I love fruit. They are so good and from what I've heard, they are good FOR you.

But my friend likes to argue with me. All sugar in his book is BAD. I tried to tell him that the sugar in fruits is a different KIND of sugar (fructose). From what I've read, fructose takes longer to be broken down. It gets broken down to glucose in the body. The excess gets stored as glycogen for energy use: stored as FAT.

It seems table sugar, sucrose (glucose + fructose), has the same fate. The glucose is used as energy and the Fructose is converted into glucose to be used as energy. Excess = glycogen = FAT.

So what is the big difference? Fructose takes longer than sucrose. Is that it?

Is my friend right? Is fructose, the sugar in fruits, bad for me?

Also, comments on fructose on weight lose would be great. My friend basically said that if I keep eating a lot of fruit, I won't lose my extra fat.

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Personal info: I eat a lot of banana chips, raisins, and pineapple. These are my fall back foods on raw when I get hungry. What do you guys think? Bad picks?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/18/2006 08:54AM by VeloriaRaw.

I think the important difference between "table sugar" and fruit sugar is that "table sugar" is refined and has no nutrients with it, whereas fruit sugar comes with fibre and nutrients. You can very easily eat far too much "table sugar" but if you are eating fruit you will be full when you've had enough.

(By the way, if banana chips means what I think it does, they are cooked and often coated in refined sugar, but that might just be the British use of the word.)

Rob

--
Rob Hull - Funky Raw
My blog: [www.rawrob.com]

VeloriaRaw,

My own personal experience, after eating a high fruit diet for the last 4.5 years, is that eating a lot of fruit did not cause me to be overweight (I'm 5'10", 140 pounds). In my preraw days, I weighed as much as 180 pounds.

When any nutritionist or doctor tells people to eat more healthy foods, the most commonly used recommendation is to eat more servings of fruits and vegetables.

Your friend's advice doesn't match my experience. Is your friend speaking from their own personal experience, or is this something they read about?

I lost weight eating fruit and now my weight is continually the same after I gained raw weight. Pre-raw I was 115lbs, and now I am around 98 lbs. 5'3"





Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 10/19/2006 10:08PM by shep252.

> But my friend likes to argue with me. All sugar in his book is BAD.

Your friend must be getting his nutritional information from McDonald's and Burger King. His statement is pretty silly.

> Personal info: I eat a lot of banana chips, raisins, and pineapple.

You might want to limit your intake of dried fruits to a small amount. Eating too much dried fruit could give you cavities because the food gets stuck in between the teeth.

Can anyone explain the science to me? As in how fuit sugar is metabolized compared to refrined sugar. Or give me a good link?

Hi there,

I lost a significant amount of weight on a raw diet that included lots of sugar. You can see my before and after pics at my website: www.rawhealing.com.

You can read Dr Graham's FAQ section on his website: www.foodnsport.com for some answers on sugar issues.

Blessings!

Audrey
www.rawhealing.com

Here is a review paper with opinion on the problems of high fructose corn syrup in the diet.

The author argues that eating whole fruit isn't a problem because typical amounts of fructose in fruit consumed are much lower due to small amounts present in fruit (contrasted with prepared sweets), and that the fiber in the fruit slows down uptake and does not overwhelm the intestinal and hepatic systems like pure fructose can and that very little would be expected to escape to the circulatory system.

Food disappearance data indicates that USA consumption of fructose + glucose was 81 g/day in 1997. In contrast, 15 g of fructose per day were taken from fruits and vegetables.

I get around 18 g of fructose per day from my diet, which is very high in fiber and rich in antioxidant protection.

The full paper is here, free:
[www.thorne.com]

How many fruits is that, arugula?

Lately,

an apple
an orange
a cucumber
a tomato
1/2 cup grapes
1/2 cup strawberries, blackberries, or a mix.

Sometimes, pineapple, peaches, whatever is in season or cheap. It varies.

My veggies also make a contribution to my fructose intake.

To be honest, if taste were the only factor, I'd rather have more fruit than what I have now. I could live on fruit salad with a creamy nut/seed dressing and some different nuts sprinkled on top.

But I am afraid to cut back on greens because they are so nutritious. So I usually devote a lot of calories to my veggie salads, probably more than what most people here do.

VeloriaRaw,

Perhaps you could search the internet for us to explain the science of how fruit sugar is metabolized versus refined sugar. I ask this of you because you are interested in this issue, and the answer is out there on the internet. You can use a search engine like [www.google.com] to get the answer you require.

I am also concerned that people ask question like the one you asked to start long drawn out debates. When there are so many nutritionists out there recommending that people increase their consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables, I wonder about people who bring up negative issues around fruit, whether they are really interested in the raw diet, or just asking these questions to discourage others.

VeloriaRaw,

Perhaps after reading Dr. Grahams FAQ, you could share with us the benefits of eating fruit.

Bryan, I did in fact try to do some research before I made a post on here. I was confused by what I read. The people on this site really suprise me on how much they know. I was hoping that someone would give me a link to an awesome site that I didn't manage to stuble upon. I also wanted to hear the opinions of fellow raw foodists.

By your last 2 posts, I got determined to find an answer out there on the web. I went to Dr. Grahams website. I read some stuff about fruit sugar on his site, but what I wanted was a clear cut comparison between the sugar in fruits and refined sugar and how they are digested differently. This is what I found:

"There is a big difference between simple carbohydrates and complex
carbohydrates,” says Dr. Ornish of WebMD. “When you eat a diet high in
simple carbohydrates such as sugar, white flour, white rice, and
alcohol, your body absorbs these very quickly. This causes your blood
sugar to rise rapidly which, in turn, causes your body to produce
insulin to bring down your blood sugar. In addition to lowering your
blood sugar, however, insulin accelerates the conversion of calories
to triglycerides, which is how your body stores fat. As a result, you
gain weight and your triglyceride levels may increase.

"Complex carbohydrates are metabolized very differently. Fruits,
vegetables, beans, and grains in their natural forms (such as whole
wheat flour and brown rice) are rich in fiber. Fiber slows the
absorption of these foods, so your blood sugar doesn't rise rapidly,
and you don't provoke an insulin response. As a result, you may lose
weight and your triglyceride level decreases, sometimes dramatically."
Link to my source

Hopefully this thread was helpful to people. I wasn't trying to discourage or cause doubt for anyone interested in raw foodism.

I think Veloria Raw's question was valid and not intended to provoke a debate.
Most books and information that people read come from cooked observations so it is no wonder that people get confused especially if they are new to the raw diet. The highly touted book " The Zone" is one that did not seem to differentiate complex carbohydrates from refined carbohydrates. It also seemed to think that all manners of junk was really "good" for you. The Zone was also an incredible best seller and did its best to convince people that ALL sugars ultimately had their fate in "fat". So, I can see where she is coming from. It was written by a man who was "credentialed" in all manners of medical education etc. so when people try to find information, they run up against a myriad of contradictions and confusions. Its good that she is asking questions to get the gamut of experiences from other people.

I just came from a nutrition class given by the hospital and the DCE (Diabetes Certified Educator) lady said that carbohydrates are carbohydrates that the stomach does not differentiate between complex or simple. According to her the stomach acids disolve the carbohydrates and uses them regardless of the source. She also said that it was a myth that sugar causes diabetes.

According to her the official position of the ADA is that sugar has nothing to do with diabetes.
So what is the story here??

One reason fruit may be better for you has to do with the amount of soluble fiber that is in fruit. This helps to keep blood sugar down.

From my experience and experiments with my own diabetes I have found that natural, raw foods, whether they are fresh fruit juice or fruit, are better (than other sugars, processed or whatever) for my blood sugar levels and my overall energy levels.

I think the fiber helps a lot. I can drink a fresh oj and parseley green smoothie (with a little aloe, hemp seed, and gogi berries) in the morning and my blood sugar stays level until 2pm. I juice the oranges and add the juice to the parseley in the vita-mix.

That's awesome, solstrummr! I like to hear stories from diabetics.

I read something interesting in my anatomy and physiology book this morning. I will edit it a little so i won't be plagerizing.



Carbohydrates are basic sugars. They are made up of saccharides. Simple sugars are called monosaccharides because they have only one sugar unit and don't need to be broken down. Monosaccharides are glucose (blood sugar), fructose (fruit sugar) and galactose (milk sugar). Disaccharides contain two sugar units and are broken down in chemical digestion. Disaccharides include sucrose (table sugar), lactose (milk sugar), and maltose (malt sugar). Starches are polysaccharides, large complex sugars. Each of these sugars is broken down to monosaccharides.



There are other interesting things I read about, but I don't have time right now to right it all.

Good info, shep252. Thanks for that.

I am assuming that is you in the picture you have as your signature? I love your great big smile! It's so cute!

Hey Shep252,

it's not plagerizing if you list the source.

Ian.

Yes, that's me. Thanks! I should say thanks to my grandpa. He had a big smile, too.

Yes, I know sodoffsocks. I like to write things in my own words.