"The problem with sugar isn't just weight gain"

Great article from Dr Mercola shows how scientific research is about to change the way we've been eating for the past 30 years.

"...Take Vitamin Water, for example. One 20 oz bottle contains 33 grams of sugar, which equates to THREE Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnuts!"

"... A growing body of scientific evidence is showing that fructose can trigger processes that lead to liver toxicity and a host of other chronic diseases. A little is not a problem, but a lot kills -- slowly"

Busting the Calorie Myth

Another related myth is that eating fat causes weight gain, and associated health problems. This too has been firmly debunked (see research below). Eating healthful fat does NOT make you fat. Eating refined carbohydrates/sugar, trans fat and highly processed vegetable oils does. And Dr. Johnson’s work shows that while excess sugar in any form is harmful, fructose is the worst of the bunch. So far, scientific studies have linked fructose to about 78 different diseases and health problems.4

Fructose raises your uric acid levels, typically generating uric acid within minutes of ingestion, which in turn can wreak havoc on your blood pressure, insulin production, and kidney function. Increased uric acid also leads to chronic, low-level inflammation, which has far-reaching consequences for your health. For example, chronically inflamed blood vessels lead to heart attacks and strokes.

Another MAJOR part of why fructose is worse than other sugars is because it is “isocaloric but not isometabolic.” This means you can consume the same amount of calories from fructose or glucose, fructose and protein, or fructose and fat, but themetabolic effect on your body will be entirely different despite the identical calorie count. In the featured editorial,5 Dr. Malhotra addresses this as well, saying:

“The notoriety of fat is based on its higher energy content per gram in comparison with protein and carbohydrate. However, work by the biochemist Richard Feinman and nuclear physicist Eugene Fine on thermodynamics and the metabolic advantage of different diet compositions showed that the body did not metabolize different macronutrients in the same way.

Kekwick and Pawan carried out one of the earliest obesity experiments, published in the Lancet in 1956. They compared groups consuming diets of 90 percent fat, 90 percent protein, and 90 percent carbohydrate and showed that the greatest weight loss was in the fat consuming group. The authors concluded that the “composition of the diet appeared to outweigh in importance the intake of calories.”

The “calorie is not a calorie” theory has been further substantiated by a recent JAMA study showing that a “low fat” diet resulted in the greatest decrease in energy expenditure, an unhealthy lipid pattern, and increased insulin resistance in comparison with a low carbohydrate and low glycaemic index diet.” [Emphasis mine]

You simply MUST pay attention to the source of the calories. Fat is far more filling than carbohydrates, so replacing refined carbs with healthful fats will automatically reduce hunger. Furthermore, as your body shifts from burning carbs and sugars to burning fat as its primary fuel, your food cravings will significantly diminish. Once you’re fully fat adapted, cravings will be a distant memory.  You can use this knowledge to assess your individual fat needs. If you’ve reduced your carb intake and replaced it with healthful fat but still struggle with hunger pangs, it’s a sign that you need to add more fat to your diet.