Dr. Richard Johnson explains how bears eat thousands of fructose-rich berries in fall to trigger hibernation. Frost increases sugar content in fruit, and bears consume massive amounts before winter. Sucrose, the common added sugar, contains both fructose and glucose.
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So we were wondering what triggers the switch in the bear. And one of the things that's very notable is that in the fall, they start eating huge amounts of fruit, especially berries. And as the first frost comes, the berries will sweeten up and the sugar content goes up in the fruit, and they'll eat thousands of fruits, thousands of grapes in a single 24 hour period. And so over course of weeks, they're eating so much fruit that they eat get really a lot of fruit sugar. Now, fruit sugar is known as fructose, and it's different from glucose, which is the main sugar in our body. But it's important to note that two of the most common added sugars that we add to food have both fructose and glucose in them. So table sugar is sucrose.