Re: Fructose reduced lifespan of mice by 95% - I don't think so.

[Guest guest]

Kat,

The internet article by M. Grace is one of those that cannot be

verified and is probably false.

From your note, I thought that you had obtained the quote from a

Manchester College web site, but the line " This information ... " is

actually part of the text written by Mr. Grace. A Google search for

" inadvertently stopped short " yields 2 hits, one of which is Mr.

Grace's article and the other one is irrelevant. So ... the

Manchester College website is probably a fabrication by Mr. Grace to

give his argument more credibility, or, if it ever existed, it could

be the work of some like-minded individual. In any case, since he did

not give any references or point to a scientific study, the claim of

high mortality of high-fructose diets cannot be verified.

Since we know that fructose is a natural sugar that is present in many

foods, specially fruits, eating fruit would pose a serious danger to

longevity, if the argument were true. The following pdf shows that

raisins have 29.89% by weight fructose, pitted prunes have 12.35%, and

grapes have 6.78%. Most vegetables have about 1% fructose,

and fruits average around 3% fructose by weight. People have been

eating fruits for millenia. Why aren't all the vegetarians dying off

in droves?

Tony

JOURNAL OF FOOD COMPOSITION AND ANALYSIS (2002) 15, 715–723

Individual Sugars, Soluble, and Insoluble Dietary Fiber

Contents of 70 High Consumption Foods.

Betty W. Li, W. s, and Pamela R. Pehrsson

http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp/Data/Other/jfca15_715-723.pdf

====

From: " Katrina " <katnap@f...>

Date: Tue Feb 8, 2005 3:49 pm

Subject: Fructose reduced lifespan of mice by 95%

This information is provided on the website of Manchester College in

Indiana:

" High fructose corn syrup contains what are called `free' or unbound

fructose molecules. These molecules have been found to interfere with

normal heart functioning, among other things. A recent study performed

by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) showed that high

fructose diets shortened the life span of laboratory mice from the

normal two years to an astounding five weeks. One study performed with

human subjects was inadvertently stopped short of completion as some

of the subjects developed abnormal heart conditions. "

http://www.metnews.com/articles/reminiscing112603.htm

[Guest guest]

Good response, Tony!

I have emailed the chemistry department at Manchester College asking

if they can confirm this, and if so (please) provide references.

If they reply I will post on this again.

Rodney.

>

> Kat,

>

> The internet article by M. Grace is one of those that cannot

be

> verified and is probably false.

>

> From your note, I thought that you had obtained the quote from a

> Manchester College web site, but the line " This information ... " is

> actually part of the text written by Mr. Grace. A Google search for

> " inadvertently stopped short " yields 2 hits, one of which is Mr.

> Grace's article and the other one is irrelevant. So ... the

> Manchester College website is probably a fabrication by Mr. Grace to

> give his argument more credibility, or, if it ever existed, it could

> be the work of some like-minded individual. In any case, since he

did

> not give any references or point to a scientific study, the claim of

> high mortality of high-fructose diets cannot be verified.

>

> Since we know that fructose is a natural sugar that is present in

many

> foods, specially fruits, eating fruit would pose a serious danger to

> longevity, if the argument were true. The following pdf shows that

> raisins have 29.89% by weight fructose, pitted prunes have 12.35%,

and

> grapes have 6.78%. Most vegetables have about 1% fructose,

> and fruits average around 3% fructose by weight. People have been

> eating fruits for millenia. Why aren't all the vegetarians dying

off

> in droves?

>

> Tony

>

> JOURNAL OF FOOD COMPOSITION AND ANALYSIS (2002) 15, 715–723

> Individual Sugars, Soluble, and Insoluble Dietary Fiber

> Contents of 70 High Consumption Foods.

> Betty W. Li, W. s, and Pamela R. Pehrsson

> http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp/Data/Other/jfca15_715-723.pdf

>

>

> ====

>

> From: " Katrina " <katnap@f...>

> Date: Tue Feb 8, 2005 3:49 pm

> Subject: Fructose reduced lifespan of mice by 95%

>

> This information is provided on the website of Manchester College in

> Indiana:

>

> " High fructose corn syrup contains what are called `free' or unbound

> fructose molecules. These molecules have been found to interfere

with

> normal heart functioning, among other things. A recent study

performed

> by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) showed that

high

> fructose diets shortened the life span of laboratory mice from the

> normal two years to an astounding five weeks. One study performed

with

> human subjects was inadvertently stopped short of completion as some

> of the subjects developed abnormal heart conditions. "

>

> http://www.metnews.com/articles/reminiscing112603.htm

[Guest guest]

Rodney,

The wording of the supposed quote has some inconsistencies that are

suspicious. " the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)

showed that high fructose diets shortened the life span of laboratory

mice from the normal two years to an astounding five weeks. One study

performed with human subjects was inadvertently stopped short of

completion as some of the subjects developed abnormal heart

conditions. "

We discuss mouse experiments on this board frequently enough to know

that mice get weaned at 9 weeks, which is when they get placed on CR

diets. If the mice fed fructose died at " five weeks " they were not

weaned yet! What kind of experiment was that? Feeding newborns

fructose instead of milk? Not very likely. Also the wording

" inadvertently stopped " indicates that the experiment was stopped by

accident and not by a concious decision. If you are running an

experiment and your subjects start getting sick, you stop your trial

knowing full well that if you had continued you would have killed some

people. You don't stop the experiment " inadvertently " .

I think the whole quote is a contrived fake from someone who did not

know anything about experimental design and mouse life cycles.

Tony

>>>

From: " Rodney " <perspect1111@y...>

Date: Tue Feb 8, 2005 7:27 pm

Subject: Re: Fructose reduced lifespan of mice by 95% - I don't

think so.

Good response, Tony!

I have emailed the chemistry department at Manchester College asking

if they can confirm this, and if so (please) provide references.

>>>

[Guest guest]

Hi Tony,

You are probably correct that this article is unverifiable, and I did

make sure to mention that I was unable to verify it.

I have been reading a few negative things about fructose recently, and

I did not find the conclusion to be that unlikely, even if it might be

a little over-enthusiastic. Fructose has no nutrients, so I am not

surprised that a mouse would die after 5 weeks of pure sugar.

Fructose and gluten both cause Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) in me,

so I avoid them. In fact, a large percentage of IBS sufferers are

fructose intolerant:

" The University of Iowa researchers tested 80 patients with suspected

IBS and found that 30 were fructose intolerant. Patients were taught

about eliminating fructose from their diet, and after one year, 26

were interviewed to assess their symptoms. Only one-half of the

patients complied with the fructose-restricted diet.

For those who were compliant, symptoms (such as abdominal pain,

bloating, and diarrhoea) declined significantly from their reported

symptoms before the diet modification. Also, the prevalence of IBS in

this group declined, said the researchers. For the group that did not

comply with the diet modification, bowel symptoms stayed the same over

the study period. " -

http://www.nutraingredients.com/news/news-ng.asp?id=38799-fructose-intolerance

Fructose does little to suppress hunger:

" When glucose is consumed, it increases production of insulin, which

enables sugar in the blood to be transported into cells where it can

be used for energy. It also increases production of leptin, a hormone

that helps regulate appetite and fat storage, and suppresses

production of ghrelin, a hormone made by the stomach that helps

regulate food intake. Because of this reaction, it has been suggested

that after eating glucose, hunger declines.

Fructose, however, doesn't stimulate insulin secretion or increase

leptin production or suppress production of ghrelin. " -

http://www.mercola.com/fcgi/pf/2003/mar/26/fructose.htm

It easily forms the backbone of triglycerides, a predictor of heart

disease risk:

" fructose is converted into the chemical backbone of trigylcerides

more efficiently than glucose, and elevated levels of trigylcerides

are linked to an increased risk of heart disease. One study found that

fructose produced significantly higher blood levels of triglycerides

in men, although not in women, leading researchers to say that diets

high in fructose may be undesirable, especially for men. " -

http://www.mercola.com/fcgi/pf/2003/mar/26/fructose.htm

Fructose also contributes to bone loss:

" Further, fructose may alter the magnesium balance in the body,

leading to an acceleration of bone loss, according to a USDA study. " -

http://www.mercola.com/fcgi/pf/2003/mar/26/fructose.htm

It also leads to a number of undesirable levels of substances:

" Researchers have also examined evidence from multiple studies and

concluded that large quantities of fructose from a variety of sources,

such as table sugar and high-fructose corn syrup, induce insulin

resistance, impair glucose tolerance, produce high levels of insulin,

boost a dangerous type of fat in the blood and cause high blood

pressure in animals. " -

http://www.mercola.com/fcgi/pf/2003/mar/26/fructose.htm

Hamsters don't do well on an high fructose diet:

" Last year, researchers at the University of Toronto in Canada fed a

high-fructose diet to Syrian golden hamsters, which have a fat

metabolism remarkably similar to humans'. In a matter of weeks, the

hamsters developed syndrome X-including high triglyceride levels and

insulin resistance. " - http://www.mercola.com/2001/dec/12/syndrome_x.htm

I have seen no evidence to suggest that the fructose in fruits and

vegetables has the same impact as the fructose in sweets, corn sugar,

etc. This may be because of all the enzymes and nutrients that

accompany fructose in plant matter.

A lot of this information probably comes as no surprise to people on

this group, and I doubt it will affect their diet too much as they

already eat very healthily. However, it might be wise to consume a

little less of the high-fructose foods (dried fruit, canned fruit,

grapes, fruit juices, pears, apples, cherries, blueberries, bananas,

watermelons, plums, tomatoes, red peppers, sweet onions, etc.) and a

little more of the low fructose foods (olives, avocados, leafy green

vegetables, brocolli, cauliflower, tubers, low fat meats, etc.).

Katrina.

[Guest guest]

Canned fruit is processed and usually contains sugar. Fruit juices are high

in calories. I agree about avoiding those.

But fruit such as grapes, berries, tomatoes (yes, tomatoes are a fruit), and

veggies such as red peppers are a staple of my diet and I suspect the diets

of a lot of us. Of course to keep calories low, fruit should be consumed

in moderation. I make a small mixed fruit salad almost every night for a

" dessert " after dinner. Berries are usually included.

Tomatoes (without added garbage such as in commercially prepared tomato

sauce) are highly desirable for the lycopene (cooked with a bit of healthy

oil for lycopene release).

on 2/9/2005 12:26 PM, Katrina at katnap@... wrote:

> A lot of this information probably comes as no surprise to people on

> this group, and I doubt it will affect their diet too much as they

> already eat very healthily. However, it might be wise to consume a

> little less of the high-fructose foods (dried fruit, canned fruit,

> grapes, fruit juices, pears, apples, cherries, blueberries, bananas,

> watermelons, plums, tomatoes, red peppers, sweet onions, etc.) and a

> little more of the low fructose foods (olives, avocados, leafy green

> vegetables, brocolli, cauliflower, tubers, low fat meats, etc.).

>

> Katrina.

>

[Guest guest]

I agree with you Tony, but let me point out something that just entered my mind. I word fructose may not mean all fruit's sugars and it may not be the same as that fructose made from corn as in high fructose corn syrup. Organic chemistry and English being what they are. Fruits do not have the same effect on my gut as corn syrup.

I can feel the corn syrup.

Last year, I thought all EPA/DHA was the same usage in articles, also that ALA was an essential FA,eg.

Regards.

----- Original Message -----

From: citpeks

Sent: Tuesday, February 08, 2005 5:48 PM

Subject: [ ] Re: Fructose reduced lifespan of mice by 95% - I don't think so.

Kat, The internet article by M. Grace is one of those that cannot beverified and is probably false. From your note, I thought that you had obtained the quote from aManchester College web site, but the line "This information ..." isactually part of the text written by Mr. Grace. A Google search for"inadvertently stopped short" yields 2 hits, one of which is Mr.Grace's article and the other one is irrelevant. So ... theManchester College website is probably a fabrication by Mr. Grace togive his argument more credibility, or, if it ever existed, it couldbe the work of some like-minded individual. In any case, since he didnot give any references or point to a scientific study, the claim ofhigh mortality of high-fructose diets cannot be verified.Since we know that fructose is a natural sugar that is present in manyfoods, specially fruits, eating fruit would pose a serious danger tolongevity, if the argument were true. The following pdf shows thatraisins have 29.89% by weight fructose, pitted prunes have 12.35%, and grapes have 6.78%. Most vegetables have about 1% fructose,and fruits average around 3% fructose by weight. People have beeneating fruits for millenia. Why aren't all the vegetarians dying offin droves?TonyJOURNAL OF FOOD COMPOSITION AND ANALYSIS (2002) 15, 715–723Individual Sugars, Soluble, and Insoluble Dietary FiberContents of 70 High Consumption Foods.Betty W. Li, W. s, and Pamela R. Pehrssonhttp://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp/Data/Other/jfca15_715-723.pdf

[Guest guest]

> Tomatoes (without added garbage such as in commercially prepared tomato

> sauce) are highly desirable for the lycopene (cooked with a bit of

healthy

> oil for lycopene release).

I agree that there are benefits to these foods. I simply suggested

that less of foods high in fructose, and more of foods low in

fructose, might be beneficial to health.

Katrina.

[Guest guest]

Perhaps some helpful information here:

http://www.nutritiondata.com/foods-009998000000000000000.html

On Wed, 09 Feb 2005 18:22:09 -0000, Katrina <katnap@...> wrote:

>

>

> > Tomatoes (without added garbage such as in commercially prepared tomato

> > sauce) are highly desirable for the lycopene (cooked with a bit of

> healthy

> > oil for lycopene release).

>

> I agree that there are benefits to these foods. I simply suggested

> that less of foods high in fructose, and more of foods low in

> fructose, might be beneficial to health.

>

> Katrina.

>

>

>