[Science Daily] How fructose in the diet contributes to obesity

[Ron Obvious]

I've always suspected high fructure corn syrup is a major contributor to our obesity epidemic: That stuff's in everything. When you look back at pictures from, say 1950-1980 doesn't it strike you how thin everybody was back then? At least compared to today? As I recall we didn't have to do a whole lot of hard work to stay thin either; we just were. Read on...

Eating fructose appears to alter cells in the digestive tract in a way that enables it to take in more nutrients, according to a preclinical study from investigators at Weill Cornell Medicine and NewYork-Presbyterian. These changes could help to explain the well-known link between rising fructose consumption around the world and increased rates of obesity and certain cancers.

The research, published August 18 in Nature, focused on the effect of a high-fructose diet on villi, the thin, hairlike structures that line the inside of the small intestine. Villi expand the surface area of the gut and help the body to absorb nutrients, including dietary fats, from food as it passes through the digestive tract. The study found that mice that were fed diets that included fructose had villi that were 25 percent to 40 percent longer than those of mice that were not fed fructose. Additionally, the increase in villus length was associated with increased nutrient absorption, weight gain and fat accumulation in the animals.

"Fructose is structurally different from other sugars like glucose, and it gets metabolized differently," said senior author Dr. Marcus DaSilva Goncalves, the Ralph L. Nachman Research Scholar, an assistant professor of medicine in the Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism and an endocrinologist at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center. "Our research has found that fructose's primary metabolite promotes the elongation of villi and supports intestinal tumor growth."

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/08/210818135218.htm

[live love laugh]

1. I wonder if it's reversible? This is amazing.

[Aristus]

19. At the molecular level, I don't know for sure.

But from a phenotypical standpoint, it is. I have had so many obese patients come to me for treatment, and in the course of taking their patient history, I find out they're drinking, like, six sodas a day, or whatever. Or Gatorade and Powerade, which they think are health drinks instead of the sugar-delivery mediums they are.

I tell them before I do anything else, order expensive tests or even more expensive imagery, just knock off whichever beverage you are drinking with the high fructose corn syrup. They will come in, sometimes six weeks or so later, reporting substantial weight loss, more energy, earlier satiety when eating, and generally improved well-being.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

22. I likewise am astonished at how many soft drinks most people drink.

When I'm in the grocery store other people will have several of those huge boxes of various sodas. Why?

I gave up soft drinks about thirty years ago when I realized my younger son was consuming too many, even though he was thin. Never overweight. But I knew the sodas were replacing healthier foods, so I simply stopped buying them. For several years I'd often get one when eating out, especially fast food, and then I stopped that entirely. Nowadays I'll get a soft drink when on a long driving trip, so I have fewer than half a dozen in a whole year.

My younger brother was in the habit of drinking two of the large bottles of soda -- I think they are two liters? -- a day, and somehow thought that's what everyone did. Little surprise he developed diabetes.

[Aristus]

24. The article did get one thing wrong, fortunately:

Consumption of high-fructose corn syrup in this country is actually going down, not up. It peaked in 2010, and has been decreasing, I hope because medical providers like me are informing their patients how bad this stuff is for them.

[ProfessorGAC]

27. It's Incredible

I see the same at the supermarket.
We don't drink pop either. Maybe 2 liters of rootbeer per year for black cows.
I know a guy who goes through 2 & 1/2 cases of Diet Pepsi per week. More than 8 a day.
At least, that version doesn't have sugar.
If someone brought a case to our house it'd last over 10 years.

[moonscape]

33. Hard to say which is worse, sugar or chemical

sugar substitutes. Either way, evil stuff.

[Baitball Blogger]

2. I remember when I was growing up, thinking about all those people who were led down the

tobacco habit that shortened their life, and wondering if there was something out there that would do the same to my generation. I had to make it into the late forties before I realized fructose corn syrup was our tobacco.

Medical community was no help. Even up to the nineties they were giving bad advice to diabetics, recommending high carb diets. That just added to the problem.

[Ron Obvious]

3. Yeah, remember how "fat" used to be the enemy?

I think Atkins may have had this right at least: eating fat at least makes you feel full and you stop eating, but this stuff doesn't lead to feeling sated and you eat more of everything.

[multigraincracker]

9. Keto goes a step farther and includes

the roll of fiber in relationship to carbs.

[Dream Girl]

12. Protein should be the priority, especially as you get older. Plus it's eXtremely satiating, maintain

And builds muscle. I limit carbs to 50 g. Mostly vegetables, berries every now and then. I try to get 100 - 120 g. of protein per day. Chicken, fish, sardines, salmon before, lamb,eggs. But some days have 10. My numbers have never been better. I was tethering on prediabetes for years. No any more. My livers is great too. Was inching toward fatty liver. Added bonus - my weight is down 40 lbs over the past 18 months and it’s been effortless. I’m never hungry or deprived. If I crave something junky like pizza, cookies, ice cream, cheesecake,I make a keto version and they are usually quite tasty because they are full fat. Knowing I can have these treats makes it so easy. I don’t make tarts as often as I used to. I don’t really have cravings any more.

[TxGuitar]

20. Carbs are my downfall.

I average about 100 grams of protein a day but don't do a good job of keeping track of my carbs. I have days where I feel I ate right, exercised and all and the next day I'm up a half pound or a pound. Gotta keep better track of my intake I guess.

[moonscape]

34. Navigating nutrition can be tough. I was low-carb/keto

for years then hit with kidney stones. Urologist said cut back on protein. Okaaay ... low carb, low protein .. I’ll swig coconut oil!

[GoCubsGo]

5. Yep, they made fat the big enemy.

In their defense, they were given false data by the sugar industry, who, for decades, stifled research showing that it isn't "Fat makes you fat." It's their product, which was dumped into every fat-free product they told us to gag down to prevent obesity-related diseases. And, we wondered why we were still fat... High fructose corn syrup is just the worst culprit, but refined carbs, in general, are the issue.

[malaise]

7. THIS

The big industries control the discussion

[moonscape]

36. It was false data from an Ancel Keys

study where he left out countries that didn’t conform to his hypothesis about fat. McGovern got on the bandwagon and while I voted for him for President, I blame him for the ‘70’s dietary goals that put it all in motion. The bad part of his legacy.

[msongs]

4. don't touch the stuff anymore, or regular sugar either much as possible nt

[Klaralven]

11. Regular sugar, sucrose, is split into its constituent glucose and fructose components in the gut

[scrabblequeen40]

6. Does it matter if it's natural fructose in fruit?

One of the things that keeps nagging at me is the availability of fruit in American supermarkets year-round. These fruits are bred to be bigger and sweeter -- the explosion of modern apple varieties, for example.

Not only are we encouraged by nutritionists to eat fruit as a healthier snack alternative, we use fruit in meals - in salads, dried up or cut-up fresh; in compotes and sauces, in fruit juices and smoothies...

Are we just asking for it?

[Ron Obvious]

10. I've no expertise in this area

But I understand the rule of thumb is: fruit is good, but fruit juice should be avoided.

[Revanchist]

17. The fiber contained in the fruit

Slows down the sugar metabolism

[Ron Obvious]

18. Makes sense to me. [n/t]

[iemanja]

15. The article includes fructose from fruit

which is a head-scratcher to me. It may be about the quantity of fruit one consumes.

[abqtommy]

21. I've studied this and if you eat one orange you're getting the fructose from that orange. If you

drink a large tumbler of orange juice you're getting the fructose from many oranges and that's not
healthy for anybody but especially those of us prone to diabetes. It's good to be informed so we can
make the best decisions for ourselves.

[lindysalsagal]

28. True: The fiber in an orange goes a long way toward mitigating the rate at which you

metabolize the sugars. It also lets you feel fuller and wait longer to eat afterwards. Fruit juice just encourages you to keep eating.

[Elessar Zappa]

30. I'll put it this way.

I’ve never seen anyone get fat from food.

[IronLionZion]

37. Eating whole fruit is better than juices, dried fruit, or processed fruit products

Compotes and sauces would have added sugar. I have a sweet tooth, but have noticed good results from cutting back on added sugar.

Normal people don't have to avoid sweet fruits like bananas or mangos like the Keto folks do. It's good in smoothies if you use cut up fresh fruit.

[ananda]

8. High glycemic carbs are huge culprits.

I always try to balance protein, low glycemic carbs,
and fat with every meal.

I also eat all organic.

[2naSalit]

13. I make a point of avoiding that stuff...

And anything in it. I like plain old sugar, all substitutes are worse for you than the real thing, you just have to use it on moderation, can't have it in everything you eat.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

23. I agree that the substitutes are bad, possibly worse than the real thing.

[iemanja]

14. I'm surprise they include the fructose in fruit

Since most doctors and dieticians recommend you eat a couple of servings of fruit a day.

[Revanchist]

16. I just need to stop procrastinating and go keto

Just eliminate sugar/carbs completely

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

25. I'm going to say no to that.

The same about going vegetarian or vegan.

We evolved as omnivores, eating a wide variety of things. Stick to that, just be moderate about everything, and you should be fine.

[iemanja]

38. My cholesterol was cut in half

after I went vegetarian.

[lindysalsagal]

26. I've done it. I prefer to live that way. But all the saturated fats aren't good for your heart, so,

tread carefully. I can manage without any flour or sugar, and I always read labels for high fructose. I also avoid white starches, with the occasional small non-fat popcorn. There are almond flour crackers and such nowadays, so, that makes life easier.

BTW-Ever look at the sugar content in milk? Yowza.

[jaxexpat]

29. When I made my living farming about half our acreage was in corn.

That was back in the 80's. Corn and soybeans (with the occasional double-crop of wheat/soybeans) were the land usage template in our area, the southern tier of the mid-west. I was, even then, pretty certain that my livelihood was predicated on the general delinquency of the planet. Oh, chemistry, where is thy come-uppence?

Also raised LOTS of tobacco. Hey, the market said it was okay. I know, already.

[mcar]

31. We eliminated HFCS from our diet quite a few years ago

I hope the effects don't linger forever.

[c-rational]

32. Good article and completely agree. Thanks for posting.

[Evolve Dammit]

35. Observing the obesity is scary. Wheelchairs, people hanging on grocery carts; it's everywhere.

We have a national obesity epidemic and I'm sure the pandemic hasn't helped with inactivity and anxiety-related eating disorders. Between that and depression, we have a bonafide health care crisis, on top of everything else. Doesn't get much press.