ABSTRACT

Fructose, like glucose, is a monosaccharide, and together they make up the disaccharide sucrose. However, glucose and fructose do differ in a number of important ways. These saccharides appear to share taste-signaling pathways but on a molar basis elicit different intensities. Does this in turn lead to differences in relative intake? What are the consequences of long-term exposure to these compounds? How do these saccharides contribute to potentially differential effects on satiety and metabolism? How do glucose and fructose affect appetite-associated neural signals? In this chapter, we will review the literature in the context of these questions.