Are Fructose and Alcohol Similar?

In the last 30 years, fructose consumption in the American diet has increased fivefold.

Athletes consume fructose, which is the natural sugar found in fruit, as part of a high carbohydrate diet.  Most sports drinks contain a combination of fructose along with other sugars. 

The negative effects of alcohol, which is actually fermented fruit sugar, are similar to excessive amounts of fructose, metabolically.  Excessive amounts promote the development of insulin resistance, resulting in a “fatty” liver and a fat abdomen.  Like alcohol, fructose affects the limbic system, which is the reward center of the brain.  Both sweets and alcohol can hard-wire the brain to set up cravings for more. 

Athletes who use fructose and alcohol can use moderate amounts of these sugars safely, particularly if they are maintaining energy balance.  Avoiding concentrated sources of high fructose corn syrup, such as sweetened sodas is as important as not overdoing the beer tent at the end of a race.

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