DIETARY FRUCTOSE: WHY IT’S NOT AS GOOD AS YOU MIGHT THINK
We hear of glucose quite often and most of us at this point know very well that glucose is sugar. Do you know about fructose? Fructose is another sugar type found in fruits and vegetables; however, it is also found in many processed foods and drinks in the form of high-fructose corn syrup, as well as some natural sweeteners. Let’s talk about this to understand more.
Glucose is the body’s preferred source of energy. Fructose must go to the liver first where it needs to be converted into glucose for the body to be able to use it as energy. Dr. Robert H. Lustig, M.D., M.S.L. is Professor emeritus of Pediatrics, Division of Endocrinology at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). He specializes in the field of neuroendocrinology, with an emphasis on the regulation of energy balance by the central nervous system. He shares quite a bit about this subject. Dr. Lustig suggests we should only consume 25 grams of fructose daily.
Dr. Lustig explains we consume far too much fructose on a daily basis. Dr. Lustig goes so far as to say that fructose is a poison. Would you agree?
He explains when the excess fructose is in the liver, it turns it into liver fat. Then, the fat turns the person into insulin resistant, which makes the pancreas work harder. It needs to pump out the extra insulin to make the liver do its job, but this increased level of insulin cause diseases like heart disease, hypertension, and diabetes while at the same time burning out the pancreas. He says this then causes cells to divide promoting cancer and it has effects on the brain they find that leads to dementia. There is a reason they call Alzheimer’s disease and even Parkinson’s diseases as diabetes type 3. These seems pretty major to me!
Lustig states, “Apart from its calories, sugar is bad for two reasons: 1) it turns into fat in the liver; and 2) it mucks up the mitochondria, the little energy burning factories inside each cell. Both of these result in a process known as “insulin resistance” which leads to chronic disease. And apart from its calories, fat is bad for one reason: when it doesn’t burn in those problem mitochondria, it can make proteins that can cause more inflammation and more disease.
So fat is bad, and sugar is worse. But the combination of fat AND sugar together is by far the worst. That’s called the Western Diet.”
I found an article on PubMed titled Fructose induces mitochondrial dysfunction and triggers apoptosis in skeletal muscle cells by provoking oxidative stress. Simply put, fructose damages mitochondria! This article even states that this mitochondrial dysfunction has been associated with the development of insulin resistance!
The fruits we eat today are so sweet compared to the fruits of the early 1900’s or even fifty years ago! We also have our very sweet fruits available all year round, when we should really only be eating them seasonally. Our dietary exposure to fruit was very limited in the past.
Fruits were only available maybe three months out of the year, they were much smaller in size than they are today, more nutrient-dense, and much less sweet than they are today. Even in more tropical areas, fruit was not eaten all year round.
Dr. Lustig states, “It is still important to monitor total sugars, including sugars found naturally in foods such as fruit (fructose) and milk (lactose). Be aware that many manufacturers find loopholes in the regulations, using dates, fruit, or other ingredients that are not technically classified as “added sugar” but can functionally add significant total sugar to the product.”
I don’t recommend eating so many fruits on a daily basis and eat less processed foods. If you must eat fruits, eat them in very little portions and eat them seasonally as much as possible. The only exceptions I can think of off the top of my head would be berries, especially blue berries for their exceptional power with clearing free radicals. I believe we will do much better to eat more vegetables and leafy greens. Not the typical SAD American Diet vegetables of corn, peas, potatoes, and carrots. Eat more variety of veggies to build a better, healthier gut microbiome.
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Resources:
Functional Formularies, start at the 27:45 minute mark to begin the fructose section.
https://youtu.be/_L0c2BsmMuo?si=MwVgXUTx5V1K6fcl
https://robertlustig.com/2019/10/fat-fructose-mitochondria/