Saturday 26 February 2011

What are the benefits of fish oil?

This question was posed to me by @onesixeightfit (Becky White) and I said I would look into it. First, however, let me establish a few basic facts first:

What do we need vitamin D for?
Healthy bones
Healthy immune system
Reduce risk of MS
Helps keep the brain working in later life
Possible link to maintaining healthy body weight
Help reduce severity of asthma symptoms
Helps reduce risk of rheumatoid arthritis in women
Deficiency in vitamin D has been linked to cancer

See more information about this here

Cod liver oil is a good source of vitamin A, D and Omega 3 fatty-acids

What can Cod liver oil do for me then?
To read the research that supports each of these claims, click the text to follow the link
Improve Vision – Vitamin A helps to maintain a healthy immune system, helps resist bacterial and viral infections, and beneficial for eyesight and healthy skin. Also DocosaHexaenoic Acid (DHA)
Omega 3 is important for the brain development of the foetus in Pregnancy It also has anti-inflammatory properties which help relieve the symptoms of arthritis, improve brain function, reduce stress, prevent allergies, relieve asthma, and help with learning and behavioral disorders including bipolar syndrome.
Arthritis – Improvements in the symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis have been reported in patients taking fish oil supplements. EicosaPentaenoic Acid (EPA)


Real life cases:
I asked my Dad, who has taken Cod liver oil for years now, what he thought they did for him. He said he took it because he had trouble with his knees. He used to regularly walk the couple of miles from our house to church on Sundays. He says he noticed an increased problem with pain and mobility in his knees if he stopped taking cod liver oil. He also told me about a little old lady called Evelyn, who lived across the road from us when I was a child. She took a spoonful of cod liver oil every day all her life, and was still able to walk miles to everywhere well into her 70’s. I have recently started taking both Glucosamine and code liver oil, again, for my knees, having sustained major injuries in my younger days as a rugby player. I too would say that I get more pain if I forget to take them regularly, however have not taken the glucosamine and the cod liver oil in isolation from each other, so it is hard to isolate what exactly is having a positive effect on me in this case.


Conclusions:
The research suggests that cod liver oil does help reduce blood pressure, but the effect is a small one. There is more strength, however, in the research findings that support the fact that cod liver oil improves blood flow. (This research is related to how platelets form). There is strong clinical research to support the fact that it helps with arthritis, and that it helps also with anxiety and sleeping problems. The research is conflicting with relation to bone density and calcium absorption. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1359/jbmr.2002.17.4.709/pdf There is very little human based research on the benefits of fish oil on bones and teeth, however if the search is refined to calsium absorbition in connection with vitamin D (which is one of fish oil’s main beneficial ingredients) then there is much stronger research to support this. (Dawson-Hughes, Karis, Krall and dallal,1997) Although the clinical improvement in arthtritis may only be moderate, studies show that the improvement in pain is much more marked. (Tidow-Kebritchi and Mobarhan, 2009) There is VERY STRONG research to support the reduced risk of cancer and its connection with fish oil supplements. Night vision improvements are linked to vitamin A supplements, a vitamin which is contained in fish oil. The research into fish oil is endless, as are its benefits, it seems. Initial research into effects on dermatitis are promising, and I imagine, was I to research all the claims stated for the benefits of fish oil / cod liver oil then I feel confident I would find much more research to support it. Also worth a read: http://www.homeremediesweb.com/cod-liver-oil-health-benefits.php

Quite honestly, I was astounded at the amount of research that has taken place into the benefits of fish oil, and I was even more astounded to discover the long long list of health benefits that have been discovered so far.


Wednesday 23 February 2011

Runners arms – do they matter?

When I was at the track with my coach this week, he accused me of sticking my elbows out – and kept yelling at me. I know I used to be REALLY bad for this, but I thought I had fixed it. It seems not. BUT – does it really matter I wondered? My usual curious mind set about locating the answer.

Does it really matter?

It seems arm action in part, influences your legs. The role of the arms is to stabilize the torso so that power can continue to be efficiently transferred through the hips. It is this ability to transfer power effectively through the center of mass that not only improves rate of acceleration, but also facilitates reaching maximum velocity, maintaining those top speeds and reducing the rate of deceleration.

They go on to say ‘speed is a product of stride length and stride frequency. Stride length and frequency are determined, in part, by the motion of the arms. If you are lazy or passive with your arm action, you are limiting your potential for speed.’

So, yes, it seems that is matters considerably!


So what SHOULD my arms be doing?

Upswing, parallel to your body, forearm parallel to the ground, hands relaxed, not clenched.
Full range of motion – smooth swinging arms - like pendulums! You will see this advice in many locations if you google it. Here is one quote example:



More advice can be found here and here too. It is also widely stated that you should stay relaxed! Tension amounts to slower times.

Drive the elbows down and back. (This is the part of the swing I neglect most! Oops!)
Avoid crossing your arms in front – keep them parallel to the body.

Conclusion:
Does it matter – it seems so!! Neglecting arms = lost speed! Better get a grip on this!!

Monday 21 February 2011

Fingers apart or fingers together – which makes for more swim propulsion?

Just before I set off to the pool this morning, I took my rings off. My husband asked what was I doing? I said I can’t get my fingers together to swim with all the rings on. He asked me why I would want to, because all the Pro’s on the television don’t, they spread their fingers.
He had a point. So the whole time I was swimming up and down I wondered which was better, fingers together or fingers apart. I set about finding out the answer to the question!  
I had always assumed your hand acted like a paddle, therefore fingers together must have been better. I was amazed with the results that I discovered.
You may well be aware of swim smooth? Well their forum was the top of the search list when I asked google my question.

THE VERDICTS:
1.      Fingers together may create tension in your arm – tension is not good, and will prevent you performing at your best.
Maybe so, but I need science!
2.      Slightly relaxed gently spaced seems to be the preferred consensus.
This seems to produce a greater surface area, therefore creating greater propulsion and there is very strong research to back this up too. Here’s the evidence:



I am a picture person, and this picture was what made it clear for me.




Therefore, they conclude that the mid spaced fingers are the best, back vortices are created with closed fingers, and too much water escapes between wide spaced fingers.


Who’d have thought eh?!

I think I might have to try the slightly spaced fingers approach and see what happens!!


THE EXPERIMENT:

I decided to try this out in a swim session. This week is recovery week, and the set i was due to do was a 45 min steady swim, no stopping. I decided to experiment with finger position, and see what happened. I wear a lap counter, and am usually quite good at steady constant pace. I have done this set regularly during recovery week, so i know how many lengths i usually get into 45 mins.

I took a random sample of lengths, every occasionally, when i felt like it. I did some fingers together, some fingers spread, and some with hands gently relaxed. Then i worked out the average of the lap results.

Fingers together felt harder. I imagined that therefore it was faster. In fact it wasnt. At first it was no different. When i got the hang of the correct finger sprtead, fingers together was in fact slower, by a fraction.

Fingers spread apart: I definately felt the water slip between my fingers and this method was definately slower, by 1 second or more, on average (per 25m lap)

fingers gently relaxed, small gap: Eventually i concluded that this simply means relaxed hand, fingers slightly apart. This was definately the best method. It felt like a lot less effort to pull the hand through the water, and overall, it was at worst, no slower, and usually, faster, by a second at least.


Overall, I still covered the same distance that i usually do, however it definitely felt like a lot less effort, and i imagine, once i get the hang of it and do it consistently i will be able to cover more distance in that same amount of time.

Very interesting!

Planning Your Triathlon Season

1) Set your goals:

What are the 3 things you want to achieve this year? Make sure your targets are
realistic, measurable, and performance related. For example the first year i properly
planned my own season, my goal was simply to complete a half iron distance triathlon. Then set your training objectives. There are fitness realted toargets that will help you achieve the goal.

Sunday 20 February 2011

A Murder at the track on Saturday!

Its been a helluva week. I currently have no car, so I am having to cycle absolutely EVERYWHERE and have been doing so for a month now. At first, it was cool, not a problem, but now, its getting kinda wearing. I liked the aspect of choice related to the journey to work – shall I go by car or by bike? Hmmmm, currently – no choice! Despite this, I have managed to re-jig and get through almost all my training, as well as cycle commuting to work every day.

What you CAN’T do without a car!
Having to cycle to EVERYWHERE means everything takes miles longer, which means not as much gets done. Here lies the problem. With no car, morning gym and swim sessions become almost impossible. There just is not enough time to cycle to the sports centre, do my stuff, cycle back, get breakfast, cycle to work, and start work on time. PLUS – I am not sure I have the energy for all that before 9am every day either! So, 3-2-1 has not been going to plan, as I often can’t do the early morning session, unless it’s a run session. I also can’t get to the track to meet my coach – because it’s about 12 miles away and the appointment time just doesn’t allow me time to get there on my bike from work (if I even had the energy for that!) So, this week, it was moved to Saturday morning, so I could go by train. Appointment time – 7.15am! AAAArgh! I used to be used to that, but with the temporary loss of early morning sessions this was not going to be easy!

The track session of death!
I was told the plan was 4 timed mile reps. It was November since I last did this with my coach. I hate them! It’s so monotonous; I just can’t get my head around it. I was dreading it. PLUS – it was trenching it down too, so I just didn’t have my head screwed on at all! I went armed with my orbana, because I knew I would need it, and the asthma inhaler – I knew I would need that too! When I got there Coach was already drenched, wrapped up in full head to toe waterproofs. I had better make this worth his while I thought, poor chap.  After a warm up, it was down to business. It had been ages since I did these, I wasn’t sure I would be too good at pacing, so I put pace on the garmin screen – something I am usually forbidden from looking at! It was raining hard, and there was a driving wind on the back straight too, not nice.

Mile 1:
I heard shouts as I set off, and worked out by the curve of the first bend what it was  - I had set off far too fast. At the end of lap 1 I was 30 seconds ahead of my target time – that has only got to spell trouble! Lap 2, I slowed down a bit – on purpose, and by the end of that lap was feeling much better, lap 3 was o.k. and by lap 4 it was getting tough. Time – a new mile PB and 25 seconds under the target time. I was pretty damn stoked actually.
Mile 2:
I was dreading this – there was no way I could do that again. Still, focus on the ACTUAL target I had been given. I was ordered to go slower. So I did, it seemed odd. Same drill, first lap, WAAAAY too fast, but I rectified it much more quickly, laps 2 and 3 alright, lap 4 tough. Time? Still 11 seconds inside the target time. But jeez I was feeling it now, and I needed that inhaler.
Mile 3:
I just knew from the start this was going to be ugly. I set off under a much more controlled pace, but by the end of the 2nd lap I felt like collapsing and stopping right there, it felt like I should feel on lap 4! At the end of lap 3 I was told that I had slowed quite a bit. I looked at the pace. It had dropped way back beyond the target time. So I had some serious work to do. I had to make 15 seconds of pace up on this last lap. I gave it everything I had. I just focussed on me, my legs, my form, and that number on the watch. I glanced at it as I turned for the last 100m and it was back under the target – by only 1 second but still, it was under. As I crossed the line, I knew I had JUST managed to get it back again, but I collapsed onto my hands and knees in exhaustion, and it took quite some time before I could stand up again. The last mile rep was cancelled, despite the fact that I vowed to do it and give it my all.

My thoughts:
At first: wow – I was rather impressed with my new mile PB – and so was coach – he hadn’t thought it possible at this stage in the season, and in this weather.
Later: hmmph, I did the session in November and managed all 4 reps, the last being only 1 second different in time to my 3rd on this occasion, and much more consistent. So, I began to think that maybe it wasn’t so good after all.
And in reality: I was told off for being too pessimistic – as usual! My first mile was waaaaay faster than I ever thought I would be able to run, ever. It was well inside the target time my coach set me when we first met. He even doubted that I would manage it, more recently. My second wasn’t far behind. I must get a grip and recognise the positives when they come. I AM running much better than I thought I could, and in the latter stages of mile 3 I proved to myself that I could push myself to the absolute limits and still drag my legs round a decent lick of speed. I pushed myself further and faster than I ever thought I could. My heart rate far exceeded the previous max heart rate a run test had produced.

I CAN DO THIS!!

Let’s see what triathlon season brings. J

Wednesday 16 February 2011

MINT-EASE - what is it and what does it do?

I was asked to review this product, as a result of my sports masseuse using it on my shoulders the other week. I asked what it was he had used, as it very much reminded me of another oil I use that I got from a Chinese herbalist quite some years ago that gave me a warm yet cool soothing glow. So here it is: Mint-Ease



WHAT IS IN IT?

‘Mint-ease contains pure ethereal mint oil extracted from the plant Mentha Arvensis’ my tube tells me. What does that mean!!??




Ethereal Mint oil’s main ingredient is menthol, and it is a widely used ingredient. Here are some of its medicinal uses:
 
stomach disorders,
cough drops,
inhalation,
mouthwashes,
toothpastes,
antispasmodic properties,
is used in Jaundice,
frequently given to stop vomiting.

Apparently this particular kind of oil is favoured for its high menthol content. Read about mint oil cultivation here.


What does Menthol do for muscles?

Menthol stimulates the muscle’s cool receptors. That is why it produces a cooling effect when applied to the skin. According to ‘wisegeek’ as well as many other sources, it does not in fact change the skin temperature, just the sensation. Apparently, it also blocks pain receptors. Scientific research shows that Menthol ‘significantly reduced muscle pain’ Menthol (cooling) does not change the skin temperature. Applying it as a topical analgesic alters the pain signals at the spinal cord, and massaging it in ‘stimulates the effects of a counterirritant may increase large diameter afferent nerve input’ (p119) The afferent nerve is a ‘nerve that carries impulses toward the central nervous system’


How was MINT-EASE for me?

I have used deep heat in the past, personally I thought that all it did for me was warm my skin and make me smell funny! I have used many different topical applications to try and sort out muscle aches over the years. I found a Chinese herbalist (who has long since gone unfortunately) and he gave me a massage, using wood lock oil. I have a very small amount left of it, and I found it to be great stuff, but can no longer replace it. It gave be a burning cool glow, and really helped ease muscle soreness during a time when I was suffering from whiplash following a car accident. The unfortunate thing with it was that it is not a massage oil, so it soaks in and that is it, making further massage rather tricky.
When I was massaged with Mint-Ease, it reminded me very much of wood lock oil, with the same burning cool soothing nature, but with the benefit of a cream that can be massaged. My sports masseuse used it on very tired shoulders and for me it worked amazingly well.

I dragged out my old bottle of wood lock to compare the ingredients:

Wood lock:
Menthol 17g
Methyl salicylate 15g
Turpentine oil 6g
Camphor 4.5g

Mint Ease:
Aqua
Menthe arvensis
Polysorbate 20
Paraffin liquidum
Triethanolamine
Acrylates
Phenoxyethanol
Sodium benzoate
ethyhexylglycerin
limonene

The main difference seems to be that wood lock contains menthol (cooling) and methyl (warming) whereas mint ease contains just menthol.
Comparing the difference between the two main ingredients, it seems that menthol has a deeper benefit, also associated with +aiding osteo arthritis, whereas Menthyl salicylate has more topical effects, warming the skin, and less is mentioned about deeper effects.


Conclusion

I would have said I highly recommend Mint-Ease before I even began this blog, it is as good as the old Chinese herbalists ‘wood lock’ oil. However, I was not satisfied simply with that. I needed to know what was in it and why it might work.

Research has simply backed up my initial hunch, and now I understand why it works so well.

If you would like to try Mint-Ease yourself, contact Sven through Twitter (@mint_ease) or through his web site http://www.mint-ease.co.uk/  

Monday 14 February 2011

Gerrit's Success with the 3-2-1 diet

Gerrit Van Doornik (@GerritvDoornik on twitter) is a student from the Netherlands. He has undertaken a fund raising project with some friends, who are all completing a range of endurance events to help raise money for a charity called ‘right to play’. You can read about here. http://www.project1on1.nl/?page_id=152

He read about my 3-2-1 blog and gave the diet a go, getting some great results. The difference here is he then adapted it to suit his lifestyle – which personally I think is the KEY TO SUCCESS not a failing! Here is his story...


When Mel asked me if I could write down my experiences on the 3-2-1 diet I didn't really know where to start.
Let’s go back to October, I just finished my first triathlon season with a bang (crashed in my last triathlon, but that’s another story) and started making plans and a schedule for winter. One of the plans was to lose some extra weight, I’d been around 84 kg (168lbs) all season and in October I was somewhere between 85-86 kg, perfect according to my friends and family but not for me of course.
I didn’t know anything about losing weight so I started reading stuff, asking people for advice and then Mel came by on twitter about the 3-2-1 diet. For me this was all the same as any other diet but she was enthusiastic so I figured to give it a try.

How was it?
It took some efforts, eating a lot in the morning, a bit less for lunch, bringing along healthy snacks to the university and not eating too much for dinner. For me eating a lot didn’t prove to be difficult, I’m used to eat soft curd cheese (Quark) with muesli in the morning and I just ate some more of this, easy enough. Lunch was fine too, I’m a student and I usually get some slices of bread at the canteen for lunch, this is reasonable cheap and since the diet promotes a lighter lunch (compared to what I was used too), this got even cheaper now, perfect for me! Than the 4-o’clock snack came along, for the first weeks this was ok, I brought some stuff from home and this kept me through the day. The dinner in the evening would then be some light salad, all perfect.

The difficulties
I’m not a very well-planned person when it comes to shopping. Muesli+curd for the morning is easy enough but I always mess up with the snacks, so at some point I found myself never having a snack for the afternoon. Drinking water is part of the diet so I started increasing the water intake (even more). This helped enough for me, I was not hungry and I was still losing weight.
Living in a student house together with 7 other students proved to be an extra obstacle too, for the first few weeks I was fine eating a salad (or something similar) when they had “normal” dinner but never joining in for dinner is just not so nice. So at some point I joined in for “normal” dinner, still trying not to eat too much but probably I was eating much more then I was supposed to (sorry Mel)!

Training
For my training, I didn’t change too much, I’m training somewhere between 9-12 times a week and I only do morning training sessions if I plan to do two sessions a day. I simply prefer training in the evening so I don’t wake up early if I don’t have to.

RESULTS:
The diet helped. I started somewhere in October and continued until the beginning of December, I lost around 5kg (10lbs) and I felt perfect while doing it. To give some evidence, here is a graph of my weight (the trend is obvious, I lost just a bit over 1 pound a week).
My experiences with the diet are positive, I’m not the most experienced dieter, this was the first I ever tried and I didn’t follow it exactly all the time. It works for me to stick to the 3-2-1 principle without being too strict. During dieting I didn’t feel fatigued due to a lack of food or whatsoever, but at the same time, I hardly ever feel fatigued because of this so I cannot tell if 3-2-1 made a difference.
At this moment I’m at a steady 83kg again which is fine for me in the off-season, my first big plan coming up is the Rotterdam Marathon (in april) and I might lose some kg’s before doing that. If I will, I will definitely use the 3-2-1 principle again.

Mel’s thoughts:
When I did this diet, I too lost a steady but small amount per week, so this is very similar results to those I myself experienced. The beauty of this diet is you can be flexible, and still make it a success. For me this is the key, or a ‘diet’ is impossible to stick to and will ultimately fail!
Having nothing else to compare it with, Gerrit will not be able to state, like I can, that a ‘normal’ diet, which works on calorie deficit, usually leaves athletes tired and depleted, therefore unable to perform. This was certainly the experience I had.
I am very glad that Gerrit had success, and hope both he (and you) can see that around a loose set of basic but locical nutritional principles, this diet CAN work for anyone, but especially for athletes.

Thank you Gerrit, for sharing your story.

Sunday 13 February 2011

My strength and conditioning update - progress after 6 weeks

I went again to see David Sutton today. It’s been just over a month and I have been working on strengthening the glutes, hams, hip flexors and improving unilateral balance. I was interested to see what he made of it. To be honest, the exercises he gave me originally started out as almost impossible to execute, and they now feel easy, so I doubted whether I was still doing them correctly! So much so, I asked my coach, Steve Casson to check for me a week or so ago!
The UKSCA definition of strength and conditioning is:   ‘the planning and implementation of physical preparation programmes for performance. It includes processes that result in physical adaptation through integrating fitness components into a programme which compliments other aspects of the performer’s development. This includes, although not exclusively, strength, power, speed, endurance, agility and flexibility’
The key in strength and conditioning, as opposed to weights, seems to be physical adaptation through integrating fitness components.  I remember him saying at a talk he did to my triathlon club, ‘what is the point training your muscles in isolation, that is not how you use them in your sport’.
Follow this link to see the written version of this talk, he supports everything with research.
The first time I saw David, he tested me on every element of strength, flexibility and balance. Very quickly, he decided that bilateral strength, core and balance was fine, so I was immediately told to stop doing things like squats, because I could do them well. What I was unable to do however, was single leg based balance exercises. So, for example I was completely unable to get up from a seated position using only one leg. I thought this was in general, a hard thing to do, till my husband demonstrated to me exactly how easy and straight forward it is for him to execute! So here’s me, one month on, getting excited about how I can now do something that it seems everyone else in the world could already do with their eyes shut!

How am I doing?
David is a fabulous in his ‘direct, no messing’ approach, which suits me great, because I am usually the one with a million excuses! So when he said he was impressed how much progress I had made, I really sat up and took note. Compliments are hard earned in this gym.
Apparently, am now ready to progress to the next step, and then this will prepare me for full plyometrics. Plyometrics is a method of training muscle elastic strength and explosiveness to enhance athletic performance. I have heard of this before, the RFU swore by it when I was training as a rugby referee, but clearly, on reflection, it wasn’t being executed correctly, if I am finding so many of the initial pre-plyometrics exercises difficult! Maybe the topic for future blog posts, when I actually get as advanced in my exercises as that!

What have I now been given to do?
Just when I thought I was mastering this thing, I have now got a different set of stuff to do, yes, all trickier than before. A lot of my work now involves single leg stuff, jumping on to and off a step, sideways, forwards, 2 feet to one foot, reverse, etc, a whole range of things that are sure to get people curious in my gym! My split squats are now with my foot on a bench and a weight across my shoulders. When I asked why there was the need for this, he told me originally if I can’t even balance on one leg, or use ham strings at all, imagine how much energy I waste simply trying to do that, energy that I could better use on trying to run faster! Logical I suppose.
To keep my swim strength up, I have been instructed to add in some clean and jerk. I was accused of being a wuss, and having pathetic excuses when I said I didn’t like doing them! Too many people stare at me! I am also working on chin ups. I can’t execute one without assistance yet though. Originally, he said I should be able to do it on the assisted dips /chin ups machine with only 15kg of help. With 26kg, I could only just manage it! Have you ever used one of those machines PROPERLY? When it comes to my central core, I am pretty strong. I can sit up easily, am good at the straight forward front and side planks. BUT – never have my abs ached like they do when I try to do these!! This is more than a shoulder / lat workout I can definitely confirm! So far, I can manage 2 or 3 with 12kg of assistance. I even at this stage get funny looks when I move the peg up that far. There’s only one more hole – 5kg. I am DETERMINED to crack this!! To rectify the fact that the plank is reasonably straight forward for me, I have now got to do side planks with one leg and one arm raised. Oh man, that is going to take some practice!!
What I like about this whole thing, is that I have had an explanation of why and how all the exercises are directly relevant to my three disciplines within triathlon, and David takes the time to specifically tell me what directly translates into what, from gym exercise to run movement, or whatever.

Progress?
Yes, I can definitely say I can see improvement, even within the things I have been given, and the fact that they got much easier. I think that I use ham strings more in running (and cycling) for sure, although not always automatically at this stage. Does this translate to improved performance? Only time will tell I guess. Rome wasn’t built in a day, so they say.

Friday 11 February 2011

Fructose research - is it REALLY bad for you?

This was a question someone asked me on twitter – they had read that fruit sugar is stored as fat, was this true? Fruit sugar is mainly fructose. So I asked a Nutritionist, and they said yes possibly, did I want to try a no fruit diet experiment? Jeeeeez not ANOTHER diet!!??
As always, I needed to see what the experts were saying.

A crude search will provide you with this explanation:
One thing you may fail to realize is that fruit contains a lot sugar. Even though it's natural sugar it can still cause weight gain if you eat too much and do not burn it off.’http://www.flat-stomach-exercises.com/forgotten-weight-loss-tips.html

And more scholarly articles that in places refer specifically to science and research:
Fructose is transported into cells via a different transporter than glucose
Once fructose is in the liver, it can provide glycerol, the backbone of fat, and increase fat
Our liver is the major site of fructose metabolism. In the liver, fructose can be converted to glucose derivatives and stored as liver glycogen. The liver can only use and store so much fructose as glycogen at one time. The remainder will be stored as fat; thus, a very high single-serving dose of fructose is much more likely to find a home around your middle (http://bodybasicsbootcamps.homestead.com/bonuses/Fructose_vs_Glucose.pdf)
Glucose can be processed by all cells in the body, by fructose can’t. It bypasses an important step due to its molecular structure, and therefore goes straight to the liver, and is more likely to be stored as fat (http://www.parrillo.com/articles/52.pdf )

But, there is some contradiction:

Relax. Experts have concluded: “The intake of naturally occurring fructose from an unprocessed, whole food diet is low and unlikely to contribute to any negative metabolic consequences.”

Further reading:

Although I am still not completely convinced, there is some suggestion that fructose could be more likely to store as fat. BUT, is that just if you eat TONS of fruit? Who knows?!? So there’s only one way to find out! So I tried it for 2 weeks. Here’s what happened.
What did I do?
·       2 weeks, no fruit (at all!) including no fruit drinks, nothing fruit flavoured, I checked everything I ate for fructose content.
·       I replaced fruit with rice cakes, small quantities of nuts, or ham or something similar.
·       I drank water instead of fruit drinks.
·       I have used no sports drinks or anything of that nature during week 1, and only once during week 2.
·       I have still followed the 3-2-1- rules with regards to meal balance (breakfast main meal, medium lunch, light tea, all training before breakfast) read about the 3-2-1 diet here http://melanieryding.blogspot.com/2010/12/what-is-3-2-1-diet.html
·       I still drank black coffee.
How was it eating like this?
I found this type of diet exceptionally hard, harder than I thought. I really missed and craved sweet things. I found myself rationalising the fact that I could eat biscuits, for example, because they had no fructose! In cafes, where I would normally choose a banana or an apple for example, I would be very tempted to choose a less healthy option because I craved the sweet taste. Savoury snacks just simply don’t cut it in my opinion!! In fact, now, where I would normally crave fruit, I am now finding my cravings have switched to cakes and biscuits. When I first gave up chocolate, it took 2 weeks to ‘get it out of my system’. All that seems to have happened in this case is somehow I have rationalised the fact that it’s ok to eat biscuits and cakes, because they are not fruit and its fruit I am not allowed!! Of course, this is a ridiculous train of thought! Clearly, there is a real risk here to my wellbeing, health, and training fuel mix!
At times, I also found that exercise was harder, and to be honest felt a lot more lethargic during morning pre breakfast sessions. Some people say it was psychological, I honestly don’t think it was because it didn’t change at all throughout the past 2 weeks. I drank water instead of the usual energy drink, used red bull (which I hated, because it’s fizzy!) but found myself more fatigued, and more muscle aches when usually I wouldn’t have this problem.
It is also worth noting this, the most important thing. During the past two weeks I have been ill, or one kind or another. First I got an eye infection, and then no sooner was I done with that, I got an ear infection. Now it needs to be noted that I am usually a very healthy person, and very rarely visit the doctor. I honestly cannot remember the last time (if ever) that I had an ear infection. It certainly seems a very large coincidence that the main food group that delivers vitamin C is omitted, and I become ill. I would definitely attribute this to eating less fruit.
I quite honestly am relieved to be ‘back to normal’ so to speak!

RESULTS after 2 weeks on a no fruit diet:
Weight difference: -2.5lbs
BMI difference: -0.1
Body fat % difference: no change
Water content difference: no change

What does this mean? My thoughts so far;
Hubby’s first reaction was that maybe because the conversion happens in my liver, the liver is skinnier, but that is all! Who knows!
Personally, I think big changes would be seen more in people who previously had a high fructose diet, (e.g. corn syrup, etc) or an unbalanced diet that contained TONS of fruit. When I look back, a lot of research on this topic is USA based, and I read that they use a lot of high fructose corn syrup. There is clearly research to support this, but the research I have read tends to be on people with a much higher body fat % in the first place.

Further research:
After someone sending me some more research that was another challenge to this theory, I wondered why is fructose was so bad, did energy drinks contain it.
This article is an interesting read, and says that fat is a poor fuel that makes you go slower, but also talks about fat burning and weigh management, embracing the train before breakfast idea that I already do http://www.lakeland100.com/downloads/article3.pdf. He says that training in this way will not yield results but is a weight management tool.
This one, however, talks about fuel for performance, and suggests that despite fruit sugar being bad, a glucose/fructose combination is actually good for you with regards to sports performance: http://www.lakeland100.com/downloads/article4.pdf
Here’s more on this topic:
‘Jeukendrup and his colleagues believe that the glucose-fructose combination works better than glucose alone because having multiple carbohydrate sources allows more carbohydrate to be absorbed from the digestive tract. Research indicates that glucose and fructose have their own separate transport systems in the digestive tract. These transporters help carry ingested glucose and fructose from the digestive tract into cells. However, the glucose transporter can only carry glucose, and once it’s filled, it can’t carry any more. But the revelation is that fructose has its own separate transportation system. So even though the glucose transporter is filled to capacity, the fructose transporter can deliver even more fuel to working muscles. Thus, by providing both glucose and fructose, and taking advantage of both transportation systems, you too can deliver more fuel to your muscles and extend endurance even further.’ http://www.powerbar.com/articles/18/latest-research-on-carbohydrate-recommendations-during-exercise.aspx

I tried to understand why the research suggests that fructose may be more likely to convert to fat, yet I had seen no change. Victoria Haigh (@fitvic on twitter) a nutritional advisor, reminded me that it may take up to 12 weeks to see a change, much like when you first start exercising? I guess she may have a point.
It is also worth noting that everybody is different, therefore the results will not be the same on everyone that tries this. You can see that by the comment Kris made on the first blog on this topic:

‘I actually was looking into this several months back - because I was doing all this good stuff and not "seeing" any changes. Then I started looking into the glycemic index. As a result, I actually did no fruit & no starches for 3 weeks - it was tricky, but I based my meals/snacks around protein and low GI veggies. And I totally noticed a difference. Now I eat fruit and starches (but they aren't the centre of my meals) - but the fruits I eat are typically apples, pears, berries & melons.’

However, there is no getting away from the fact that it actually made NO difference at all to me, and in fact I believe contributed to a weaker immune system.
Many people have said that surely the benefits of fruit outweigh everything else? I tend to agree. I was sent this article, which, although the research is in very early stages, is suggesting that polyphenols and flavanoids (found particularly in fruit) are key to rebuilding muscle. Is this why I ache so much more than normal?

‘In a 2006 edition of the prestigious science journal Cell, Lagouge and colleagues published a study whereby mice underwent a 15-week diet and exercise programme where they were either supplemented with resveratrol or a placebo. After the supplementation period, the results were striking. The mice which had been supplemented with resveratrol had a 33 percent higher peak oxygen uptake, and a near 50 percent greater run time to exhaustion.’
When the researchers took samples of the mice muscle and attempted to look further into the mechanisms behind these increases there was a 2.5 times greater area of mitochondria in the muscle.’ http://www.bikeradar.com/fitness/article/nutrition-can-fruit-make-you-fitter-28854

I certainly think that without fruit and vegetables, I would eat a much less healthy diet. When I searched ‘does fruit make you fitter’ on the internet, I got an article that writes exactly that! Here, they say fruit and vegetables stave off other cravings. http://www.peertrainer.com/diet/why_fruits_and_vegetables_help_you_lose_weight.aspx
When you ask Google can fruit juice make you fat, the answer you will get is yes, because of the amount of sugar that is added to it during production!
I found someone else who tried this experiment too. This will show that different people will get different results: http://www.fitbuff.com/does-fruit-make-you-fat-the-truth-revealed-workout-recap-september-28-october-5-2008/
It’s interesting to note that when he decreased calories, he gained weight. I have in the past been told that in fact, the body goes into starvation mode if you don’t eat enough, and therefore you are more likely to store fuel as fat. It is also worth noting that his workload increased by around 15-20 minutes a day. David Sutton, my strength and conditioning coach (@PerformTrain on twitter) would, I imagine, say that is all you need of strength training to make a difference, regardless of diet.
There is no getting away from it, people are still saying excessive fructose consumption is bad for you.

Fructose, especially its excessive consumption, may increase:
  • the risk of abnormal blood clotting ailments and hypertension (high blood pressure)
  • the risk of type 2 diabetes
  • total blood cholesterol levels (it serves in part as the raw material for the synthesis of cholesterol within the body)
  • LDL-“bad” cholesterol levels, and
  • blood triglyceride levels, especially in diabetics (fructose has a greater propensity to increase serum triglycerides than glucose).
Excessive consumption of fructose may also cause:
  • fatigue, especially in persons who are fructose intolerant
  • insulin resistance, and
  • obesity.
It is estimated that up to 33 percent of persons are unable to completely absorb fructose due to fructose intolerance (also known as dietary fructose intolerance (DFI) which may cause
I do not, however, believe that I excessively consume fructose.
What now for me?
I’m told that eating fructose based foods with protein Slows down conversion to glucose & regulates release of insulin. Insulin is needed to properly utilize the energy stored in carbohydrate. This process can be better explained here: http://www.shapefit.com/diet/sports-nutrition-during-exercise.html. Although this talks in an exercise context, the principles are the same. I'm also told that depending on whether an individual is acid or alkaline based determines where you get your Vitamin C from.
Interestingly, except for my early morning apple, I don’t often eat fruit on its own, certainly not in large quantities. Perhaps this is why I have seen no change.
In future, I think I might keep some of the habits (e.g. less fruit juice, snack on rice cakes, natural yoghurt rather than the likes of Muller light) however I will not be omitting fruit from my diet, I believe the positives far outweigh the negatives. I also read that strength training is the best way to reduce body fat %. But I think that’s a topic for another blog, perhaps! And then there’s also the different fruits and how they have different fructose levels....

My conclusion: Science may suggest that fructose contributes to body fat, but science also suggests that it contributes in part to sports performance, stronger immune systems (as well as many other things I expect)! So where you gain in one area, you might lose in the other.

Melanie Ryding