Hidden dangers of fruit! Seriously read this....
kaityray
Posts: 15 Member
The old adage that your body is a temple is well known and still has relevance today. Without a solid foundation a temple cannot be successfully constructed and will eventually collapse. The same holds true for the human body. We at ISSA strive to educate our trainers regarding the synergism between proper exercise, nutrition and behavior modification to effectively draw their clientele into not just a good lifestyle, or even a better lifestyle, but the best way of life; a fitness lifestyle.
The importance of nutrition is imperative as the foundation of any successful fitness program. The core of this foundation should be based around food. Just as certain compounds are necessary to build a solid foundation in a building, specific foods are necessary to build a solid nutritional foundation. Since we have already discussed which foods aid in building this foundation through past articles, we will focus our attention on why certain foods that are considered healthy, actually may not aid in fat reduction.
Why Fruits Are Important!
With the advent of so many nutritional approaches to achieve the ideal look, numerous inquiries regarding the practice of omitting fruit, fruit juices or any of its derivatives from a diet have surfaced. Fruit is a healthy food, full of nutrients, high in fiber, vitamins, minerals, and low in fat and calories. It is a common practice for bodybuilders during pre-contest preparation to omit fruit from their diets, as it should be for anyone looking to minimize body fat. We will discuss the chemistry behind the efficacy of this practice.
Find Out How Many Calories You Are Burning, Click Here!
Our bodies can only absorb monosaccharides (glucose, galactose, or fructose), the single units of sugars and starches. Once absorbed through the small intestines into the portal vein, and then circulated into the bloodstream through the liver as blood glucose, our bodies can put glucose to work in three ways.
The Three Ways Our Bodies Put Glucose To Work:
It can burn the glucose immediately for energy if blood glucose levels are not at a stable level of 20 grams blood borne glucose circulating per hour.
If it is not needed for energy immediately, then it is converted into glycogen in the liver or muscles. The liver has the capacity to store 100 grams of glycogen. The muscles have the capacity to store between 250-400 grams of glycogen, depending on muscle mass and physical condition. Liver glycogen supplies energy for the entire body. Muscle glycogen only supplies energy to muscles.
If the body has an excess of glucose, and all of the glycogen stores are full, the surplus glucose is converted to fat by the liver and stored as adipose tissue (bodyfat) around the body. If needed, fatty acids can be burned as fuel (BUT the fat cannot be converted back to glucose).
Now that we have outlined how our bodies use glucose, we will discuss why fruit (fructose or fruit sugar) is detrimental in an attempt to maximize fat loss. Since muscles have the specific purpose of contraction, they have a limited number of enzymes for glycogen synthesis. Muscle only has the necessary enzymes to convert glucose (and nothing else) into glycogen. The liver, however, is able to make glycogen from fructose, lactate, glycerol, alanine, and other three-carbon metabolites. Muscle glycogen, which is similar in structure to starch, is an amylopectin (branched chained polymer containing hundreds of glucose units). Unlike muscles, which can only supply energy to themselves through the stored 250-400 grams of glycogen, the liver is responsible for supplying energy to the entire body.
If You Have Fruit, Fruit Juice, Or Any Of Its Derivatives, The Following Conditions Occur:
Referring to the three ways the body uses glucose, assuming that blood glucose levels are adequate, the glucose will then be stored as glycogen. Muscle does not have the necessary enzymes to synthesize fructose into glycogen; therefore the liver converts this fructose into liver glycogen. It would only take three, 8-ounce glasses of orange juice to fully replenish liver glycogen stores. Since the liver is responsible for supplying energy to the entire body, once its stores are full, a rate limiting enzyme in glucose metabolism, which is responsible for signaling the body to store glucose as glycogen or convert it to fat (phosphofructokinase), signals the body that all stores are full. If the glycogen stores are signaled as full, then the third way our body uses excess glucose is to convert it to fatty acids and store as adipose tissue. In essence, fruit sugar is easily converted to fat.
Many may be asking why then is fruit low on the glycemic index? If it does not cause a sudden release of insulin, then how could it ever be a poor food choice? Once the fructose (fruit sugar) enters the liver and liver glycogen is already full, then it cannot be used by the muscles for glycogen or energy production.
It is converted to fat and released back into the bloodstream to be stored as adipose tissue. The low glycemic response is based on the fact that fructose leaves the liver as fat, and fat does not raise insulin levels.
Search Our Huge Food Nutrient Database Of Over 6000 Foods!
This is the biochemistry behind the recommendations to limit fruit in your diet. As mentioned, fruit is a very nutritious food full of vitamins, minerals, fiber, and low in calories and fat. If your goal is to exclusively to minimize bodyfat, then it is advisable that you consume more complex carbohydrates, which will go to replenishing muscle glycogen stores rather than fruit, which will only replenish liver glycogen stores, and is useless in muscle glycogen replenishment.
References
1. Costill DL, Sherman WM, Fink WJ, Witten MW, and Miller JM. The role of dietary carbohydrates in muscle glycogen resynthesis after strenuous running. Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 34: 1831-1836, 1981.
2. Shafrir E. Fructose/sucrose metabolism, its physiological and pathological implications. Sugars and Sweeteners, Kretchmer N and Hollenbeck CB, Eds. CRC Press, 1991pp. 63-98.
3. Herbert V, Subak-Sharpe GJ. Total Nutrition: The Only Guide You'll Ever Need. St Martins Press, 1987 pp. 54-55.
The importance of nutrition is imperative as the foundation of any successful fitness program. The core of this foundation should be based around food. Just as certain compounds are necessary to build a solid foundation in a building, specific foods are necessary to build a solid nutritional foundation. Since we have already discussed which foods aid in building this foundation through past articles, we will focus our attention on why certain foods that are considered healthy, actually may not aid in fat reduction.
Why Fruits Are Important!
With the advent of so many nutritional approaches to achieve the ideal look, numerous inquiries regarding the practice of omitting fruit, fruit juices or any of its derivatives from a diet have surfaced. Fruit is a healthy food, full of nutrients, high in fiber, vitamins, minerals, and low in fat and calories. It is a common practice for bodybuilders during pre-contest preparation to omit fruit from their diets, as it should be for anyone looking to minimize body fat. We will discuss the chemistry behind the efficacy of this practice.
Find Out How Many Calories You Are Burning, Click Here!
Our bodies can only absorb monosaccharides (glucose, galactose, or fructose), the single units of sugars and starches. Once absorbed through the small intestines into the portal vein, and then circulated into the bloodstream through the liver as blood glucose, our bodies can put glucose to work in three ways.
The Three Ways Our Bodies Put Glucose To Work:
It can burn the glucose immediately for energy if blood glucose levels are not at a stable level of 20 grams blood borne glucose circulating per hour.
If it is not needed for energy immediately, then it is converted into glycogen in the liver or muscles. The liver has the capacity to store 100 grams of glycogen. The muscles have the capacity to store between 250-400 grams of glycogen, depending on muscle mass and physical condition. Liver glycogen supplies energy for the entire body. Muscle glycogen only supplies energy to muscles.
If the body has an excess of glucose, and all of the glycogen stores are full, the surplus glucose is converted to fat by the liver and stored as adipose tissue (bodyfat) around the body. If needed, fatty acids can be burned as fuel (BUT the fat cannot be converted back to glucose).
Now that we have outlined how our bodies use glucose, we will discuss why fruit (fructose or fruit sugar) is detrimental in an attempt to maximize fat loss. Since muscles have the specific purpose of contraction, they have a limited number of enzymes for glycogen synthesis. Muscle only has the necessary enzymes to convert glucose (and nothing else) into glycogen. The liver, however, is able to make glycogen from fructose, lactate, glycerol, alanine, and other three-carbon metabolites. Muscle glycogen, which is similar in structure to starch, is an amylopectin (branched chained polymer containing hundreds of glucose units). Unlike muscles, which can only supply energy to themselves through the stored 250-400 grams of glycogen, the liver is responsible for supplying energy to the entire body.
If You Have Fruit, Fruit Juice, Or Any Of Its Derivatives, The Following Conditions Occur:
Referring to the three ways the body uses glucose, assuming that blood glucose levels are adequate, the glucose will then be stored as glycogen. Muscle does not have the necessary enzymes to synthesize fructose into glycogen; therefore the liver converts this fructose into liver glycogen. It would only take three, 8-ounce glasses of orange juice to fully replenish liver glycogen stores. Since the liver is responsible for supplying energy to the entire body, once its stores are full, a rate limiting enzyme in glucose metabolism, which is responsible for signaling the body to store glucose as glycogen or convert it to fat (phosphofructokinase), signals the body that all stores are full. If the glycogen stores are signaled as full, then the third way our body uses excess glucose is to convert it to fatty acids and store as adipose tissue. In essence, fruit sugar is easily converted to fat.
Many may be asking why then is fruit low on the glycemic index? If it does not cause a sudden release of insulin, then how could it ever be a poor food choice? Once the fructose (fruit sugar) enters the liver and liver glycogen is already full, then it cannot be used by the muscles for glycogen or energy production.
It is converted to fat and released back into the bloodstream to be stored as adipose tissue. The low glycemic response is based on the fact that fructose leaves the liver as fat, and fat does not raise insulin levels.
Search Our Huge Food Nutrient Database Of Over 6000 Foods!
This is the biochemistry behind the recommendations to limit fruit in your diet. As mentioned, fruit is a very nutritious food full of vitamins, minerals, fiber, and low in calories and fat. If your goal is to exclusively to minimize bodyfat, then it is advisable that you consume more complex carbohydrates, which will go to replenishing muscle glycogen stores rather than fruit, which will only replenish liver glycogen stores, and is useless in muscle glycogen replenishment.
References
1. Costill DL, Sherman WM, Fink WJ, Witten MW, and Miller JM. The role of dietary carbohydrates in muscle glycogen resynthesis after strenuous running. Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 34: 1831-1836, 1981.
2. Shafrir E. Fructose/sucrose metabolism, its physiological and pathological implications. Sugars and Sweeteners, Kretchmer N and Hollenbeck CB, Eds. CRC Press, 1991pp. 63-98.
3. Herbert V, Subak-Sharpe GJ. Total Nutrition: The Only Guide You'll Ever Need. St Martins Press, 1987 pp. 54-55.
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Replies
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Sure, sure, yes but answer this....how did you get that body??!!
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bump
(i'm a fruit addict and have not been keeping up w/ the other side of the argument)0 -
bump for later reading. thanks for posting this. looks like very interesting info!0
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This article backs up what I have been saying for the past 2 years on this site. We should be eating more vegetables than fruit.
Fruit should be treated like a dessert. Something we have "on occasion", not as a staple in our daily eating plan.0 -
I have many servings of fruit every day. In addition to the pounds I have lost, my blood sugar is no longer in a dangerous range, my cholesterol is now at a helthy level, and my body fat percentage has dropped drastically (more than 20% lost)
Fruit is good for you. Whole grains are good for you. A varied, produce filled diet is good for you.
Eliminating a whole food group, or restricting intake on it's perceived "bad" qualities is absurd.0 -
Sure, sure, yes but answer this....how did you get that body??!!
Haha I too was distracted by the pictures.0 -
bump0
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I have many servings of fruit every day. In addition to the pounds I have lost, my blood sugar is no longer in a dangerous range, my cholesterol is now at a helthy level, and my body fat percentage has dropped drastically (more than 20% lost)
Fruit is good for you. Whole grains are good for you. A varied, produce filled diet is good for you.
Eliminating a whole food group, or restricting intake on it's perceived "bad" qualities is absurd.
*LIKE*0 -
Maybe if you are trying to lose every bit of fat for a competition, or some such goal, but for your average person who wants to lose weight, eliminating fruit as a snack or menu choice I feel is absurd. I'm not doubting the science behind glucose metabolism, but let's appreciate fruit for the healthy smart food choice that it is. Personally if I eliminated fruit as a snack, or side dish, it would likely be replaced with something less beneficial and be counterproductive to my goals.0
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^
This0 -
Fruit is not just fructose and it is good to eat fruit after workouts. It gives your body the energy it needs and replenishes you. If you are really trying to bulk up eating fruit can aid in your body storing little amounts of fat. For the average person trying to loose weight it is ridiculous to think of fruit as dangerous. Moderation is the key in loosing weight. Fruit is a great source of nutrients and energy for your body if you are trying to build muscle or just trying to loose weight.0
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I personally LOVE to eat fruits! I like the sweet taste of the fruits and I know that I get a lot of good nutrients from them. I will NOT be eliminating and/or severely restricting an entire food group from my way of life. I feel that in order to maintain a healthy weight, we need to include ALL food groups. We should be more focused on being HEALTHY people in the long run instead of JUST on losing weight quickly.0
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I personally LOVE to eat fruits! I like the sweet taste of the fruits and I know that I get a lot of good nutrients from them. I will NOT be eliminating and/or severely restricting an entire food group from my way of life. I feel that in order to maintain a healthy weight, we need to include ALL food groups. We should be more focused on being HEALTHY people in the long run instead of JUST on losing weight quickly.
The point of the article is about bein more healthy. Eating a lot of fruit doesn't make you healthy and puts a lot of sugar in your body that you don't necessarily "need".
We should be replacing the fruit servings with extra vegetable servings.0 -
I'd rather people eat fruit than fast food.
Eat a rainbow a day. That's my motto.0 -
Aye when I'm craving something sweet and I go for a fruit it's a victory, considering my previous choices were chocolate bars, hard candies, gummie candies etc which being basically sugar, but having none of fruits micro-nutrients or other benefits "helped" me to reach the weight I did.
I'll keep eating my fruit and enjoy every morsel.0 -
This is absolute BULL!!!!. Yes your science is correct but your reasoning is flawed. Fruit is good for you. And part of the reason it doesn't raise insulin levels is because of all of the fiber and water in fruit makes the glucose absorbed at a slower rate. Unless you eat like 4 watermellons in a single sitting you will not be sending the glucose from fruit out of the liver as adipose tissue. We use the glucose from fruit fairly fast as it gets realeased from the intestine to the liver. Don't believe this anyone! 3-4 healthy servings of fruit a day is good for anyone. I agree that you shouldn't eat the whole watermellon is one sitting but its a hell of a lot better than eating the whole bag of chips. I eat lots of fruit, and have a 1400 calorie diet with a 1900 calroie BMR. I lose anywhere from 3-7 pounds a week when i stick to it. I am a pre-med student and i don't believe this crap you are trying to fed people. I have had so many biology classes and biochemistry classes and i don't believe your reasoning is correct. You have the right science but it would take huge amounts of fruit for the body to send it out of the liver as fat!!!! Limit refined sugar because that is the culprit here!!!!0
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So... can we please have a show of hands from all those people who became morbidly obese from snacking on too many apples??? :huh:0
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This is absolute BULL!!!!. Yes your science is correct but your reasoning is flawed. Fruit is good for you. And part of the reason it doesn't raise insulin levels is because of all of the fiber and water in fruit makes the glucose absorbed at a slower rate. Unless you eat like 4 watermellons in a single sitting you will not be sending the glucose from fruit out of the liver as adipose tissue. We use the glucose from fruit fairly fast as it gets realeased from the intestine to the liver. Don't believe this anyone! 3-4 healthy servings of fruit a day is good for anyone. I agree that you shouldn't eat the whole watermellon is one sitting but its a hell of a lot better than eating the whole bag of chips. I eat lots of fruit, and have a 1400 calorie diet with a 1900 calroie BMR. I lose anywhere from 3-7 pounds a week when i stick to it. I am a pre-med student and i don't believe this crap you are trying to fed people. I have had so many biology classes and biochemistry classes and i don't believe your reasoning is correct. You have the right science but it would take huge amounts of fruit for the body to send it out of the liver as fat!!!! Limit refined sugar because that is the culprit here!!!!
For people that are sensitive, it doesn't take much fruit to raise insulin levels and it is also a known fact that too much sugar whether it is in the form of fructose or sucrose can lead to leptin resistance which makes losing weight and getting insulin levels under control.
I had an A1C of 8.9% and extremely high triglycerides. Limiting fruit to 1 small serving no more than 3 times a week, raising protein and fat intake and eating a lot of vegetables has my triglycerides down to 46 and my A1C is now 4.7%.
I was told by both an endocrinologist and a registered dietician to limit my fruit intake that much and to increase my vegetable intake, along with protein and natural fats.0 -
So... can we please have a show of hands from all those people who became morbidly obese from snacking on too many apples??? :huh:
hahahahaah........
good one!
hahahaha0 -
So... can we please have a show of hands from all those people who became morbidly obese from snacking on too many apples??? :huh:
Yes, I can say the amount of fruit I used to eat lead to my weight gain due to being insulin resistant and then becoming a full blown diabetic.
I used to eat at least 4-5 servings of fruit per day, plus a lot of low fat and low protein foods and I ended up gaining about 140 pounds.0 -
I've recently given up eating sweets and chocolate and icecream and taken up eating fruit instead. I don't go crazy and have no more than 3 servings of fruit a day, but I find it helps soothe my sweet tooth and it's a hell of a lot better than the crap I've been shovelling in my gob for the past 18yrs! As a result I am seeing steady and satisfying drop in body weight. Everything in moderation is my motto, fruit is an important part of a healthy, well-balanced diet and given that I'm not a bodybuilder nor trying to drastically reduce my body fat to the point where I stop menstruating, I think I'll keep eating it.0
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So... can we please have a show of hands from all those people who became morbidly obese from snacking on too many apples??? :huh:
haha I think that would be a LOT of apples!
I lost 50 pounds and have sustained it for a few years. I ate/eat a lot of fruit and other carbohydrates like bread, rice, and pasta.
I was losing just as the Atkins/low carb craze was fading. I tried that type of diet but it was awful for me -- it made me feel really unwell, hungry and unhappy. But some people really like it.
Everybody is different; I think there are a lot of ways to eat healthy. Each person has to decide what is suitable for them. Telling people not to eat fruit is just silly.0 -
So... can we please have a show of hands from all those people who became morbidly obese from snacking on too many apples??? :huh:
haha I think that would be a LOT of apples!
I lost 50 pounds and have sustained it for a few years. I ate/eat a lot of fruit and other carbohydrates like bread, rice, and pasta.
I was losing just as the Atkins/low carb craze was fading. I tried that type of diet but it was awful for me -- it made me feel really unwell, hungry and unhappy. But some people really like it.
Everybody is different; I think there are a lot of ways to eat healthy. Each person has to decide what is suitable for them. Telling people not to eat fruit is just silly.
The article isn't saying to eliminate fruit. However, we should not be eating 3, 4 or 5 servings of fruit everyday either. That is excessive and leads to leptin resistance, insulin resistance - both of these disorders cause weight gain and contribute to the development of diabetes.0 -
So... can we please have a show of hands from all those people who became morbidly obese from snacking on too many apples??? :huh:
haha I think that would be a LOT of apples!
I lost 50 pounds and have sustained it for a few years. I ate/eat a lot of fruit and other carbohydrates like bread, rice, and pasta.
I was losing just as the Atkins/low carb craze was fading. I tried that type of diet but it was awful for me -- it made me feel really unwell, hungry and unhappy. But some people really like it.
Everybody is different; I think there are a lot of ways to eat healthy. Each person has to decide what is suitable for them. Telling people not to eat fruit is just silly.
The article isn't saying to eliminate fruit. However, we should not be eating 3, 4 or 5 servings of fruit everyday either. That is excessive and leads to leptin resistance, insulin resistance - both of these disorders cause weight gain and contribute to the development of diabetes.
Yeah, my friend's doctor tells him crap like this, and to "stay away from fruit," and so he eats boxes of cookies instead. Give me a break. :grumble:0 -
It just generalising from a minority to the majority.
The vast majority of healthy people who are not pre-diabetic can happily eat 3-5 portions of fruit a day with no ill effects whatsoever, and will benefit greatly from the fibre and the vitamins.
Diabetics and pre-diabetics will have to watch this more, but fruit on it's own does not result in people becoming morbidly obese and anyone who believes that is deluded about what else they were eating at the time and their corresponding lack of activity at the time!0 -
For people that are sensitive, it doesn't take much fruit to raise insulin levels and it is also a known fact that too much sugar whether it is in the form of fructose or sucrose can lead to leptin resistance which makes losing weight and getting insulin levels under control.
I had an A1C of 8.9% and extremely high triglycerides. Limiting fruit to 1 small serving no more than 3 times a week, raising protein and fat intake and eating a lot of vegetables has my triglycerides down to 46 and my A1C is now 4.7%.
I was told by both an endocrinologist and a registered dietician to limit my fruit intake that much and to increase my vegetable intake, along with protein and natural fats.
If this article is more towards the more sensitive people then it should be stated that way. Not everyone is effected by fruit that way that you have been. You're all for this and saying that everyone needs to cut back on fruit, but not everyone has this problem that you had with fruits.
You can't just cut back or leave out a food group UNLESS, like you, you have a medical need for it. Not everyone has it, so there is no need to say that everyone should cut back. Its fruit, it's good for you! Yes it's filled with sugar, but those sugars are better than the sugar you would get from chocolate or a big bowl of ice cream.
I don't think it's right to say that everyone should cut back just from an effect it had on you.
I for one did not get overweight from fruit, and in fact I've been eating more fruit and have lsot weight. I don't think I could go without my apples, pineapples, grapes, or oranges.0 -
what happened to the saying "if it grows from the ground eat it" ???????0
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I have many servings of fruit every day. In addition to the pounds I have lost, my blood sugar is no longer in a dangerous range, my cholesterol is now at a helthy level, and my body fat percentage has dropped drastically (more than 20% lost)
Fruit is good for you. Whole grains are good for you. A varied, produce filled diet is good for you.
Eliminating a whole food group, or restricting intake on it's perceived "bad" qualities is absurd.
Exactly.
All things in moderation, regardless of what it is.0 -
Hmm did anyone else notice this article kind of implies that our food goes directly from our digestive system to our liver then leaves as fat and this is how the glycaemic response is measured. The glycaemic response is actually measured based on when the sugar enters the blood, which happens long before it reaches the liver (hint - your digestive system doesn't lead into your liver! :P) so that argument doesn't make any sense.
As for the excess glucose being stored as fat - well yes, absolutely true. But this is true of all excess calories, not just those specifically coming from fruit. And to be fair, as far as snacks go - you'd be hard pressed to find one lower calorie than fruit. You've gotta love popular media and the way they spin things!0 -
For people that are sensitive, it doesn't take much fruit to raise insulin levels and it is also a known fact that too much sugar whether it is in the form of fructose or sucrose can lead to leptin resistance which makes losing weight and getting insulin levels under control.
I had an A1C of 8.9% and extremely high triglycerides. Limiting fruit to 1 small serving no more than 3 times a week, raising protein and fat intake and eating a lot of vegetables has my triglycerides down to 46 and my A1C is now 4.7%.
I was told by both an endocrinologist and a registered dietician to limit my fruit intake that much and to increase my vegetable intake, along with protein and natural fats.
If this article is more towards the more sensitive people then it should be stated that way. Not everyone is effected by fruit that way that you have been. You're all for this and saying that everyone needs to cut back on fruit, but not everyone has this problem that you had with fruits.
You can't just cut back or leave out a food group UNLESS, like you, you have a medical need for it. Not everyone has it, so there is no need to say that everyone should cut back. Its fruit, it's good for you! Yes it's filled with sugar, but those sugars are better than the sugar you would get from chocolate or a big bowl of ice cream.
I don't think it's right to say that everyone should cut back just from an effect it had on you.
I for one did not get overweight from fruit, and in fact I've been eating more fruit and have lsot weight. I don't think I could go without my apples, pineapples, grapes, or oranges.
My doctors had told me they have seen a lot of people that have went from having no issues to having issues with blood sugar and getting leptin resistance.
There is a direct correlation with people developing leptin resistance from eating too much fruit. There are a lot of vegetarians that have leptin resistance due to eating too much fruit.
There are more people that have blood sugar issues than anyone really knows. There are so many people that are undiagnosed it is not even funny.
Also, if you have anyone in your family that has Type 2 Diabetes - you are suspeptible to developing leptin and / or insulin resistance.
If your goal is to have optimum helath, then fruit intake should be curbed to be a "treat" or a dessert type item. That is all I am saying. If you don't care about being at your best health, then by all means continue with what you are currently doing.
And it is a known fact that sugar is sugar - no matter the source. The impact on blood sugar and release of insulin is the same no matter if it is fruit or a candy bar.0
This discussion has been closed.
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