Hello everyone: I have found some very informative information that impacts our health and well-being, read on, be informative and make better lifestyle choices for you and your loved ones. Your life depends on it.
Sincerely,
Dr. Robert J. Folkard
OBESITY; THE FRUCTOSE CONNECTION
Obesity has reached epidemic proportions over the last 30 years. Actually a recent study found obesity on the rise in 6 (six) month old infants! This was never heard of before. Everyone is saying we are eating too much and not exercising enough. This does not explain obesity in our infants. If we look at physiology we have a built in mechanism that tells us to stop eating and stops us from gaining too much weight. The question is; what’s actually blocking that signal to the brain, the one that tells us to eat less and exercise more? What is it that is interfering with this natural safety mechanism?
The hormone, insulin is charged with the job of storing energy, to store excess fat if needed. Insulin transports sugar from the blood to the cells of your body including fat cells. More insulin = more fat storage. Studies show that obese children have increased levels of insulin in their blood. Now when your insulin is high and your storing energy as fat there is another hormone, leptin that goes to the brain, saying that you have eaten enough. Leptin is produced by the fat cells and controls your energy balance. It also raises the awareness in your brain, excites it, increasing your desire for physical activity to help you burn off energy and stay in balance.
Energy in = energy out. Studies have shown that high insulin levels interfere with that leptin signal. When the brain can’t see leptin it is starving, all the time sending out the signal for more energy-keep eating. So you are no longer aroused; there is decreased physical activity, you feel lousy and you eat more! Less energy is burned off, more energy is stored. Energy expenditure, energy burning and quality of life is the same thing. Burn off energy you feel good. When your brain is starving it makes you feel lousy so you won’t exercise and so you will eat more. Get the big picture yet. So what is causing your brain not to get the signal from this fat controlling hormone called leptin?
Why is insulin interfering with leptin signals? This is the key to obesity and our ability to be rid of it once and for all. There are drugs on the market today that cause weight loss through controlling insulin levels. Remember insulin controls energy stored as fat. Reduce insulin reduce fat storage you lose weight, right? Wrong, studies show that just after four months you plateau and then you gain weight again. Why? Because as the insulin levels go down the leptin levels went down further. Now your brain is starving, you feel lousy, don’t want to exercise and you have the feeling to eat more. Anti -diabetic drugs like metformin reduce insulin resistance and you don’t lose weight. In some cases you gain weight, and all drugs have side effects, right?
There is a non- drug that does it, EXERCISE, building your muscles. Muscle mass is a main indicator of health. Increase muscle mass, increase energy expenditure, you look and feel great. Your hormones come into balance, your brain and body is happy. Why does exercise work? Is it because it burns calories? NOT, eat one chocolate chip cookie and you need to jog 20 minutes, one big mac = 3 hours of intensive exercise. Exercise is important though for these 3 reasons:
Exercise increases you muscle sensitivity to insulin, therefore less is needed. That means there is less insulin in your blood, resulting in less sugar going to fat. Exercise reduces stress. Your stress hormone is cortisol. It acts to increase blood sugar in preparation for fight or flight. Under long term stress it rises and stays up causing visceral fat formations, fat around your mid-section. Decreased cortisol is decreased stress as a result of increased exercise and reduces your food intake as well. People who exercise eat less. The third reason is that exercise helps to detoxify the sugar, fructose. Fructose is toxic to your liver and is poison to your body when ingested in large amounts in the absence of fiber. Exercising regularly and eating a diet consisting of live whole foods rich in fiber will reduce the effects of long term fructose consumption on your health.
In 1970 the average person consumed .5 pounds of fructose per year. In 2003 we consumed 56 pounds per year. Each of us!
Fructose is not regulated by insulin so it was thought to be good for diabetics. It is found in so called sugar free jams also called “natural fruit jams. High fructose corn syrup was invented in Japan in 1966. In 1980 all soft drink companies used it. Studies show childhood obesity rising at this time. Fructose can only be taken into the liver. Insulin does not recognize it; therefore the cells of your body don’t want it. Glucose on the other hand can be used by all cells of your body (only 20% goes to the liver, while 80% is utilized by the cells and tissues). Your liver can store massive amounts of glucose. It is non-toxic. Your liver is the main detoxifying organ of your body. Fructose is toxic your body doesn’t want it. It goes directly to your liver to be disposed of. Example: 120 calories of glucose (2 slices of bread) 80% to your brain, heart, muscles etc. for energy 20% stored in the liver, 120 calories orange juice (sucrose) 60% fructose goes to liver plus 20% of glucose goes to liver as well. 72 of 120 calories go to the liver. This is 3x more substrate entering the liver. Fructose causes damage to your liver cells. Fructose also causes an increase in uric acid known to increase blood pressure. Fructose contributes to hypertension.
Studies have shown an increase in uric acid associated with an increase in fructose ingested in obese kids. Increased uric acid causes gout. Start looking for this disease in our obese kids as well. The fast food manufacturing industry uses high fructose corn syrup in almost everything. HFCS – is fuelling obesity.
Long term fructose ingestion causes fat production in the liver which leads to chronic inflammation and the, formation of VLDL a bad form of cholesterol. The end result is nonalcoholic liver disease. Excess
fructose causes the liver to become insensitive to insulin and insulin levels rise dramatically, your brain doesn’t get the signal from leptin to stop eating and so you continue to eat and store energy as fat. Your brain can’t see leptin so you consume more fructose. A vicious cycle to be sure. Fructose damages your liver in the same way alcohol does. It just does so without the buzz. Obesity related fatty liver disease is what you get and much more when you consume refined foods high in fructose corn syrup.
Fructose is found in pretzels and hamburger buns. The food industry in North America prepares more than double the amount of food needed per day for each of us. We need 1800 calories per day yet they make over 3600 calories per day per person of packaged food. Who eats the rest, US!
They know that by adding fructose to foods we will eat more, eat more than you need, spend more than you need, work to eat, get fat and get sick!
With the advent of the so called fat free diet we are eating more simple carbohydrates and refined foods laden with sugar, especially high fructose corn syrup. All this creates more fat in our bodies. Sugar turns to fat; the brain thinks it is starving so we eat more sugar. Obesity is on the rise! All this leads to a loss of health=sick suffering people. Chronic inflammation and degenerative diseases are the result. Studies show that greater than 80% of the population has some sort of degenerative disease they are dealing with. Can this be related to our diet? The answer is yes! Is there a fructose free diet out there?
YES! Check our website
www.londonnaturalhealthcare.com
inside the doctor’s desk.
Don’t eat boxed, jars, tins or refined fructose, sugar laden foods (sugar=sucrose) that means no breads, muffins, cereals as well.
High fructose corn syrup, white and brown sugar also known as sucrose are about 42% or 55% fructose. The rest is glucose.
So what about fruit sugar? Can I eat fruit? Yes. 1 orange 20 calories, 10 calories is from fructose and it is high in fiber and rich in nutrients that the body can utilize.
One glass of orange juice contains 120 calories and no fiber. Toxic gases are present as well. Infants should not drink fruit juices. Water it down; a lot!
You do the math!
You have heard about the glycemic index. It is how high your blood sugar goes if you eat sugars or carbohydrates in a given food.
Carrots have a high glycemic index which is based on consuming 50 grams. You would have to eat a truck load of carrots to reach a level equal to 50 grams
One can of pop has a low glycemic index because fructose does not raise blood sugar or insulin levels as it goes directly to the liver increasing toxicity levels and fatty deposition not to mention hypertension.
Pop contains caffeine which causes your kidneys to spill pure water. It also contains salt, and with the fructose combined, this formula causes you to drink more pop. Don’t go by glycemic index alone.
Look at the glycemic index plus the amount of fiber. Eat more complex carbohydrates rich in fiber. Your insulin levels will lower and you will store less energy as fat.
Fat does not stimulate insulin so you don’t store fat from ingesting fat. Sugar stimulates insulin so you store fat
Sugar is added to low fat foods to make them taste better leading to more fat stored.
For example
20 oz. coke daily = 26 pounds per year of fat
Soft drinks contribute to a 60% increase in obesity
Isomil (baby formulae) has 43.2% corn syrup and 10% sucrose!
North Americans consume 141 lbs. of sugar each year
Fat was found to be a culprit-further studies show that sugar eaten with the fat is the problem (donuts etc.)
Fructose used for browning foods coats the arteries as well
Sports drinks contain large amounts of high fructose corn syrup
I encourage you to make a shift in your consciousness.
High fructose corn syrup and sucrose are poison
Eat to live (see super foods)
Exercise for life.
Embrace a healthy lifestyle.
Be your best.
You deserve to live a vibrant life.
Sincerely:
Dr. Robert J Folkard
Recommended readings. TLC For the Body, Mind and Soul – Robert Ridpath
Guidelines to the Benefits of Quality foods – Dr. Robert J. Folkard
Food Matters – DVD (www.foodmatters.tv)
U Tube – Dr. Robert Lustig M.D. (Sugar the Bitter Truth)