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Which foods naturally contain simple sugars such as glucose and fructose?

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A biochemical flowchart shows the metabolic pathways for carbohydrate utilization, including glycolysis, the pentose phosphate pathway, and the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle. The diagram traces the conversion of glucose, fructose, and glycerol through various intermediates, leading to energy production, carbon dioxide release, and biosynthesis of amino acids and porphyrins. Key steps and branches are labeled, with colored boxes highlighting biosynthetic outputs. — Carbohydrate Pathways for the utilization of carbohydrates.

Simple sugars, or monosaccharides, such as glucose and fructose, occur naturally in a variety of plant-based foods.

Fruits: Many fruits are common sources of these simple sugars. For instance, glucose is found in various fruits, while fructose—often called fruit sugar—is found in uncombined form in items such as apples and tomatoes.123
Honey: Honey is a well-known natural source that contains both glucose and fructose in their uncombined forms.123
Other Sources: While glucose and fructose are often found in fruits, they are also constituents of more complex carbohydrates. For example, sucrose (table sugar) is a disaccharide composed of one molecule of glucose and one molecule of fructose; it is found naturally in plants like sugarcane, sugar beets, and sugar maple sap. Additionally, fructose is found in artichokes.421

It is important to note that while these sugars are present in whole foods, they are also processed and concentrated for use as industrial sweeteners in many manufactured products.4