Is Sugar the Enemy?

 

I just read a great article,” Is Sugar Really Toxic? “, published by Scientific America. I really enjoy articles that are thoughtful and take the time to really explore a subject, and this one delivered. If you don’t feel like reading the whole thing, I’ll give some of the high lights.

• Some of the studies vilifying fructose have proven to be flawed upon deeper study.
• Fructose when not consumed with other sugar molecules can be deeply detrimental, although not as bad as first thought. We do not process fructose the way rats do.
• Most foods have fructose in combination with other sugar molecules.
• The sugars in natural foods are packaged with fiber and other things, making the “sugar hit” your body gets much less than processed foods.
• Eliminating sugar without addressing other aspects of the diet does little to affect weight.

Most of you know, I am anti white sugar and flour. That is an easy, no-brainer way to reduce your consumption of processed food. Reducing or eliminating processed food in your diet is an almost fool-proof way to lose weight and get healthy. However, like this article points out, sugar is not poisonous, especially as it occurs in plants naturally. If you are avoiding fruit because it contains fructose, read this article.