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Too much fructose can damage your liver, just like too much alcohol

sugarscience.ucsf.edu

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Re: Too much fructose can damage your liver, just like too much alcohol

#111

Post by KozmoNau7 »

TazeTSchnitzel wrote: post #63

Given the US uses HFCS a lot, whereas many other countries use other sugar, it would be interesting to compare liver disease rates since the 1980s in the US vs non-HFCS countries.

HFCS has roughly the same fructose:glucose ratio as table sugar, honey and other sugars that are claimed to be less unhealthy.

HFCS alarmism is just that: Alarmism.

The problem is not the composition of HFCS, it's that we in the western world are adding a hell of a lot more sugar to everything compared to 40-50 years ago.

Re: Too much fructose can damage your liver, just like too much alcohol

#112

Post by KozmoNau7 »

goda90 wrote: post #85
stretchwithme wrote: post #12

Is it possible to buy processed foods that have no fructose. Certainly, fructose is sweeter and that's why it's used so much. But would be great to avoid it altogether. I know you can bake with dextrose. I wish I'd taken chemistry. I see a lot of conflicting statements about isomers of glucose.

It frustrates me when I look at things so far from "dessert" like a can of chili, and find corn syrup or even sugar in the ingredients. Most great homemade recipes don't use that sugar, so why should the store bought stuff?

The simple answer is that sugar is a flavor enhancer, as is salt, which is why the level of both is generally very high in processed foods and pre-packaged meals.

Take chicken, for instance. A lot of chicken you buy is pumped full of sugar/salt-heavy brine, because water is cheaper than chicken. The salt helps the chicken bind the water, and the sugar balances out the taste. The end result is overpriced and compromised taste-wise.

Personally, I try to avoid added sugar wherever I can, and I have started thinking of sugar as a spice to be used very sparingly, if at all. The only exception is when I bake a cake, because cakes that aren't made full-butter, full-sugar full-everything are just sad. Make good cakes, just eat smaller portions of them, less often.

Re: Too much fructose can damage your liver, just like too much alcohol

#113

Post by birksherty »

KozmoNau7 wrote: post #107
nnq wrote: post #100

This is know scientifically for ~10 years now (in a sense that there are some studies, and the biochemistry of mechanisms is know, but the statistical power of the studies might be low... can''t remember, left the biomedical field years ago), and anecdotally since like for ever (google "making fois gras"). Also, for cats and dogs, other sugar (xylitol if I member well) can destroy their livers pretty fast. Fortunatel…

Dr. Lustig's argumentation is questionable at best. http://www.alanaragonblog.com/2010/01/29/the-bitter-truth-ab... https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/brainwaves/is-sugar-rea... Eat less sugar? Sure! But don't do it because of Dr. Lustig's exaggerations and paranoia. Do it because sugar is calorie-heavy with no real benefit.

"because sugar is calorie-heavy". That's it? What about all the studies that shows high consumption of sugar leads to diabetes, heart disease, mental health etc.?

Who knows what is true any more? May be big sugar companies are fighting back using fake studies and blogs to lessen the blame like they did with fat before.

Edit: I forgot to mention 2 real examples:

1. My father is not fat. We don't eat any junk foods, everything is cooked at home. He goes to office by cycle, it's long commute. But eats too much sweets and sugar, kind of addicted. He got diabetes, glucose reading 290 without food.

2. I started eating lots of sweets/sugar after I stayed at my parent's home for four months. When I sleep on my stomach, I started to feel my heart beat. It was not like this before. It was a bit scary. Then I read all those articles about sugar, and I figured that might be the reason. I stopped eating sugar completely. I no longer feel heart beat while sleeping on stomach. My heart beat per minute came down from 67 to 61. I only stopped sugar, everything else was constant.

Okay, these are only 2 cases, it proves nothing. I know. But, I don't care what anyone says about sugar now. I know what I experienced and I believe on that.

Re: Too much fructose can damage your liver, just like too much alcohol

#114

Post by KozmoNau7 »

andreasgonewild wrote: post #54
0xbear wrote: post #32

Fun fact for HFCS bashers: it’s nearly the same blend of sugars as honey. If you think HFCS is bad (and I believe it is), honey can’t be good.

Yes, and rape seed oil has the about the same combination of fatty acids as olive oil; which is healthy; but it's still poisonous gmo crap. Same goes for HFCS. The amount of genetic manipulation, processing and refining matters.

[Citations needed]

Very much so, in fact. Otherwise your post is simply unfounded paranoia.

Specifically, prove your assertion that rapeseed oil is "poisonous GMO crap".

Re: Too much fructose can damage your liver, just like too much alcohol

#115

Post by NTripleOne »

canttestthis wrote: post #90
mrob wrote: post #72

Earlier quoted context omitted.

High fructose corn syrup is made by processing regular corn syrup (mostly glucose) with enzymes to convert some of the glucose to fructose, making it sweeter. Corn is not naturally high in fructose.

Is there a term for scientific claims made in this way? I saw something similar on reddit the other day where a commenter was trying to prove that a certain chemical was not harmful. It went something like "The reason we think this chemical is harmful is because of this study from the 60s which was done in 17 countries. But one country was excluded from the study because of inconclusive results. Which one? The US! Th…

I don't know if it has a term of not, but it sounds like the pretty fuckin' opposite of science to me - adjusting the results to fit your wanted view instead of adjusting your view to fit the results.

Re: Too much fructose can damage your liver, just like too much alcohol

#117

Post by s4vi0r »

misja111 wrote: post #105
nnq wrote: post #100

This is know scientifically for ~10 years now (in a sense that there are some studies, and the biochemistry of mechanisms is know, but the statistical power of the studies might be low... can''t remember, left the biomedical field years ago), and anecdotally since like for ever (google "making fois gras"). Also, for cats and dogs, other sugar (xylitol if I member well) can destroy their livers pretty fast. Fortunatel…

Plus, when you eat sugar your body produces insulin, which instructs your body to stop burning fat and store it straight into your fat cells.

That's not true at all... What would possibly make you think that?

Re: Too much fructose can damage your liver, just like too much alcohol

#118

Post by zero_iq »

NTripleOne wrote: post #115
canttestthis wrote: post #90

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is there a term for scientific claims made in this way? I saw something similar on reddit the other day where a commenter was trying to prove that a certain chemical was not harmful. It went something like "The reason we think this chemical is harmful is because of this study from the 60s which was done in 17 countries. But one country was excluded from the study because of inconclusive results. Which one? The US! Th…

I don't know if it has a term of not, but it sounds like the pretty fuckin' opposite of science to me - adjusting the results to fit your wanted view instead of adjusting your view to fit the results.

Cherry-picking / confirmation bias.

Re: Too much fructose can damage your liver, just like too much alcohol

#119

Post by s4vi0r »

sbenitoj wrote: post #34
equippan wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What is wrong with whole grains or fruit? I have never heard of that before.

Whole grains are one of the biggest sources of dietary inflammation. There isn’t something inherently wrong with grains, it’s that they’re not even close to the grains we evolved to eat anymore (at least, not in the U.S. — grains in mainland Europe are generally fine, unless you have an issue with gluten/grains such as celiacs, Crohns, or IBS). Source: Tons but the book Wheat Belly is one of the most succinct. Also,…

What's the difference between mainland European and American (north American?) grains?
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