Don't Jump to Conclusions: Fruit is not the enemy!

Recently I was caught up in a barrage of media interviews relating to a research paper published in the Journal of Nutrition. The purpose of the research was to look at the outcome of what happens to fructose when it is digested, absorbed and metabolized in the body. The study subjects drank a high dose of fructose-glucose mixture (about 42-65 grams of fructose plus 20+ grams of glucose) or a high dose of glucose only (about 80 grams glucose).  They concluded that the fructose mixture caused the study subjects to create more triglycerides (a type of fat) than the glucose only.  This conclusion certainly makes sense and other research supports it. I was not surprised by this outcome.

So what's the problem? The problem is that when this information was reported in the media, somehow the study became about the evils of high fructose corn syrup (HFCS). A flurry of blogs and comments to blogs soon followed full of misinformation and misunderstanding of what the study truly represented in addition to some very strong oppinions about the food industries use of HFCS. The study said nothing about HFCS, so we can not say for certain from this study that a high dose of HFCS would have the same result. Nor did the study conclude that there were ill effects as a result of the fructose. Another problem is that some misread the results and concluded that naturally occurring fructose in fruit would cause fat gain.  For a little perspective, 1 cup of sliced strawberries has only 4 grams of fructose in comparison to the 42-65 grams fed to people in the study.  I have yet to see a client who gained excess body fat from eating too much fruit and I would be hard pressed to find any scientific research that shows people who eat too much fruit have too much body fat and metabolic syndrome.

Those quick to jump to conclusions and put their 2-cents in lead to the rapid spread of nutrition misinformation.  The most we can conclude from this study is that if you have a high intake of fructose only, then you will have a rapid conversion of that fructose to triglycerides.

The position of the American Dietetic Association states that the total diet or overall pattern of food eaten is what counts most for promoting health. Not a single food or nutrient. This study investigated a single nutrient.  It did not take into account what might happen if fiber, protein, fat or other nutrients were available with the fructose.  When we eat, our food comes with a combination of nutrients which each effect the way the food will be used by the body.

Bottom line, keep your common sense about you and take reports of a single study on a single nutrient with a grain of fructose. And I will continue to enjoy my fructose found naturally in whole fresh fruits. love.

Comments

[Leigh Ann]

Thank you for this post and pointing out the frenzy. Very interesting. I'm going to post a link on Twitter.

Leigh Ann Hubbard
Managing Editor
James Hubbard's My Family Doctor

[Shereen Jegtvig]

This particular ratio of fructose to glucose doesn't even really resemble HFCS, which as you know is closer to sucrose.

It also doesn't make sense to compare HFCS to fresh fruits, since (as you point out) fruits also include nutrients, fiber, water and phytochemicals -- all good for you, and low in calories, yet people do make that comparison despite what we tell them.

There is so much misinformation out there... I see it every day. At some point I have been told that almost every food item is "bad for you" by some reader who found an offbeat website somewhere. I really like the ADA's postion that nothing is off limits -- just think about what you eat.

Thanks for the great post, Lona.

[johny]

It’s really such an informative article. After watching this I want to try it in my general life.

[Isabelle]

Great post. Research data and statistics are so easy to manipulate in the marketing world, because most of the people reading it will take it as medical FACT.

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