel PJ (2008). Endocrine and metabolic effects of consuming beverages sweetened with fructose, glucose, sucrose, or high-fructose corn syrup. The American journal of clinical nutrition. doi:10.3945/ajcn.2008.25825DFree full textPubMed 19064538DOI
Summary written 26 Sep 2026. Check it against the paper before it changes what you eat. How we summarise papers · Report an error