I intended to write an update on my dietary approach to PN, but I remembered this contribution by Jelinx and I want to comment on this first.


A lot of evidence has shown that excessive intake of added sugar is harmful. No question.
Many people also believe that because added sugars are bad, the same must apply to fruits, which also contain fructose. However, this is a misconception. Fructose is only harmful in large amounts, and it’s difficult to get excessive amounts of fructose from fruit. In addition fruit contains

1. Fibre

Fruits are loaded with fibre, water and have significant chewing resistance.
For this reason, most fruits (like apples) take a while to eat and digest, meaning that the fructose hits the liver slowly. Furthermore the soluble fibre in fruit has a gelling effect in our intestines that slows the release of sugars.

Fibre, especially soluble fibre, has many benefits, including reduced cholesterol levels, slowed absorption of carbs and increased satiety.

Most people will feel satisfied after eating one large apple, which contains 23 grams of sugar, 13 of which are fructose (4).
Compare that to a 16-ounce bottle of Coke, which contains 52 grams of sugar, 30 of which are fructose, and has no nutritional value

2. Phytonutrients

Phytonutrients are natural chemicals or compounds produced by plants. They keep plants healthy, protecting them from insects and the sun. They can be found in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, tea, nuts, beans and spices.

There are fruit phytonutrients that inhibit the transportation of sugars through the intestinal wall into our blood stream. Phytonutrients in foods like apples and strawberries can block some of the uptake of sugars by the cells lining our intestines.

So to conclude, sugars found in fruits are not the same as added sugars found in table sugar and high fructose corn syrup.

The Global Burden of Disease Study published in 2012, is the most comprehensive and systematic analysis of causes of death undertaken to date, involving nearly 500 researchers from more than 300 institutions in 50 countries, and starting with almost 100,000 data sources. What did the researchers find? In the U.S., they determined that the biggest killer was diet. Number 1 on their list of the most important dietary risks was not eating enough fruit, responsible for an estimated 4.9 million deaths a year around the world. Number 2, incidentally was smoking.


This is a short informative video

We Shouldn't Eat Sugar Including Fruit? - YouTube