100% fat free fructose linked to fat build-up

“Eat Fat, Get Fat.”

This notion has driven nutrition science and policy for 40 years. But the simplicity of the dogma is revealed as being a bit simplistic.

In fact, in the most recent issue of the Journal of Nutrition, researchers from the University of Texas found that fat build-up from fructose consumption may be greater than what occurs when we eat other types of sugars, such as glucose and sucrose.

According to Elizabeth Parks from the UT’s Southwestern Medical Center, “Our study shows for the first time the surprising speed with which humans make body fat from fructose. [Fructose, glucose and sucrose] can be made into triglycerides, a form of body fat; however, once you start the process of fat synthesis from fructose, it’s hard to slow it down,” she added.

However, Dr Parks was quick to point out that it is misleading to suggest the consumption of a specific food or food ingredient was the cause of obesity and the rise of type-2 diabetes.

“There are lots of people out there who want to demonize fructose as the cause of the obesity epidemic,” she said. “I think it may be a contributor, but it’s not the only problem. Americans are eating too many calories for their activity level. We’re overeating fat, we’re overeating protein; and we’re over-eating all sugars,” she said.

Yes, we are overconsuming many things, but one of the contributors for that trend has been the constant admonition that it is okay to eat more, as long as it is low in fat. This thesis needs to be bolstered by more evidence because, as we are now seeing, the overconsumption of low fat foods spiked with fructose can also contribute to our overweight and obesity problems.

It is important to keep in mind, too, that fructose in a piece of fruit is not what we are talking about. The fructose in the form of High Fructose Corn Syrup that is present in the majority of processed food products, candies, and sodas, doesn’t come with the fiber you find in fruit, nor with their vitamins, minerals, and co-factors.

Eat food. This is our rule, and one that gives us the freedom to step outside of the need to parse macromolecules. If you just Eat Food, you need not establish, one at a time, whether a food product is or is not good for you.