Dietary Fructose Causes Liver Damage, Primate Study Finds

[The Straight Story]

“Is a calorie a calorie? Are they all created equal? Based on this study, we would say not,” said lead author Dr Kylie Kavanagh from Wake Forest School of Medicine.

Dr Kavanagh with colleagues found that over the 6-week study period liver damage more than doubled in the animals fed a high-fructose diet as compared to those in the control group.

In a previous study, the team studied monkeys who were allowed to eat as much as they wanted of low-fat food with added fructose for 7 years, as compared to a control group fed a low-fructose, low-fat diet for the same time period. Not surprisingly, the animals allowed to eat as much as they wanted of the high-fructose diet gained 50 percent more weight than the control group. They developed diabetes at three times the rate of the control group and also developed non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.

The big question for the researchers was what caused the liver damage. To answer that question, the current study was designed to prevent weight gain.

Ten middle-aged, normal weight monkeys who had never eaten fructose were divided into two groups based on comparable body shapes and waist circumference. Over 6 weeks, one group was fed a calorie-controlled diet consisting of 24 percent fructose, while the control group was fed a calorie-controlled diet with only a negligible amount of fructose, about 0.5 percent.

http://www.sci-news.com/medicine/article01171-dietary-fructose-liver-damage.html

[NYC_SKP]

1. Many among us have been warning of HFCS and other corn products for years.

While others, even on this board, say that there's not difference between that and cane or beet sugar.

Glad to see some studies proving us right.

[Ian David]

2. There should have been a group fed something with equal calories, but with non-fructose sugars...

... and THEN you would know something about whether HFC is worse for you than regular sugar.

All you can tell from this is that eating something with more sugar in it will make you more fat.

From The Department of Obvious Studies.

[Fuddnik]

3. I don't think it's about HFCS. It's about regular fructose.

And probably regular sugar as well. And HFCS is probably worse.

More and more doctors and scientists are starting to consider sugar as a toxin.

I found some articles in Mother Jones (Nov-Dec 2012) about the Sugar Industry knowing that sugar was a health threat since 1962. They engaged in a tobacco-style disinformation campaign, and won an advertising-PR industry award for their successful cover-up.

I went on the Atkins Diet about two months ago, and almost totally eliminated sugar from my diet, and I feel a lot better. More energy and endurance.

[no_hypocrisy]

4. Then how much fruit is "too much" fruit?