Sugar! What about fructose?

It is difficult to browse any type of media without finding new shocking pieces of news about sugar (as in sucrose) and its deleterious effects on health. Because of the prominence of sugar on the front covers of anything from scientific journals, to tabloids and all types of magazines, the media seems to have forgotten about fructose. However, when it comes to understanding why cardiometabolic diseases are increasingly prevalent, and not just in adults but also amongst children, BANT experts are clear that fructose, and not just calories, poses a problem. And a big one at that.  

In the first of a series of materials entitled "Understanding Differences" BANT releases today an infographic that illustrates how an elevated total fructose load, combined with an excessive caloric intake and an increasingly sedentary lifestyle contributes to the progressive loss of metabolic function that leads to childhood obesity and diabetes, both of which are on the rise. 

Current evidence indicates that one-size-fits-all models (such as the "Eatwell Plate" - see my recent post on that subject) are outdated and that clinically meaningful promotion of metabolic function can be achieved by means of a variety of dietary approaches. As Chairman of the British Association for Applied Nutrition and Nutritional Therapy (BANT) I know that our members are the most up to date nutrition health experts, and that they are uniquely trained to understand how nutrients, other foods and lifestyle factors influence the function of the body by considering biochemical individuality in a patient/client-centred manner.

For all your nutrition advice, whether it's individual to you or applied to your organisation, always work with a BANT Member. Find one near you now.  

Download a copy of "Modern Childhood Obesity + Diabetes" infographic here: 
https://bant.org.uk/about-nutriti…/understanding-differences/

For all media enquiries, please contact [email protected]. 

References

1. The obesogenic effect of high fructose exposure during early development. Nat Rev Endocrinol. 2013 Aug;9(8):494-500
2. What is metabolic syndrome, and why are children getting it? Ann N Y Acad Sci. 2013 Apr;1281:123-40
3. Fructose Alters Intermediary Metabolism of Glucose in Human Adipocytes and Diverts Glucose to Serine Oxidation in the One–Carbon Cycle Energy Producing Pathway. Metabolites. 2015 Jun; 5(2): 364–385