“RUN FOR THE HILLS Martha…the Honeycrisps are a comin!…They got that damn fructose and they’re a gonna kill us!’
Is eating an apple gonna kill you?..No.. not unless you eat it while running with scissors with your shoelaces untied. I really did want to pivot away from food as a topic and steer more towards mitochondrial health but your little mighty mitos will only be as healthy as the inputs you provide em. So when I heard people the other day trash talking whole fruit…my BS detector lit up!
It is so easy to get caught up in dietary dogma and dietary culture wars. So much so that restrictive mindsets and rules not only create disordered eating patterns but create FEAR!!! So much so that I see people who are fat-phobic, carb-phobic, protein-phobic.. and yeah, even egg-yolk phobic!
At the recent Metabolic Health Summit, presentations addressed the latest research on ketogenic and low carb diets as therapies for a multitude of illnesses… Alzheimers, Cancer, Diabetes and Cardiovascular disease to name a few. The Low Carb mindset and doctrines dominated the conversation as the optimal path towards metabolic health and wellness..BUT is it wise to vilify an entire macronutrient?
So many in the crowd were frankly and palpably FEARFUL of carbs and specifically fructose.. I mean scared sh*tless. Fructose, for example, found in ….ahem, oh yeah……fruit… was vilified by many. WTF? Really?….😱
The PrimalMed take? Addressing the deleterious downstream effects of EXCESS sugar and fructose (as processed and ultraprocessed drinks and packaged nibbles) is important. Fructose structurally is different from table sugar and glucose in that fructose is delivered to and directly metabolized by the liver. And fun fact…ingested fructose is metabolized JUST like alcohol…so just as too much alcohol will cause fatty liver disease, TOO MUCH fructose will cause non-alcoholic fatty liver disease…and that leads to a whole host of other badness…increased triglycerides and increased visceral and belly fat… ugh.
“Take care of your liver and your liver will take care of you. Protect the liver!” “Healthy liver, healthy you!”..yada yada yada…the cute “liverisms”..( is that a word?) go on and on. The liver handles hundreds of physiological processes, most important incoming nutrient metabolism…so you DO NOT want to mess with your liver.
BUT CONTEXT IS KING. Too much fructose, either in volume or frequency (not as occasional whole fruit complete with fiber and vitamins and nutrients but… ) as non-fiber high fructose corn syrup and fruit juice is an assault on the hepatocytes and is the offending culprit ( some of the more passionate may say “poison”) that will lead to developing fatty liver.
TL;DR…Too much garbage fructose = BAD 👎
In my daytime job as a radiologist, I am seeing more and more (like everyday more) nonalcoholic fatty liver disease on ultrasounds, CT’s and MRI in teens and young adults. Whatcha drinkin today junior? Hard cider and frooooty smoothies?.. double extra mocha frosty Frappacinos?…No, no, no… thats a rapid blast of processed liquid sugar ..that form of fructose be BAD..hello insulin resistance and obesity…But not allowing yourself to enjoy an occasional fiber-rich apple or other fruit? Hear, hear fellow citizens….gather round! Celebrate the mango!
If looking at an apple really causes you to go crazy-eyes and break out in a cold sweat like the fella in the picture, I would say…CHILLAX… Unless you really need to keep your carb and sugar intake super low for the management of a medical illness like diabetes, or obesity, or are following a very low carb diet as a responsible path towards addressing other medical issues or weight management, I hereby give you permission to release yourself from the grievous grip of overly restrictive dietary dogma. EAT the fruit, just don’t drink the fruit.
Low Carb or low sugar doesn’t mean NO carb or NO sugar… DO NOT fear including sane carbs from whole fruit from time to time. Prioritize Protein for sure and don’t overeat Energy (that means carbs and fats)..Namaste baby and don’t fear the fruit...Its the stress of being a fruit-o-phobe that may be what mess ya up!
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Hi Nancy and thanks for reading the newsletter. A cup (not a pound) of fiber rich berries is a great addition and has so many nutritional benefits…if you are not a diabetic or under the guidance of a professional to keep your carbs very low….then celebrate the berries!!! And BTW, in the keto community, berries are considered a very good choice and are a low carb fruit.. especially strawberries
Should I not have my cup of berries EVERYDAY?