All of the info about why added sugar is unhealthy compared to fruits seems to be that the sugar in fruit comes with fibre and nutrients that offset the negative health impacts of sugar to a degree by delaying its absorption and preventing a blood sugar spike.
However, by this reasoning alone, wouldn’t it be possible to infer that if added sugar was paired with the same amount of fibre and nutrients, its effects could be mitigated in the same way as they are in fruit?
Well I haven’t found any evidence either supporting or negating this idea or anyone even talking about that question specifically aside from a few other people asking the same thing, and random people replying without citing any evidence. For example someone suggested that indeed taking this approach may work a little bit, but it still won’t be as healthy as eating fruit due to the “fibre-infused food matrix” of fruit or that sugar that is found naturally in fruits is “complexed” with fiber that slows down the absorption more, whereas the added sugar is more freely available to absorb quickly because it’s separate from the fibre even if eaten together with it (though the separate fibre will still do some of the same job but not as well)?
“It can slow the absorption of sugar slightly but won’t make a huge difference. Sugar from wholefruit and veg will always be processed differently due to the food matrix the sugars contained in that must be vroken down resulting in a slow and gradual release, when u eat added sugar but just have some fiber all that sugar is still there readily available to absorb. Overall it would be better to just stick to fruit and eat mixed macro meals with healthy unsaturated fats and proteins”
Well if possible I would like to see some scientific evidence/studies talking specifically about the difference on the body between consuming whole fruits containing their natural sugar and fibre + nutrients, compared to consuming added sugar along with foods containing fibre and nutrients in equivalent amounts (such as bircher muesli with added palm sugar, or another example if necessary for the sake of equalizing the fibre+nutrients content), and ideally health outcome data showing there is actually a difference between these…
And just more information in general about the idea of naturally occurring sugar and fibre contained together in a single food matrix being different/more healthy than added sugar taken together with separate fibre foods.
Thanks
This thread is going reveal to a lot of people just how bad the science around sugar is right now.
Generally speaking, the point is not to consume too much and that would be nice except oops! our economic system is based on excessive consumption and sugar is kind of a really cheap ingredient to just add to make your food, so lets do a bunch of mental gymnastics so we don’t have to explain why it’s legal to sell canned diabetes with its 900 grams per can.
The fact it lacks nutrients and protein is another huge problem, you can go malnourished for awhile but because your body doesn’t produce enough protein on its own, you can literally starve to death if you don’t get it from other sources. Insulin is also needed alongside glucose to get energy where it needs to be so too much at once can overwhelm you and if do this long enough and you’ll get the type 2.
So make sure you’re getting all your nutrients, make sure you’re getting your proteins, and don’t consume too much or too fast. It’s certainly possible to do all of this through a nontraditional diet but our society and body has kind of evolved to create the optimal solution for keeping us alive in a sustainable fashion, or at least that WAS the case until capitalism started putting profits over human lives.
EDIT: Didn’t know where to put this so i’ll tack it on to the end. You can actually get huge energy spikes by consuming the glucose by itself (sold in stores as dextrose) as it’s basically pure energy, however since our bodies are designed to consume Glucose and Fructose in equal amounts you’ll be literally running on half power. This is also why fructose in any ratio more than 50% is really bad for you as while glucose can back up without any ill effects, fructose actually does have some harmful side effects while hanging out in your bloodstream and it’s theorized that’s the primary reason why processed food (especially HFCS) is so bad for you.
I’m sure you’ve noticed this before, but every convenience store in America sells addiction: Sugary candy/donuts/soda, diet soda, salty snacks, tobacco, gambling, caffeine, alcohol, energy drinks. I think the only thing nobody’s addicted to in a convenience store is…beef jerky. But hey, to each their own, snap into that Slim Jim if you crave it.
Literally everything they sell though is someone’s serious addiction. Hell, you could even frame gasoline as an addiction since most of us rely on it completely to get to work.
A youtuber, forgot who, did a great video showing how we’ve shifted to an addiction economy and as hot of a take as that is, it makes a lot of sense. You’re not allowed to just buy stuff and be happy anymore. You have to keep buying things over and over and you’re still not satisfied.
To offer insight on store jerky; it keeps forever and the profit margins are astronomical for what it costs to make.
I’ve been telling people for years to stop and think about a convenience store as only selling things that people are addicted to: salty snacks, cigarettes, alcohol, sugary soda, chocolate, donuts, gambling through lottery tickets, hell even gasoline since we are all addicted to driving.