Fructose

Fructose – “fruit sugar”

This is what is causing a large portion of our metabolic disease in this current day. It’s especially prevalent in our food supply because of all the corn subsidies that make HFCS(high fructose corn syrup) particularly cheap. Thus, food companies use HFCS as their go to sweetener. And you best believe they add a lot of it, because with the previous fat scare and removal of fat from food across the board, the food would taste like cardboard without it. Though fructose may save the processed food from flavor oblivion, it does not suppress hunger signals nor does it stimulate satiety signals. Thus, food items made with fructose are incredibly prone to being eaten without restraint.

One aspect of fructose that has to be made clear is that it is processed in the body essentially the same way alcohol is. The only difference is that it does not have any depressant effect on the brain. It does however, induce a dopamine response that if abused is not unlike the one you would observe in a drug addict. As you would expect a beer gut from a chronic alcoholic, you can expect an equivalent from constant fructose consumption.

These two substances get a fast track conversion to fat that ends up in the belly and the liver itself, causing the dreaded metabolic syndrome.

Watch to 25:25

In addition to insulin resistance, fructose is a potent AGE(advanced glycation end-product) agent. This is essentially the browning that happens on food when you grill or fry it. But, instead of food, it’s your blood vessels and organs.

That’s not the end of it, fructose also raises uric acid levels, if high enough, you’ll develop hypertension and gout. Gout is an incredibly painful condition where crystals form in small joints, causing excruciating pain at even the slightest touch. You wouldn’t think twice about not giving a child a can of beer or a glass of wine, but would you let a child have it if alcohol didn’t have the mind altering effects? That’s what fructose is. Diabetes used to be a disease of adulthood, but with the current food environment, childhood obesity and diabetes is running rampant.

Humans used to consume way less than their modern day counterparts.

How do I eliminate fructose from my diet?

Of course you can look at the ingredients list, but there are so many different names these food companies have invented to hide this ingredient.

A good general rule is if you are even looking at a label for ingredients to begin with, you’re probably dealing with HFCS in that product.

TL;DR

Fructose acts in the body like alcohol without the acute mind altering effects, readily adding to fat stores. Reducing consumption from processed foods, sodas, fruit, and honey is critical in combating insulin resistance. Crucially, removing access to large amounts of fructose from children should be a major priority for parents and schools.