fruit sugar vs white sugar...

The ratios of fructose and glucose are pretty much the same in both fruit and table sugar. Most fruits are 40 to 55 percent fructose (there's some variation: 65 percent in apples and pears; 20 percent in cranberries), and table sugar (aka sucrose) is 50/50. Neither type of sugar is better or worse for you, but your body processes them differently. Fructose breaks down in your liver and doesn’t provoke an insulin response. Glucose starts to break down in the stomach and requires the release of insulin into the bloodstream to be metabolized completely.

Since most any compound that ends in an '-ose' is a sugar, it's wise to understand and follow the research associated with how all these sugars work and what names they are being commercialized under. There's an increasing amount of research concerning the harmful effects of corn syrup based fructose called HFCS for example.

Fructose may cause liver damage, one U.S. study found. Dr Kimber Stanhope, who led the study, explains: ‘Fructose overloads the liver. It then gets turned into liver fat, which then increases blood triglycerides, cholesterol and the risk of cardiovascular disease.’ High levels of fructose intake has been linked with the formation of beta-amyloid plaques in the brain, which are often seen in people with Alzheimer's. High levels of fructose intake has been linked with the formation of beta-amyloid plaques in the brain, which are often seen in people with Alzheimer's

She adds that fructose may also increase the risk of diabetes in this way. ‘The extra liver fat may cause the increased insulin resistance we see in people consuming fructose.’ Insulin resistance is linked to a higher risk of diabetes. Fructose may also make you more prone to obesity. For example, laboratory research by Princeton University this year concluded that ‘long-term consumption of high-fructose corn syrup resulted in abnormal increases in body fat, especially in the abdomen’. Such abdominal fat may raise your risk of heart disease and stroke.

Perhaps even more worrying, research by Cambridge University suggests fructose may be helping to fuel rising levels of dementia. Laboratory studies have linked high intakes of fructose with the formation of beta-amyloid plaques in the brains of animals. These plaques are frequently seen in people with Alzheimer’s.

In response, its makers, the Corn Refiners Association, are trying to rebrand high fructose corn syrup as ‘corn sugar’.
This attempt to camouflage the product has prompted a high-level legal case in the U.S. courts —launched by makers of traditional cane-sugar sucrose who don’t want to be sullied by high-fructose corn syrup’s worsening reputation.

For those of us practicing low carbohydrate programs, we're probably steering away from all sugars anyway, but ingesting products that contain added sugar, or ingesting products that separate the sugar from the fiber and other nutrients (like juicers) may find that this just increases their consumption of sugar (carbohydrates) with all the related issues.

In my own experience, my triglyceride count only went down when I threw the juicer out and realized that even carrot juice simply had more sugar than my liver could process.

One question that always comes to mind when I see threads about sugar: what if I eat white sugar with, say, a glass of soluble fiber and take a vitamin pill, thus getting the same fiber and nutrients as I would in an apple. Would the body have slower access to the sugar because of the fiber, or is there something else at work with fruit?

What's the inflammation amount about??

Okay, but what do you people think about brown sugar? What if I substitute white sugar for brown sugar? Would that be more healthy and okay to eat?

If you really want to know why it matters so much, read these articles.

Fructose, Heart Disease and Erectile Dysfunction
http://www.peaktestosterone.com/Fructose_Erectile_Dysfunction.aspx

Fructose and Weight Loss
http://www.peaktestosterone.com/Fructose_Weight_Loss.aspx

Inflammation and Health
http://www.peaktestosterone.com/Inflammation_Health.aspx

But sugar is just sugar, right? If only it were that simple.