Dietary Fructose's Effect on Lipid Profile

Good afternoon, Doc. My current diet is structured to lose weight (down to a 36.5" waist currently) and improve my lipid profile. Due to Dr. Baraki’s advice, I was able to make significant improvements in my overall lipid profile. See link to our recent discussion here with pertinent data and lipid history: https://forum.barbellmedicine.com/fo…ng-but-not-ldl

I’m seeing overall great results and can’t thank you enough for BBM. After recently reading an article in the Journal of Nutrition, the following information struck me by surprise.:

“When dietary glucose and fructose have been directly compared at ∼20–25% of energy over a 4- to 6-wk period, dietary fructose caused significant increases in fasting TG and LDL cholesterol concentrations, whereas dietary glucose did not, but dietary glucose did increase serum glucose and insulin concentrations in the postprandial state whereas dietary fructose did not.”

Article Link: Dietary Fructose and Glucose Differentially Affect Lipid and Glucose Homeostasis - PMC

I have been closely monitoring/restricting all refined carbohydrates and saturated fats, but haven’t paid a lot of attention to fructose. I had no idea that fructose could so significantly impact triglyceride levels!! So having said that and wanting to maintain my current “normal” triglyceride levels, should I also be closely monitoring fructose intake? I have not been diagnosed with hypercholesterolemia or hypertriglyceridemia.

Thanks in advance for your help!!!

Lee,

I wouldn’t worry about it at all unless we’re talking about eliminating sugar-sweetened beverages from your diet as a step to drive more weight loss. That said, I don’t think the cited evidence is very strong for reducing fructose intake independently driving favorable health outcomes. For example, the study you cited is a narrative review on this topic and does not show large, reliable differences between groups.

-Jordan

Thank you, Jordan! All the best!!