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Your thoughts on fructose

hankjam

hankjam

Well-Known Member
Messages
4,797
Type of diabetes
Treatment type
Diet only
I've really not thought about fructose as a separate sugar until a recent post by @Oldvatr who wrote about it's role on lipids and livers. So I did some duckduckgoing and as usual just of information but not much knowledge.

One reference did suggest a link between fructose and Triglycerides...
Ratio of fructose to glucose is often 1:1.

Foods that I do eat a fair amount of are peas and tinned tomatoes, with the occasional apple for lunch with celery (lots) and cheese.

I would say my control has been generally okay, though recently my FBG have been much a unit higher, 5.2s to 6.2s....

Is Fructose, per se, something members consider / worry about?

Thank you
 
Something that I a,m aware of because as I understand it, fructose goes straight to the liver and is deposited as fat, but doesn't show up on your BG meter and so feels "safe".
 
A lookup in wikkipedia gives this
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fructolysis
The article carries a warning that it is not established ans is contested. (the Lustig wars)

Here is another paper
https://www.jci.org/articles/view/96702

I think the problem only really arises where there is high dietary intake of HFCS (corn syrup) but the availability of fruit all year round is not what our ancestors were used to. the XMAS pudding is a prime example of how they used to preserve the summer fruits to give a boost in the winter. Dried fruits are also more common nowadays as are candied fruits. These used to be very special treats at Christmas in my home as kid. and i remember the first bananas imported by Fyffes being featured in the headlines. Tangerines and satsumas were rare Santa gifts too.
 
Personally I avoid all fructose apart from 4 strawberries once a week :) I certainly do not avoid alcohol (red wine) so my liver needs a break!

I do eat a lot of peas though!
 
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With RH, and my version of the condition, is to be careful with the portion size of the fruit I have through the day. I have found that, if I don't go overboard with certain fruits. My blood glucose levels are normal.
However, there is a type of Hypoglycaemia that is caused by hereditary fructose intolerance.
Go figure!
Of course it's individual!
 
Guys like Stan Efferding recommend a very tiny amount each day to stimulate the liver. I don’t remember the exact reasoning, but his vertical diet recommends like 100ml fruit juice or some whole fruit.

For me the question is, is there an optimal amount? I usually have a handful of berries a few times a week
 
As far as I'm aware there are only smallish amounts of fructose both in fruits and some vegetables, and these are not necessarily an issue, as our livers can metabolize it and actually use some as fuel. Various sources seem to suggest that consumption of about 25g a day is quite safe.

I'm not particularly concerned with naturally occurring fructose, but I believe there are much more serious issues with excessive amounts of added fructose, particularly (as @Oldvatr mentioned) corn syrup and it's UK equivalent glucose-fructose syrup. So I believe it should be this fructose in processed foods we should be watching and concerned about rather than that in fruit or vegetables. But I'd assume that any of us eating a low carb/ketogenic diet aren't all that likely to be swallowing masses of the stuff anway...
 
Prof. Lustig has a sense of humour. He said that wheras both ethanol and fructose can result in a fatty liver, alcohol is self limiting since when you are under the table you tend to stop drinking.

He also said that the highest incidence of NAFLD occurs in Saudi Arabia where alcohol is banned and water supply is not that great. The people drink lots of 'soda'.

He advises not to drink the soda.

He took a couple of years off to take a law degree. The reason was that every time he tried to limit the use of sugar, the drinks companies changed it's name. Dried cane juice is my favourite. In a TED talk he gives he has a slide which lists (I think) 50 different names for sugar some of which were thought up by drinks companies for legal reasons.
 
Thank you for your responses. Having read the links and your responses I am probably worrying a bit too much. I am pretty low carb at the moment, my weight is as low as it's been since diagnosis.
My total cholesterol and LDL's are pretty high but then.... they always have been. DP seems to be a thing with my FBG as by mid morning they are down to low 5's.
and so it goes.
 
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Robbity2 said:
So I believe it should be this fructose in processed foods we should be watching and concerned about rather than that in fruit or vegetables
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This! Even Lustig knows to make the distinction between fructose in refined/processed and added forms and whole-fruit ;)
 
Robbity2 said:
As far as I'm aware there are only smallish amounts of fructose both in fruits and some vegetables, and these are not necessarily an issue, as our livers can metabolize it and actually use some as fuel. Various sources seem to suggest that consumption of about 25g a day is quite safe.

I'm not particularly concerned with naturally occurring fructose, but I believe there are much more serious issues with excessive amounts of added fructose, particularly (as @Oldvatr mentioned) corn syrup and it's UK equivalent glucose-fructose syrup. So I believe it should be this fructose in processed foods we should be watching and concerned about rather than that in fruit or vegetables. But I'd assume that any of us eating a low carb/ketogenic diet aren't all that likely to be swallowing masses of the stuff anway...
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Sucrose (table sugar) is half glucose, half fructose, it is the type of sugar that comes from plants, notably sugar cane and sugar beet of course but also any fruit. I believe it is fructose that tastes sweet rather than glucose. I haven't tried this myself, perhaps someone who has dextrose tablets can confirm glucose is not sweet.
 
Mr_Pot said:
I believe it is fructose that tastes sweet rather than glucose. I haven't tried this myself, perhaps someone who has dextrose tablets can confirm glucose is not sweet.
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I use pure dextrose powder to make OGTT drinks. It's sickeningly-sweet.
 
Mr_Pot said:
Sucrose (table sugar) is half glucose, half fructose, it is the type of sugar that comes from plants, notably sugar cane and sugar beet of course but also any fruit. I believe it is fructose that tastes sweet rather than glucose. I haven't tried this myself, perhaps someone who has dextrose tablets can confirm glucose is not sweet.
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Dextrose tablets are revoltingly sweet but not sure where that derives from as don't use them to treat hypos for that reason. When you have a low blood sugar chewing on a mini brick isn't pleasant.
 
Robbity2 said:
SO??
I was simply offering my personal thoughts/feelings on fructose as requested.
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My first word - "This" - was showing that I agreed with your post. I just added a bit of information for those who are interested i.e that one of the biggest anti-sugar guys understands how fruit is metabolised (I'd assume he also understands how whole starches are metabolised) and how that makes it distinct from eating refined sugar.

Like I said, I agreed with you
 
Mr_Pot said:
I stand corrected.
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Not that I've compared them side by side, but I think that pure glucose is much sweeter than table-sugar. I've also used fructose as a sweetener before, and remember it being less sweet than sugar, So I suspect the fructose actually 'cuts' the sweetness of the glucose.
 
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