2     Sugar white poison and the fix—2/16/17  http://healthfully.org/rjk/id11.html

I am near the end of my 4-year, full-time research into how our Western diet has caused diabetes & obesity pandemics, & the conditions of Western Society:  cardiovascular diseases (CVD), neurodegenerative diseases, arthritis, and osteoarthritis.  Why does more than over 80% of seniors with visible weight gain?  Compared to the traditional diets, which is always low in sugar (with a few societies that have a seasonal exception), we don’t find among their elderly the age-related conditions of the global western diets, and they retain their youthful weight.  The style for their elderly women are sedentary like ours, our diet makes all the difference.

The scientific evidence is convincing, so industry following its fiduciary mandate vigorously opposes blame for the harm their manufactured foods do.  They have followed the example of tobacco, and thus I call it tobacco science and ethics.  Industry funded studies support industry funded goals.  The food industry has tweaked the message and framed the discussion:  the physicians, dieticians, health agencies, and our corporate media give us their messages:  sugar is empty calories, a calorie is a calorie, and to loose weigh eat less and exercise more (blame their victims as weak willed).  But their marketing, as with tobacco, changes behavior.  The obvious is ignored:  Like all mammals, we have a complex weight-regulatory system that is screwed up by our western diet.  The high sugar diet has overwhelmed our Hominidae (family) system for safe utilization of sugar.  In 1900 the daily average was 20 grams a day among the working class, today we have a national average is 100 lbs. a year (one quarter pound a day which equals 31 teaspoons of sugar, or 124 grams), and half the population eat more than the average.  Only those societies where the food manufactures promote the western diet have the associated health issues; yet we blame the victims for eating too much and not exercising.  We should blame the manufacturers’ marketing and their added sugar for the damage to our weight-regulatory system.  We are a group animal that can be easily manipulated by marketing-propaganda.  

Allow me to explain how sugar screws up this weight-regulatory system: that the sugar fructose is much different than glucose and fats—contrary to a calorie is a calorie.  Too much sugar is a poison—see Prof Robert Lustig MD.  We all need to know what has gone wrong so that we know the fix, and not follow fad fixes such as exercise more and eat less—the yo-yo diet.  There is science that proves where the harm lies and the fix to the weight-regulatory system.  You are not getting “a trust me, I’m an expert pitch”.  So bear with me while I will summarize (with links) the science.  

First, a little carb basics:  Carbohydrates (carbs) is the umbrella term for sugar molecules that have a 5 or 6 carbon-chain units. The most common unit is the 6-carbon glucose.  Most glucose is in chains called starches, of which for some we lack the enzymes to break them upon into glucose; they are fibers and cellulose.  Other common 6-carbon sugars are fructose and galactose.  There are several important disaccharides (2 sugar units), dextrose, maltose, lactose, and sucrose.  Sucrose (table sugar) is fructose and glucose.  Sucrose is rapidly converted in the stomach into single molecules for absorption in the intestines.  High fructose corn syrup (HFC 55) is 55% fructose and 42% glucose, thus essentially the same as sucrose—both are equally bad their fructose causes the havoc (glycation) because fructose exists longer in an open-reactive chain form.    

You need not understand the process that caused the medical conditions:  just that there is good science, that the fix has a science foundation, and that food manufacturers oppose it.  The havoc starts with a double assault on the liver by fructose.  One arm of this assault is glycation, the random attachment of a simple sugar (monosaccharide) to a protein, which often hinders functions of that protein.  Think of oxygen which randomly attaches to iron--a bad thing.  “It appears that fructose and galactose [from milk, not cheese] have over in vivo [in the body] ten times the glycation activity of glucose, the primary body fuel” Wiki.  “Glycation is the first step in the evolution of these molecules through a complex series of very slow reactions in the body known as Amadori reactions, Schiff base reactions, and Maillard reactions; which lead to advanced glycation end products (AGEs). Some AGEs [Advanced Glycation End products] are benign, but others are more reactive than the sugars they are derived from, and are implicated in many age-related chronic diseases such as  cardiovascular diseases (the endothelium, fibrinogen, and collagen are damaged), Alzheimer's disease (amyloid proteins are side-products of the reactions progressing to AGEs),^[7][8] cancer (acrylamide and other side-products are released), peripheral neuropathy (the myelin is attacked), and other sensory losses such as deafness (due to demyelination). This range of diseases is the result of the very basic level at which glycations [1] interfere with molecular and cellular functioning throughout the body and [2] the release of highly oxidizing side-products such as hydrogen peroxide” Wiki.  Since 99% of fructose is metabolized in the liver, it accumulates there. Thus, the liver is subjected to the most damage of any organ by glycation. 

The second hit comes from fat accumulation in the liver.  When the liver is overloaded with glucose and fructose from a meal high in starches and sugars, they are converted to fats.  However, only 20% of glucose goes to the liver, compared to 99% of fructose, and glucose can be stored as glycogen and doesn’t cause harm.  However, fructose can only be converted to glucose and thus glycogen, but when there is no need, the liver converts fructose to fat (de novo lipogenesis).  Some fat is shipped off in the blood; however, some-to-most, depending on conditions, is stored in the liver.  The combination of damage from glycation to the liver cells (hepatocytes) and the excess fat in the liver cause chronic inflammation of the liver and a problem called insulin resistance in the liver.  When resistance to insulin occurs, more insulin is secreted by the pancreas and it goes to the resistant tissues to promote absorption and metabolism of glucose, to convert ADP to ATP, the energy molecule.  Insulin, to promote glucose metabolism, shuts down the metabolism of fat, and causes fat to be stored.  Thus, insulin resistance causes increased fat storage.  Insulin resistance in the liver produces gradually excess fat in the liver.  This is the second hit upon the liver.  Too much fat causes liver dysfunctions resulting in an inflamed liver and a medical condition called non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD).  The extra 2 or 3 pounds of fat in the liver slows liver conversion of glucose, thus higher blood insulin.  Then extra insulin is secreted to lower blood glucose and this causes gradually insulin resistance in other tissues with its gradually accumulation of fat.  Note:  too much fat in the pancreas causes type-2 diabetes.  As just stated: insulin functions to cause the body to burn glucose and thus to stop burning fat and store it.  All this starts with the double whammy caused by too much fructose:  glycation and fatty liver.  The NHANES study in found in 1999 that over 30% of adults have excess fat storage in the liver (NAFLD), a serious medical condition that can progress to cirrhosis of the liver.  Major journal articles confirm all of this.  Prof Lustig MD  calls sugar (meaning its fructose) a poison comparable to alcohol, both cause a fatty liver and cirrhosis of the liver.

It not the sugar glucose, but fructose half, that is poison.  The Orientals on a traditional diet do not have a weight problem:  their diet is high in refined carbs (glucose); many of them have over 70% of calories from white rice, yams, and noodles; but only 15gm of sugar daily (vs our 124 gm).  On their traditional diet, they are among the healthiest people.  Also experiments comparing high fructose to high glucose confirm the role of fructose alone.  Nor is natural fats an issue[1]:  Eskimos lack in their climate grains and vegetables.  Add sugar to their diet along with traditional starches and they get the Western health issues.  Unfortunately, those with health issues simply can’t fix the problem by avoiding sugar, no more that avoiding oxygen fixes a rusty tool. 

The fix is two-fold:  to end insulin resistance and turn off the weight regulatory system which functions to restore the fat level and increase weight.  A low-calorie diet will not burn the liver fat and thus lower the insulin level in response to glucose to its normal level and keep it there, nor fix the weight regulatory system--avoid the yo-yo diet.  One reason is that for those who have kept their weight on for a couple of years, the system has reset to the new weight.  Hormones mainly secreted by the adipose (fat) tissue function to restore their weight, even years later.  Many hormones are involved in this control; a major player is leptin, which is produce by the fat (adipose) tissue.  On an energy-restricted diet a delayed-reaction occurs after 2 months, leptin will cause a 25% reduction in metabolism, which makes the dieter tired and thus moody, bored, mentally sluggish, and creates the feeling that to eat more will make that person feel better.  Even after the diet end, years later, the leptin-system functions to restore the fat tissue to its former level.[2]  Nature has supplied a way to end-run these systems.  It process is a bit complex, but the solution is simple. 

When insulin is low as when sleeping (no glucose), the body metabolizes fats for energy (ATP).  Some thought that by avoiding glucose (carbohydrates) during the day that insulin would remain low and the dieter would stay in the fat burning mode.  This is the ketogenic diet popularized by Dr. Atkins.  A good idea shot down by a complex system.  Since proteins through hormones incretins cause insulin secretion, thus ketogenic diet, like the calorie restricted diet, runs into the leptin energy reduction at 2 months; thus the ketogenic diet faces the same obstacle that simply eating less has, they will not keep the dieter in the fat burning mode, and the leptin system will cause the yo-yo diet for most on a ketogenic diet. 

Now for the good news, when we are sleeping the small store of glucose & glycogen is burnt, than the body switches to metabolizing stored fat.  By not eating when getting up, fat burning continues—this is the short-term fast.  Mammals have evolved a system that promotes survival during periods of food shortage.  That is why the reduction in metabolism is delayed 2 months.  But by fasting, preferable alternate day fasting, the drop in metabolism doesn’t occur at 2 months.  And it gets better:  to promote hunting and gathering, when out of glucose and protein from not eating, man burns fat with an increase in the production of the energy molecule ATP of 10% above that under a normal diet—yes more energy than normal.  Secondly, the energy and mood elevating catecholamine hormones dopamine, adrenalin and noradrenalin are increased, and also the growth hormone HGH.  Other than mild hunger, the person without food after awaking feels better than if he had a breakfast without caffeine.  And it get better, studies show that by missing a meal or two, the daily calorie intake goes down, and even more with alternate day fasting.  The scientific literature is clear on this fix.  For those who are obese or have type-2 diabetes alternate day fasting is best.  In addition, to reduce insulin, replace carbs with fats, and eat moderate protein (25-30 grams a day).  For those who need to just lose some pounds, simply skip breakfast--link for advice on fasting.  Fasting eliminates the excess fat in the liver to cure insulin resistance, the cause for obesity, and the excess fat in the pancreas to cure type-2 diabetes.  Bariatric surgery cures type-2 diabetes because they fast following surgery, so too does alternate day fasting—Dr. Fung. 

I have prepared a number of papers on what to eat, and fasting.  There are five recommended diets depending on the health situation at Cleansing Diet and what to eat, and much more at its long version, and a guide at fasting is easy. There are many other benefits from a low sugar diet since, as mentioned above the high fructose diet through glycation and RAGE is the most significant causer for age related degenerative diseases.  If you want to know more, then go to my website and use the internal Google Search Engine to read the journal articles and my articles with links to them.  You should watch the documentaries and lectures on YouTube. I have a video page on my site which has links and a description of the best of those documentaries and lectures on diet, type-2 diabetes, CVD, bad pharma, and other issues related to health.  Drs. Lustig and Fung confirm my presentation. For inspiration, I recommend reading the testimonial by Reyn’s wife on her very ill husband.  As recommended by Dr. Fung, Reyn did alternate day fasting with a very low carb diet replaced with natural fats (not vegetable oils), and from near death he regained his health. 

Nothing is simple about our biological systems.  Without understanding the systems, we find that all diet works for a while because people eat less, but they fail for those with long-term weight problems, often years after they wrote a testimonial.  Fasting for most will produce long-term results.  It is easier than you think, and it lowers the risk for the age related degenerative diseases, including cancer, and Alzheimer’s disease. Fat metabolism makes creates the healthful beta hydroxybutyrate.  Low sugar and high fat (coconut oil is best) diet will undo the damage as new cells replace the damage ones.  Follow the science, please.

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