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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

#81

Post by itchyouch »

>That excess fructose is broken down by the liver and transformed into fat globules (triglycerides)

I believe this is not "that" accurate. Generally the presence of excess carbohydrates cause the body to prioritize sucrose/fructose/glucose to glycogen conversion and storage & usage. Dietary Lipids that are ingested are stored rather than used for energy. While, De novo lipogenesis (turning carbs to lipids) does occur, it is inefficient enough that the body barely converts something around 1% of carbs to fat.

Since glycogen is stored in the liver and muscles, and insulin signals the muscles & liver to take up the glycogen in the blood, this is probably where diabetes starts when the liver and muscles are already filled with enough glycogen and there is no where for the glycogen in the bloodstream to go.

If the body could efficiently convert sugars to lipids, I don't think diabetes would be that much of an issue. People would just get obese with the diabetes.

AFAIK, the priorities for energy consumption of the body is:

1. sugars into glycogen into ATP

2. protein into glucose into glycogen (gluconeogenesis) into ATP (some limited amount)

3. lipids into ketone bodies into ATP

So as long as the body was sugars to use up, that is the priority of usage.

One of the most calorically intensive tasks the body does is growth and repair of new tissue. Excess sugars are generally used up by kids who are growing. However, once people reach adulthood, the growth rate slows so significantly that the excess caloric intake forces all the lipids ingested to be stored.

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

#82

Post by lunarcave »

For anyone interested in this subject - and how sugars and carbs can _potentially_ harm your overall emotional and physical well-being and lead to obesity - I'd recommend "Why we get fat" by Gary Taubes.

It has a surprisingly healthy dose of scientific studies condensed for the layman, and some historical context as well.

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

#83

Post by pizza »

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.

Why would anyone want to eat as much honey as they currently eat sugar? Why would anyone think that would be any less egregious?

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

#84

Post by [deleted] »

will_brown wrote: post #16

>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…

[deleted]

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

#85

Post by goda90 »

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?

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

#86

Post by dl904 »

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,…

I didn't know whether to laugh or cry reading "Wheat Belly". Honestly, how does a person who writes such garbage even call himself a doctor. It should be a case study for a textbook on what bad science is, and how we are very ill-served by celebrity-doctor types who try to make a lot of money off their brand.

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

#87

Post by dl904 »

itchyouch wrote: post #81

>That excess fructose is broken down by the liver and transformed into fat globules (triglycerides) I believe this is not "that" accurate. Generally the presence of excess carbohydrates cause the body to prioritize sucrose/fructose/glucose to glycogen conversion and storage & usage. Dietary Lipids that are ingested are stored rather than used for energy. While, De novo lipogenesis (turning carbs to lipids) does occur…

Something that has been popularized in certain countries is the notion that there is a huge difference between different kinds of sugars, and that especially fructose is harmful to people. I wonder if there is any truth to that.

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

#88

Post by jldugger »

taysic wrote: post #70
why-el wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Nothing, I think the parent is wrong or misspoke. The advice is usually "substitute bad processed sugar with fruit", which is what Dr Lustig has advocated for the last decade. Of course too much fruit is itself bad, since the fiber can only do so much.

Why would too much fruit be bad? This is sadly a myth that gets formed when “sugar is bad” is oversimplified.

Mostly too many calories. Fruit isn't 'bad' as much as 'it's really hard to consume so many calories with all that fiber in the way'.

But if you process fruit by removing that fiber, as say fruit juice, you're easily consuming tons of calories.

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

#89

Post by wickawic »

nikkwong wrote: post #58
rjeli wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

what do you and your wife eat?

My guess would be nuts, vegetables, and meats (like fish). Some fruits are okay though, like low sugar ones (avocados). I personally have tested my diet for years and found this diet to be optimal for me, and in line with most current research on what the body needs—and what the body should stay away from. Many people would consider a diet like this difficult, but if you approach it correctly (I end up cooking a lot…

While insightful, you very strangely answered a personal question directed at another user. How could you know what they eat?

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

#90

Post by canttestthis »

mrob wrote: post #72
will_brown wrote: post #16

>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…

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! The country that we care the most about, and there weren't solid results here!"
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