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

sugarscience.ucsf.edu

141–150 of 166 posts

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

#141
post #125

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> calorie-heavy with no real benefit Wtf does that even mean?! You mainly eat to get your calories... the calories are your main intended benefit, that's mainly why you eat, to get your fuel to burn. It's like the stupid phrase "empty calories". Also, the calories that you need to burn, will inevitably deal damage to your body in the process of being burn (free radicals -> aging, cancer etc.) and that's unavoidable.…

When I say "calorie-heavy with no real benefit", I mean that you get glucose and fructose and that's it . No vitamins, no minerals, no fiber, just pure straight carbs. In other words just calories that your body can use or store, and unless you've been doing strenuous activity within a short time frame, those calories will be stored as fat.

The less confusing distinction would be between "slow (absorbed) calories" and "fast (absorbed) calories". That's what "glycemic index" and all that is all about. Most fibers are especially about this: they slow the absorbtion of sugars and other stuff, so they don't cause a spike in blood sugar concentration.

You can even have basically pure carbs that are absorbed slowly and have a good glycemic profile (they are glucose polymers that take longer to break up into the glucose monomers they are made of). One of these is the modified starch that you can also get "naturally" by reheating some types of pasta, others are pretty weird chemical inventions that are not proven safe yet I think...

You could eat just "pure slow carbs" and throw in some vitamin pills, essential fats, essential amino acids and antioxidants (they would all amount to like a small fist of pills a day I think) and be quite healthy I guess. Not sure why would anyone want to leave such a tasteless life though :)

EDIT+: actually, scratch that, your liver might actually fail long term if you don't pass something more akin to "real food" through your gut at least occasionally, for probably complex reasons that amount to "the liver is a damn complex chemical plant that is expected to actually run continuously on all pathways, not to be left abandoned" ...I'm really looking forward for 10+ years results for the people living on that soylent thing only btw.

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

#142

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And what about the studies that attribute those same maladies to fat, excessive protein intake from red meat, aluminum and countless other factors? I know people who are fit and well within normal weight, blood pressure, cholesterol and everything else, eat a very healthy diet and they still got diabetes. One of them lives almost exclusively on home-grown and home-cooked meals (they run a small farm), he's very into…

Those studies are starting to be shown as wrong. I bet those people who eat "healthy" it a lot of carbs, which the body just changes into sugar. So they really aren't eating that healthy.

So what makes you so sure the studies demonizing sugar are not equally as flawed as the previous studies?

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

#143
post #55
post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Citations, not a diet books and anecdotes. Edit: hate my tone all you like, but keep in mind if this weren’t fringe bullshit I’d be met with more than downvotes and attitude.

The aversion to new facts is palpable. This is the top google hit to “wheat dietary inflammation”: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3705319/ But really, your problem is not that the GP did not cite their facts, you just don’t like the sound of their claims, so you’ll respond in a toxic way. I hardly expect the actual scientific literature to change your views.

Did you even read the study? They only say that it might be possible that there could be an effect on inflammation, but also stating that there haven't been good studies done on that subject. The problem is that nutritional studies are often very narrow, only for specific cases and the same applies for the results. However, those studies are often broadly generalized by ill-informed people. I'm no expert either, so I can't say if grains would be good or bad, it's just clear to be that neither can all the other people who claim to know so.

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

#144

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I agree, but most people should start by replacing most of their food with fruits. All their carbs and sugars should come from fruits first, and once they master that, they can try replacing some of it with veggies.

Not sure this is a good way to diet, do you have any peer reviewed literature that says a diet of mostly fruit is a good way to lose weight?

Sorry, didn't mean mostly fruit. I meant to say that it's best to start by replacing all your sugars and most of your carbs by whole fruits instead of veggies. And I say that only because it'll be easier to achieve, and still better then the alternative processed foods.

You should also have fish/meat, nuts and seeds for proteins and fat. And if you can, do have veggies instead of sugar rich whole fruits. But its hard enough eating healthy, I've found that the first thing to do is focus on eating better and not the healthiest. So fruits are the best deserts, and are better then most snacky thing people eat between meals. Yet they're easier to adopt in your diet because most people find them tastier.

For example, I see some people who when hungry and looking to snack down a whole bag of chips, or a whole box of oreos without thinking. But who'd mentally find it excessive to down a whole container of strawberries. Changing that attitude is a good place to start, and eating a whole strawberry container instead of a box of oreo is a pretty easy and simple change. Easier then just not snacking at all, or then eating coliflower instead.

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

#145

>Scientific evidence on fructose and the liver is relatively new People have been force feeding animals to fatten them up (gavage) for about 5,000 years, but specifically feeding them sugars/grains for the purpose of fattening their liver. Ever hear of the French delicacy Foie Gras(1)? It literally means fat liver, and after 5,000 years of perfecting fattening liver what do we force feed the animals? Corn! The same f…

Same with skim milk, which has always been used to fatten pigs. But some prefer it today thinking less fat and cholesterol is healthier and would make them lose weight over whole milk. If only the most complex system in the universe (the human body) was that simple! People and, unfortunately, scientists completely ignored the complexity of hormones, gene expressions, and many other factors when suggesting "healthier" alternatives!

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

#146
Fructose has always been known to be metabolized just like alcohol, so, here's the news? The only type of fructose that's tolerable, in my view, is in moderate consumption of whole fruits (not juice or other processed versions), and unadulterated honey - still in moderation. When I see people eating huge amounts of fruits, I start feeling sorry about their pancreas and liver!

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

#147
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…

Donuts and KFC are terrible. You should stick to Ben & Jerry's.

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

#148

Fructose has always been known to be metabolized just like alcohol, so, here's the news? The only type of fructose that's tolerable, in my view, is in moderate consumption of whole fruits (not juice or other processed versions), and unadulterated honey - still in moderation. When I see people eating huge amounts of fruits, I start feeling sorry about their pancreas and liver!

Why "unadulterated honey"?

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

#149

Earlier quoted context omitted.

[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".

Google not working for you? I picked this at random, you'll have to use your own brain if you want to know more: https://draxe.com/canola-oil-gm/ "Canola oil is a Canadian invention that’s backed by Canada’s government, cheap to manufacture, and many packaged or processed foods contain it. Canola oil was first created in the early 1970s as a natural oil, but in 1995, Monsanto created a genetically modified version of…

Rapeseed grown in the EU is not GMO.

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

#150
post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Everything except red meat and dairy, honestly. But if you want to know what we believe to be true about which foods are healthy, there's probably no better starting point than Harvard's Healthy Eating Plate. - https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/healthy-eating-...

I don't see eggs in there. Got an opinion on those?

Personally we eat eggs. Though increased consumption of animal protein (including eggs) is tied to increased cancer risk.
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