Fruit Makes you Fat

Actualy this agrees with what my doctor told me. She said that if I wanted to lose weight I should avoid sugar because it is the sugar that causes the fat to stay on. She recommended that I never eat anything with more than 5g of sugar in it, including fruit. So this would rule out apples and bananas for example. A typical banana has a whopping 16g of sugar in it which is the equivalent of 4 sugar cubes.

I used to eat about 3 apples a day, but now I have cut them out completely.

How would you or your doctor explain my 53 pound weight loss then? My diet is 90% fruit.

You probably don't have the "toxic fructose syndrome" that others have.

Your longer post was an interesting read but what you say seems a bit improbable to me -
You say that 'Most obese people have a toxic reaction to fructose' and reason that I've lost weight by eating fruit because 'You probably don't have the "toxic fructose syndrome" that others have'. I can accept that there is a possibility that although 'most' obese people have this reaction I just might be one of the few that don't. I might just have stumbled upon a way of eating that fits with my beliefs,lifestyle and tastebuds, and through a fluke it works for me but wouldn't work for 'most' obese people. You would think if that was the case I would be in a tiny minority of obese people who could lose weight this way. If you google '80/10/10 weight loss' you will find pages and pages of examples of other freaks like me who happened to be obese but were just lucky that they didn't have this 'toxic fructose syndrome'. What are the chances that all those people who chose to eat this way just happened to be the ones that didn't have this syndrome? And those examples are only the ones who have chosen to go public on a website with their eating habits. Many, many more people are doing it but don't feel the need to broadcast it in public.

So sorry, I'm not buying your theory. I'm not a scientist so I'm not knocking that this toxic fructose syndrome exists - it might well do, but I just don't believe that most obese people have it and out of the minority of people who are obese but don't have it, we all seem to have chosen to eat in 80/10/10 fashion.

I just choked on my coffee!!!! LOL

Actualy this agrees with what my doctor told me. She said that if I wanted to lose weight I should avoid sugar because it is the sugar that causes the fat to stay on. She recommended that I never eat anything with more than 5g of sugar in it, including fruit. So this would rule out apples and bananas for example. A typical banana has a whopping 16g of sugar in it which is the equivalent of 4 sugar cubes.

I used to eat about 3 apples a day, but now I have cut them out completely.

Right...And, everybody knows MD's are known to be experts on nutrition. Right?? ...Consider speaking to a licensed Nutrition expert, like a Registered Dietitian. Your perception is way off.

Actualy this agrees with what my doctor told me. She said that if I wanted to lose weight I should avoid sugar because it is the sugar that causes the fat to stay on. She recommended that I never eat anything with more than 5g of sugar in it, including fruit. So this would rule out apples and bananas for example. A typical banana has a whopping 16g of sugar in it which is the equivalent of 4 sugar cubes.

I used to eat about 3 apples a day, but now I have cut them out completely.

Right...And, everybody knows MD's are known to be experts on nutrition. Right?? ...Consider speaking to a licensed Nutrition expert, like a Registered Dietitian. Your perception is way off.

Most RDs do not keep up with the newest medical research on diet and its effects on the body. That's not to say MDs do either but they have their observational pool that they follow over time.

alanbluecat,

You said: "OK, so it is not your theory. I don't buy whoever's theory it is, no matter who paid for the research."

The reason why I cited the sponsor of the research is to counter any suggestion that it is not serious research.

You said: "Yes I do have limited fat intake on purpose. I get 80% of my calories from Carbs, 10% from Fat and 10% from protein. This might not be considered 'normal' but then again I don't consider the 'conventional' way of eating to be normal."

Eating only 10% of calories from protein is pretty skimpy if you want to maintain muscle mass.

You said: "I have no concerns about nutrient deficiency. I get all the nutrients I need from the fruit and veg I consume. People have eaten this way for many decades and never succumbed to these 'illnesses' from lack of nutrition so I'm not worried either."

The fact remains that vegan diets tend to be protein deficient diets. I know a number of vegans who abandoned veganism on the advice of their doctor. Do you not eat any high quality protein (animal protein)? If so, vegetables and grains need to be carefully balanced to ensure adequate protein intake. Most vegans either do not have the knowledge to do it properly or are not motivated to do so.

You said: "I chose to eat this way in order help with 2 medical conditions I have/had - high blood pressure and ME/CFS. I have eliminated both. I knew it would also be beneficial to me for weight loss and I really needed to do that but for me the most important reason for eating like this is to get rid of the 2 illnesses that had turned my life upside down. As it worked and I'm starting to get my life back again there is no way in the world that I will return to 'normal' eating, so for me this is long term and I know I'll never fall off the wagon because to do so would mean possibly returning to a life of misery and poverty blighted by illness."

I congratulate you on your victory over high blood pressure and myalgic enchephalomyelits/ chronic fatigue syndrome. I also have lost weight and have had victory over my high blood pressure---using a lower-carb approach. My blood sugar/insulin response has also improved markedly.

You said: "I simply don't accept that eating fruit is 'not good at all for the obese'. It is the most natural food in the world that comes in a handy size, easy to eat and packed full of all the goodness a human needs. To suggest that it is not a suitable food for an obese person sounds totally absurd to me."

I actually was very careful to say that fruit is an excellent food for those who are not obese. But obese individuals---particularly, obese women, have a very tricky and nasty set of metabolic problems that require drastic action to get their body fat reduced. I eat fruit---I'm just careful to pick from the lower fructose fruit most of the time. And if I really want an apple, I eat just half of one and save the rest for later or share it. I also restrict carbs in general to 60-100 grams per day so that my body does not convert blood glucose into fructose. The very high blood glucose levels that I run when I eat a lot of carbs is deadly. Before insulin was discovered, the only treatment for juvenile diabetes was carbohydrate restriction---done to keep blood glucose levels down.

That article is so misleading, I barely know what to say.

"It's considered so beneficial that the government's five-a-day guideline is a minimum recommendation for the amount of fruit and vegetables we should eat.
But while it is fine to exceed this amount if you are a healthy weight, if you are overweight or suffer from high cholesterol or diabetes, too much fruit could be trouble. It could also explain why, despite your healthy lifestyle, you're piling on the pounds."

Uh yes, those are called calories. Eating 5 bananas a day would be 500 calories. Add that to your other food, and you will probably gain weight. That's math.

"drinking fruit smoothies all day - glugging down 300 calories in a couple of minutes."

Yes.....have several 300 calories smoothies on top of an already full diet will lead to excess calories....which will lead to weight gain. Once again, that's math.

It isn't just the calories---it is also biochemistry. Restricting fat, carbohydrates or calories will cause weight loss. But, in terms of healthy weight loss and keeping it off, the research shows that carbohydrate restriction is the best course. Within that parameter, healthy fats and lean proteins are very important as are vegetables and a couple of servings of fruit a day.

Actualy this agrees with what my doctor told me. She said that if I wanted to lose weight I should avoid sugar because it is the sugar that causes the fat to stay on. She recommended that I never eat anything with more than 5g of sugar in it, including fruit. So this would rule out apples and bananas for example. A typical banana has a whopping 16g of sugar in it which is the equivalent of 4 sugar cubes.

I used to eat about 3 apples a day, but now I have cut them out completely.

Right...And, everybody knows MD's are known to be experts on nutrition. Right?? ...Consider speaking to a licensed Nutrition expert, like a Registered Dietitian. Your perception is way off.

Most RDs do not keep up with the newest medical research on diet and its effects on the body. That's not to say MDs do either but they have their observational pool that they follow over time.

What a ridiculous and uninformed blanket statement that is regarding the expertise of RD's. I can't speak for all RD's, but I am one that has been "keeping up with the newest medical research on diet and it's effects on the body" for over 18 years and applying it in practise. Do you have any idea the amount of continuing education it requires to maintain a license as an RD? And, an RD that works in the field of clinical nutrition, counseling patients, has a much broader "observational pool that they follow over time" with regard to nutrition than most MD's by far. I work with many MD's, they refer their patients to me for nutrition issues...They are almost always the first to say they don't recieve education on nutrition in med school and do not feel they are experts in that area at all.

Actualy this agrees with what my doctor told me. She said that if I wanted to lose weight I should avoid sugar because it is the sugar that causes the fat to stay on. She recommended that I never eat anything with more than 5g of sugar in it, including fruit. So this would rule out apples and bananas for example. A typical banana has a whopping 16g of sugar in it which is the equivalent of 4 sugar cubes.

I used to eat about 3 apples a day, but now I have cut them out completely.

Right...And, everybody knows MD's are known to be experts on nutrition. Right?? ...Consider speaking to a licensed Nutrition expert, like a Registered Dietitian. Your perception is way off.

Most RDs do not keep up with the newest medical research on diet and its effects on the body. That's not to say MDs do either but they have their observational pool that they follow over time.

What a ridiculous and uninformed blanket statement that is regarding the expertise of RD's. I can't speak for all RD's, but I am one that has been "keeping up with the newest medical research on diet and it's effects on the body" for over 18 years and applying it in practise. Do you have any idea the amount of continuing education it requires to maintain a license as an RD? And, an RD that works in the field of clinical nutrition, counseling patients, has a much broader "observational pool that they follow over time" with regard to nutrition than most MD's by far. I work with many MD's, they refer their patients to me for nutrition issues...They are almost always the first to say they don't recieve education on nutrition in med school and do not feel they are experts in that area at all.

I have known a fair number of dieticians over the years and, like M.D's they didn't have very much time to devote to keeping up with the mountains of research that is constantly coming on-line. I'm not blaming them---just stating facts. When they went to school, grain made up a large part of the "food pyramids" that were being promoted. Eating grain (and sugar) is a health disaster for some or most of us.

Getting 5 to 6 servings of unprocessed whole fruits and veggies a day helped me lose 90 lbs. Tracking my food intake is essential as well, but this was huge in getting me to my goal.

Unless you are diabetic, cutting out fruits and veggies to lose weight is total bunk.

None of us has said anything about restricting vegetables. Vegetables are great for everyone. But there is a lot of new research that is coming out that suggests that fructose is very bad for some people and under certain conditions. There is an epidemic of kidney failure among field workers who work in the heat, around the world. At least one researcher is studying the high fructose consumption among them. In sugar cane fields, the workers often drink soft drinks (high fructose corn syrup) or fruit juice with added sugar. The rate of kidney failure among them is staggering.

Some medical researchers who study the effects of fructose consumption recommend that those with metabolic disorders (obesity being only one of them) refrain from consuming more than 15 grams of fructose per day.

I'm peeling an orange right now. Haha My skinny kids eat about 5 fruits a day. I eat at least 3 a day, love me some fruit!