The Fruit Sugar Debate

I wanted to post this to encourage some informed debate regarding "fruit sugar". Nearly as hot a topic around here as eating one's exercise calories, the fructose debate is, and will continue to be, ongoing. But I'm of a mind that fact is fact and if I can gain and, in this case, spread a little knowledge, that helps promote healthy, realistic weight loss, then it sounds like a good deal.

Some things to consider:

1. The sugar in fruit is called fructose. It helps keep you fat.

"A research team from the University of Washington (UW) recently published a study in Physiology & Behavior revealing that moderate consumption of fructose- and high fructose corn syrup-sweetened beverages leads to significant alterations of lipid metabolization in the liver. Conducted on rats, the study also noted marked increases in both cholesterol and triglyceride levels in rats that fed on fructose-sweetened beverages.

Fructose is a monosaccharide sugar that is found in various fruits. It is a simple sugar that is often promoted as being a healthy "fruit" sugar, however the reality is that fructose is just one component of the complex sugar composition that occurs naturally in fruit."

2. Stevia appears to be a safe, yummy alternative that won't negatively impact your body.

"Researchers also looked at natural stevia extract in their study and no demonstrable negative effects were observed. Stevia is a safe, natural extract that contains no sugar and is up to 300 times sweeter than sugar per volume. It has a glycemic index of zero and is safe for diabetics."

3. Obesity and sugar consumption are demonstrably linked.

"Evidence is mounting that sugar is THE MAJOR FACTOR causing obesity and chronic disease.

Is sugar a sweet old friend that is secretly plotting your demise?

There is a vast sea of research suggesting that it is. Science has now shown us, beyond any shadow of a doubt, that sugar in your food, in all its myriad of forms, is taking a devastating toll on your health.

The single largest source of calories for Americans comes from sugar—specifically high fructose corn syrup. Just take a look at the sugar consumption trends of the past 300 years:[1]

* In 1700, the average person consumed about 4 pounds of sugar per year.
* In 1800, the average person consumed about 18 pounds of sugar per year.
* In 1900, individual consumption had risen to 90 pounds of sugar per year.
* In 2009, more than 50 percent of all Americans consume one-half pound of sugar PER DAY—translating to a whopping 180 pounds of sugar per year!"

4. Different sugars and sweeteners affect your body in different ways.

"It is easy to become confused by the various sugars and sweeteners. So here is a basic overview:

* Dextrose, fructose and glucose are all monosaccharides, known as simple sugars. The primary difference between them is how your body metabolizes them. Glucose and dextrose are essentially the same sugar. However, food manufacturers usually use the term "dextrose" in their ingredient list.
* The simple sugars can combine to form more complex sugars, like the disaccharide sucrose (table sugar), which is half glucose and half fructose.
* High fructose corn syrup (HFCS) is 55 percent fructose and 45 percent glucose.
* Ethanol (drinking alcohol) is not a sugar, although beer and wine contain residual sugars and starches, in addition to alcohol.
* Sugar alcohols like xylitol, glycerol, sorbitol, maltitol, mannitol, and erythritol are neither sugars nor alcohols but are becoming increasingly popular as sweeteners. They are incompletely absorbed from your small intestine, for the most part, so they provide fewer calories than sugar but often cause problems with bloating, diarrhea and flatulence.
* Sucralose (Splenda) is NOT a sugar, despite its sugar-like name and deceptive marketing slogan, "made from sugar." It's a chlorinated artificial sweetener in line with aspartame and saccharin, with detrimental health effects to match.
* Agave syrup, falsely advertised as "natural," is typically HIGHLY processed and is usually 80 percent fructose. The end product does not even remotely resemble the original agave plant.
* Honey is about 53 percent fructose[2], but is completely natural in its raw form and has many health benefits when used in moderation, including as many antioxidants as spinach.
* Stevia is a highly sweet herb derived from the leaf of the South American stevia plant, which is completely safe (in its natural form). Lo han (or luohanguo) is another natural sweetener, but derived from a fruit."

5. Too much fructose, regardless of its source (be it twinkies or fresh apples) IS a bad thing.

"It isn't that fructose itself is bad—it is the MASSIVE DOSES you're exposed to that make it dangerous.

There are two overall reasons fructose is so damaging:

1. Your body metabolizes fructose in a much different way than glucose. The entire burden of metabolizing fructose falls on your liver.
2. People are consuming fructose in enormous quantities, which has made the negative effects much more profound."

6. Eating fructose is far worse than eating fat. Humans have been eating fat for millennia. Obesity is brand new.

I'll direct you straight to two sources for this info so you can read up on your own:

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2010/04/20/sugar-dangers.aspx (Skip to "Eating Fructose is Far Worse than Eating Fat" section.)

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/McKayMachina/view/you-re-not-fat-because-of-fat-106837

Source for points 1 and 2: http://www.naturalnews.com/027722_metabolic_syndrome_fructose.html
Source for points 3, 4 and 5: http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2010/04/20/sugar-dangers.aspx
Source for point 6: http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2010/04/20/sugar-dangers.aspx
Secondary source for point 6: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/McKayMachina/view/you-re-not-fat-because-of-fat-106837

Additional Reading:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fructose
http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/05/04/how-sugar-affects-the-body-in-motion/
http://www.princeton.edu/main/news/archive/S26/91/22K07/



So there is a good selection of information to get you started.

Am I promoting a 100% fruit-free diet? No way! I just ate two medjool dates (OMG, they taste like candy!) and will probably have a banana later. Am I saying limit your fruit intake? Yup.

Discuss.

:drinker:

You must remember that fruit gives you vitamins and fiber that you need. Yes, it is sugar, but so is bread, pasta, rice, etc, etc.......Fruit is not deadly, just limit to 2 to 3 svg a day, and limit the "bready" carbs to 3 to 4 svgs......Your brain works 100% on carbs and if you limit carbs, then you limit your ability to think!! I make sure I get 1 to 2 svg of yogurt, 2 to 3 svg of fruit and 3 to 4 svg of "bready, high fiber" startches.....the rest protein and veggies.....it works!!

I removed pie and fizzy drink / soda from my diet, and added fruit.

One lesser evil for a greater evil, and my fruit can also come with weevils, which rhymes and makes me happy (the rhyme, not the weevil).