Fructose - the Villain

What's so bad about fructose?

It is the sugar in fruit and fruit is supposed to be good for you.

Don't be dismayed or deterred. Whole fruit is good for you. However, avoid commercial fruit juices that are sweetened because that adds to the consumption of fructose.

What happens when you consume fructose?

Fructose is not absorbed as quickly as glucose. It is not recognized by the hypothalamus (area of the brain that controls body temperature, thirst and hunger) in your brain so it does not stimulate the release of insulin which carries the sugars to the cells.

Fructose is processed in the liver. When the liver is overloaded, it can't process it all so it makes fats from the fructose and dispenses them into the blood as tri-glycerides which are a risk factor for heart disease. Fruits and vegetables have small amounts of fructose which go through the liver with no problem usually, but too much is too much. In 1980, the average person ate 39 lbs of fructose. 14 years later, the average person ate 83 lbs of it.

Loss of Protein Quality

Fructose has no enzymes, vitamins or minerals and robs these from the body in order for it to be assimiliated. Fructose browns food 7x faster than glucose but it decreases protein quality because of the loss of amino acids and zinc. Protein digestibility is therefore decreased. This pays a role in aging and in diabetic complications. When there is too much fructose, it is discarded in the urine. This malabsorption can also provoke diarrhea and functional bowel disease.

Loss of Minerals

Fructose throws off the balance of minerals in the body and the body chemistry. Studies show fructose produced higher kidney calcium concentrations. There was more magnesium and phosphorus in the urine with a lowered pH.

Iron and magnesium were expelled as well as calcium and zinc.

Fructose inhibits copper metabolism.

A deficiency in copper leads to:

• bone fragility
• anemia
• defects in connective tissue, arteries and bone
• infertility
• heart arrhythmias
• high-cholesterol levels
• heart attacks
• inability to control blood sugar levels

Those with the following conditions are more sensitive to fructose:

• hypertension
• hyper-insulinemic
• hypertriglyceridemic
• non-insulin dependent diabetes
• functional bowel disease
• post-menopausal women