Fructose or Glucose? Do different sugars have different health effects?

Over-consumption of either fructose or glucose will lead to weight gain among other health problems

Our recent article published in the Medical Journal of Australia found that Australian and European soft drinks contained higher concentrations of glucose, and less fructose, than soft drinks in the United States. The total glucose concentration of Australian soft drinks was on average 22% higher than in US formulations.

We compared the composition of sugars in four popular, globally marketed brands – Coca-Cola, Fanta, Sprite and Pepsi – using samples from Australia, Europe and the US. While the total sugar concentration did not differ significantly between brands or geographical location, there were differences between countries in the concentrations