Are You Getting Fat and Sick from Sugar?

All sugar is not created equal. Some metabolize better than others. Beware Fructose!
High Fructose Corn Syrup Produces Fat

High Fructose Corn Syrup Produces Fat

 

SUGAR CAN KILL! Reads like an alarmist, over-the-top declaration, doesn’t it? Yet the truth of it is apparent every day.

Of course, a bullet to the head kills more quickly and completely; nonetheless, with the right genetic propensities (say for diabetes) and a diet amply laden with sugar, sugar can kill you.

Now here comes a seemingly contradictory and equally true statement: Every living thing (that would include us) requires a certain form of sugar to live.

That these two statements can be true is made possible by recognizing that not all sugar is created equal. One form of it we need, a few we can tolerate, and one in particular can kill us.

The bottom line is you must avoid getting fat and sick from sugar.

Glucose vs Fructose

Glucose is the sugar type that we all need. Our brains and each cell in our bodies are powered by glucose. Our bodies are designed to use it. As a result, nearly all of it that’s ingested is used — “burned up” — soon after ingested.

Fructose is the bad stuff, particularly high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) and crystalline fructose. Fructose is a major contributor to:

[8/2/10 Update:  Read this Reuters’ article about how cancer cells use fructose to subdivide.]

 

Why this substantial disparity between glucose and fructose?

The answer has to do with how we metabolize these sugars. Your body metabolizes fructose in a much different way than glucose. The entire burden of metabolizing fructose falls on your liver. As Dr. Mercola points out in his article, Sugar May Be Bad But This Sweetener Is Far More Deadly:

  • Your liver is 100% tasked metabolically with dealing with fructose, whereas only 20% of the glucose metabolic break down is performed by the liver.
  • The metabolism of fructose by your liver creates a long list of waste products and toxins, including a large amount of uric acid, which drives up blood pressure and causes gout.
  • All of your body uses glucose very efficiently and almost completely, whereas fructose is turned into free fatty acids (the damaging form of cholesterol), and triglycerides, which are stored as fat. These fatty acids accumulate in the body and cause insulin resistance and fatty liver disease. Insulin resistance can progress to type 2 diabetes, which is now threatening the capacity and solvency of America’s health care system.

[More on diabetes risk here.]

  • Fructose converts to activated glycerol (g-3-p), which is directly used to turn free fatty acids into triglycerides. The more g-3-p you have, the more fat you store. Glucose does not do this.
  • When you eat 120 calories of glucose, less than one calorie is stored as fat. 120 calories of fructose results in 40 calories being stored as fat. Consuming fructose is essentially consuming fat!
  • Glucose suppresses the hunger hormone ghrelin and stimulates leptin, which suppresses your appetite. Fructose has no effect on ghrelin and interferes with your brain’s communication with leptin, resulting in overeating.

I don’t know if this is true, but I’ve heard that there’s a strong correlation between when high fructose corn syrup was introduced and when Americans began getting overweight. This also seems to correspond to the emergence of the no-fat alternative. Rather than the fat, more fructose was put into processed food, often resulting in a greater caloric count per serving than the regular alternative.

And guess what? Without the satiation of the fat — since it was removed from the non-fat product — people ate more of the non-fat/high fructose alternative, thereby increasing the calories consumed.

Ever since then, Americans — as well as many industrialized nations — have been getting fat and sick from sugar.

 

Fructose is Everywhere

Some months ago, I “penned” a summary of the late Peter Jennings TV special about corn subsidies in America. and the damage that by-products like high-fructose corn syrup was doing to the public, entitled: How to Get Fat without Really Trying. Mr. Jennings makes it painfully obvious that fructose is in everything.

If you care about your health, you MUST read food labels of the stuff you buy. Most everything in a box or can is sweetened with high-fructose corn syrup. Avoid this so-called food.

Consider what is served up as healthy for children, like the “made with real fruit” claims. The package of “Gerber Fruit Juice Treats for Preschoolers”, for instance, is covered with pictures of ripe oranges, raspberries, cherries, peaches, grapes and pineapple. Yet, its only fruit-like ingredient is fruit juice concentrate, which the Dietary Guidelines for Americans considers just another form of sugar. The primary ingredients are more sugar in the form of plain ole sugar corn syrup.

I don’t mean to dump on Gerber as if it’s some terrible anomaly, because it’s not the exception but the rule: Many sweetened products like to give lip service to being “natural” or “healthy”, but it’s a sham.

If you wish to give your child candy, give him or her candy, but don’t fool yourself into thinking that corn-derived sweeteners is a near approximation of fruit.

Want your kid to have fruit? How ’bout real fruit, like the kind that grows on trees.

 

What Sugar is Best?

Before this question is tackled, may I impress upon you the fact that taste buds are malleable. Meaning, that you can acquire an affection for a new taste not yet appreciated (remember when you hated beer, wine, coffee, etc.), or minimize the consumption of a food for which your taste buds are currently tuned, but is unhealthy.

So, reduce your appetite for sugar. Do this by incrementally reducing the amount you apply onto your food and drink. Your taste for it will adjust. (So true with salt too, and equally as important!)

In the meantime, if you really, really must dive into the sugar bowl, consider quick review of what’s out there:

1. Xylitol

Best known for its benefits in oral health (prevents plaque from sticking to teeth enamel), this is a sugar alcohol derivative that exists naturally in the body and in many plants and vegetables.

The Finns seem to have done the most research on xylitol. Many of their studies suggest that in addition to preventing cavaties, xylitol may kill off the bacterial associated with ear infections, such as streptococcus pneumoniae, as well as respiratory bacteria. (About 90% of all infection-causing bacteria enters the body via the nose.)

Ideal for anyone with diabetes, xylitol has 40% fewer calories and a much lower glycemic index than that of sugar.

One thing to be aware of when using xylitol: it requires an adjustment period wherein you gradually increase your consumption (but remember, less is more); otherwise diarrhea and gas may result to those sensitive to it.

2. Stevia

This is an herb. I’ve grown it and seeped it in hot water along with a tea bag. I like it in very modest quantities. The body doesn’t metabolize the sweet glycosides from the stevia leaf or any of its processed forms – so there is no caloric intake. Stevia doesn’t adversely affect blood glucose levels and may be used freely by diabetics.

But know this — the processed form of stevia that’s mostly available to buy may not be a healthy sweetener alternative.  Read Pooja Mottl’s insightful post on the subject, Can Stevia Solve Our Obsession With Sweetness.

3. Use organic raw honey and organic cane sugar in moderation.

4. Avoid ALL artificial sweeteners, which can damage your health even more quickly than fructose.  If you’re consuming Aspartame, or any of its brands, such as AminoSweet, Nutrisweet, Equal, and many others — you’re doing yourself a great, great disservice and must read Dr. Mercola’s America’s Deadliest Sweetener!  (Diabetics especially should read this.)

5. Avoid agave syrup , a highly processed sap that is mainly fructose. Agave will spike your blood sugar as if you were consuming regular sugar or high-fructose corn syrup.

6. Avoid so-called energy drinks and sports drinks . They are full of sugar. They are full of sodium and chemical additives. Instead, rehydrate with pure water, perhaps with lemon juice.

 

OK, so now you have a few ideas of the insidious ingredients lurking everywhere that conspire to make you fat and unhealthy. Knowledge is power. Read the labels, make better choices, and let your friends and family know that sugar can kill in the worst-case scenario, but way before that, you will get fat and sick from sugar.

Last Updated on February 27, 2022 by Joe Garma

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Joe Garma
 

I help people live with more vitality and strength. I'm a big believer in sustainability, and am a bit nutty about optimizing my diet, supplements, hormones and exercise. To get exclusive Updates, tips and be on your way to a stronger, more youthful body, join my weekly Newsletter. You can also find me on LinkedIn, Twitter and Instagram.

Click Here to Leave a Comment Below 10 comments
desangsue - March 2, 2010

Great article. Knew about the 'sugar is being put in all our food', but didn't know about the fructose itself leading to weight gain. Really thorough and easy to read. Thank you.

Reply
    Joseph Garma - March 2, 2010

    You're welcome, and thanks for the compliment.

    Reply
Joseph Garma - March 3, 2010

You're welcome, and thanks for the compliment.

Reply
Bob Dog - August 6, 2010

I'm sorry, but this is nonsense. If fructose is so bad for you, then apples should be banned. They are around 70% fructose (30% glucose) Look it up. High-fructose corn syrup is only 55% fructose (45% glucose). If you are to avoid fructose, then you must avoid apples, pears, peaches, grapes, pineapples, and countless other “healthy” foods. The fructose scare is just one in a long line of unprovable health scares promoted by people who either don't take the time to educate themselves before they play expert, or have some other agenda that I don't quite understand.

Reply
    Joseph Garma - August 6, 2010

    Don't be sorry, Bob Dog — challenging conventional wisdom is a good thing; after all, there are plenty of things that have been thought to be true till disproven.

    In this case, the science is pretty clear. If you're willing to spend the time, you can find reputable sources on the Web that report about the studies linking high-fructose corn syrup to many ills, including obesity and diabetes. I didn't make this up… as you suggest in your comment, I report what those who have educated themselves have to say.

    The reason that whole fruit does not present a problem is (partly) due to the fiber contained in it which lowers the glycemic index (the rate by which the sugar is absorbed by the blood).

    Reply
Bob Dog - August 6, 2010

Also, by the way, you're probably not aware that “sugar”, also known as “table sugar”, also known as “sucrose”, is 50% glucose and 50% fructose. Look it up. High-fructose corn syrup only has 5% more fructose than regular corn syrup (sucrose). So when you people eat “sugar”, they are already eating 50% fructose.

Also, your article suggests that sucrose is better for diabetes. Not true, according to the Wikipedia article on Fructose, “Fructose is often recommended for diabetics because it does not trigger the production of insulin by pancreatic ß cells, probably because ß cells have low levels of GLUT5. Fructose has a very low glycemic index of 19 ± 2, compared with 100 for glucose and 68 ± 5 for sucrose.”

Reply
    Joseph Garma - August 6, 2010

    Bob Dog, if you're happy with eating sugar, go for it.

    Re you comment about my indicating that sucrose being good for diabetes… wasn't my intention. The fructose discussed in Wikipedia may be a different form than high-fructose corn syrup to give it a low glycemic index rating.

    Perhaps reading the Mercola link in the above post will be interesting to you.

    Reply
Montgomery mortgage solutions - May 24, 2011

it is very nice post…

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Reply
Bianca Jackson - June 7, 2011

There’s nothing wrong about eating foods rich in sugar. You just need to learn how to control yourself  so you avoid the risk of being fat, and practice good oral to avoid dental problem, too. If you don’t want to gain much weight, better exercise or get involved in any sport. 

Reply
    Joseph Garma - June 7, 2011

    Hmmm… well, in my view it’s not so much as a right/wrong thing as a healthy/unhealthy thing.

    In your experience, perhaps you moderate your sugar intake and don’t perceive any ill effects. If so, you’re among the few. The average American consumes over 100 lbs of sugar annually and the health experts site this as one of the primary reasons for this country’s obesity epidemic.

    In fact, so prevalent is sugar over-consumption that Jacob Teitelbaum, MD describes has identified four types of sugar addicts, which I describe in “Sugar Lover? Which Type Are You?”
    https://garmaonhealth.com/2010/07/healing-sugar-lover/

    Given your comment, Bianca, I assume none of these four represent you. Lucky you, because for far too many, sugar is the slippery slope to an assortment of physical and emotional ills.

    Reply

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