Sugar, the bitter truth

Fructose consumption (as both high fructose corn syrup and sucrose) has increased coincidentally with the worldwide epidemics of obesity and metabolic syndrome.

Fructose is a primary contributor to human disease as it is metabolized in the liver differently to glucose, and is more akin to that of ethanol. When consumed in large amounts, fructose promotes the same dose-dependent toxic effects as ethanol, promoting hypertension, hepatic and skeletal muscle insulin resistance, dyslipidemia and fatty liver disease.

Also similar to ethanol, through direct stimulation of the central nervous system “hedonic pathway” and indirect stimulation of the “starvation pathway,” fructose induces alterations in central nervous system energy signaling that lead to a vicious cycle of excessive consumption, with resultant morbidity and mortality.

Fructose from any source should be regarded as “alcohol without the buzz.” Obesity prevention and treatment is ineffective in the face of the current “fructose glut” in our food supply. We must learn from our experiences with ethanol and nicotine that regulation of the food industry, along with individual and societal education, will be necessary to combat this fructose epidemic.

The metabolism of Glucose:

Glucose is the body’s preferred carbohydrate substrate for energy metabolism. Each cell in the body can utilize glucose for energy. Upon ingestion of 120 kcal of glucose (e.g. two slices of white bread), 24 kcal (20%) enter the liver; the remaining 96 kcal (80%) of the glucose bolus are utilized by other organs.

The metabolism of Fructose:

Increasing the palatability of food by addition of fructose undermines normal satiety signals, and as a result increases total caloric consumption both in direct and indirect ways. Direct effects of fructose in¬clude motivation of food intake independent of energy need.

Read more: ResponsibleFoods.org

Watch videos:

Sugar: The Bitter Truth

University of California Television (UCTV)
Dr. Robert H. Lustig,
MD, UCSF Professor of Pediatrics in the Division of Endocrinology

The skinny on obesity

University of California Television (UCTV)
Dr. Robert H. Lustig,
MD, UCSF Professor of Pediatrics in the Division of Endocrinology

Robert H. Lustig, MD, UCSF Professor of Pediatrics in the Division of Endocrinology, explores the damage caused by sugary foods. He argues that fructose (too much) and fiber (not enough) appear to be cornerstones of the obesity epidemic through their effects on insulin. Series: UCSF Mini Medical School for the Public [Show ID: 16717].

Dr. Lustig’s book “Fat Chance: Beating the Odds Against Sugar, Processed Food, Obesity, and Disease“

Robert Lustig’s 90-minute YouTube video “Sugar: The Bitter Truth”, has been viewed more than three million times. Now, in this much anticipated book, he documents the science and the politics that has led to the pandemic of chronic disease over the last 30 years.

In the late 1970s when the government mandated we get the fat out of our food, the food industry responded by pouring more sugar in. The result has been a perfect storm, disastrously altering our biochemistry and driving our eating habits out of our control.

To help us lose weight and recover our health, Lustig presents personal strategies to readjust the key hormones that regulate hunger, reward, and stress; and societal strategies to improve the health of the next generation. Compelling, controversial, and completely based in science, Fat Chance debunks the widely held notion to prove “a calorie is NOT a calorie”, and takes that science to its logical conclusion to improve health worldwide.

Robert H Lustig with Heather Millar and Cindy Gershen “The Fat Chance Cookbook: More Than 100 Recipes Ready in Under 30 Minutes to Help You Lose the Sugar and the Weight”

The companion cookbook “Fat Chance”. Robert Lustig’s message that the increased sugar in our diets has led to the pandemic of chronic disease over the last thirty years captured our national attention.

Now, in The Fat Chance Cookbook, Lustig helps us put this information into action for ourselves. With more than 100 recipes as well as meal plans, nutritional analyses, shopping lists, and food swaps, he shows us easy ways to drastically reduce sugar and increase fiber to lose weight and regain health – both for ourselves and for our families. Lustig also shows us how to navigate the grocery store with handy lists for stocking the pantry as well as how to read a food label in order to find hidden sugars and evaluate fiber content.

Accessible, affordable, and geared toward lasting results, The Fat Chance Cookbook will be a fun and easy roadmap to better health for the whole family.