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!
WHAT I PLAN TO DO:
· Try the new no fruit diet for 3 weeks (hopefully,if it doesn’t drive me insane before then!)
· Continue with the 3-2-1 diet http://melanieryding.blogspot.com/2010/12/what-is-3-2-1-diet.html
· Cut out all fruit consumption,
· Cut out fruit juice
· Only eat fruit first thing in the morning (if at all) directly before exercise
· Change all snack options from fruit to something else (like rice cakes, carrots, baby tomatoes, for example)
I measured my weight and body fat % this morning, first thing. I will do so again at the end of the experiment, and see what results I get. Watch this space!
Great post! 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 center of my meals) - but the fruits I eat are typically apples, pears, berries & melons.
ReplyDeleteI do feel better too - and combined with all the other hard work I do - it made a difference. I think everyone's body is different and metabolizes things differently, but for me, I think it was really important.
thats really interesing Kris, i am on day 1 and already finding it a challenge! What on earth did you drink, other than water and tea / coffee? it also rules out all my energy drinks i usually use during training!!
ReplyDeleteWhat was the main difference for you then?
I think the fructose debate is interesting, for me I don't believe it enough to alter my lifestyle* (although I do think twice before buying fruit juice), however I offer a few items I understood from Lustig's presentation on the issue.
ReplyDeleteEnergy drinks based on glucose/dextrose are fine.
Therefore buy dextrose to sweeten tea/coffee.
Fibre seems to me to be very improtant. So since most fruits contain fibre this gives you some protection from the fructose. Hence the logic for fruit=good, fruit juice=bad.
(Personal opinion: I think the success of GI diets is due to the high amounts of fibre.)
* I don't drink fizzy drinks, and I cook my own food, so my fructose intake is probably low anyway.
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ReplyDeleteHello, and thank you! I simply write about what interests me, whay I see in the news, things that I wonder or things that people ask me. I started out with this blog, then I added a web site - but be careful, flash driven web sites e.g. moonfruit are not mobile web compatible so i ended up building it all over again in HTML! think about what your purpose is, where your target audience is then take it from there. I have this blog, a posterous blog (http://ryding2health.posterous.com and a web site http;//www.ryding2health.com. Its personal preference really. A lot of people say wordpress is a good starter, i didnt like it to be honest, again personal preserence.
ReplyDeleteI write for all sorts of outlets, newspapers, and online, not for £££ but its all great practice and it does help me become a better writer I think. Now i write for metroUK, BT Storytellers and my local paper to name a few. good luck, and thanks for stopping by.