Eating fructose appears to alter cells in the digestive tract in a way that enables it to take in more nutrients, according to a preclinical study from investigators at Weill Cornell Medicine and NewYork-Presbyterian. These changes could help to explain the well-known link between rising fructose consumption around the world and increased rates of obesity and certain cancers.

The research, published August 18 in Nature, focused on the effect of a high-fructose diet on villi, the thin, hairlike structures that line the inside of the small intestine. Villi expand the surface area of the gut and help the body to absorb nutrients, including dietary fats, from food as it passes through the digestive tract. The study found that mice that were fed diets that included fructose had villi that were 25 percent to 40 percent longer than those of mice that were not fed fructose. Additionally, the increase in villus length was associated with increased nutrient absorption, weight gain and fat accumulation in the animals.

"Fructose is structurally different from other sugars like glucose, and it gets metabolized differently," said senior author Dr. Marcus DaSilva Goncalves, the Ralph L. Nachman Research Scholar, an assistant professor of medicine in the Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism and an endocrinologist at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center. "Our research has found that fructose's primary metabolite promotes the elongation of villi and supports intestinal tumor growth."

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/08/210818135218.htm

Legendary German striker Gerd Müller has died aged 75. The forward scored 68 goals in 62 appearances for West Germany, including the winning goal in the 1974 World Cup final against Holland.

During 15 years at Bayern, Muller netted a record 365 goals in 427 Bundesliga games and 66 goals in 74 European matches.

https://www.theguardian.com/football/2021/aug/15/gerd-muller-germany-bayern-munich-dies-aged-75