Fructose and AGEs

[Guest guest]

Just a bit extra on the fructose issue.

Maybe in excess fructose like any other fuel will be an issue, but

my biggest concern was the glycotoxins problem whereby vegetarians

with a higher than carnivore fructose consumption had more Advanced

Glycation End Products (AGEs), One year 2002 study

concluded " Comparison of nutrition and plasma AGEs in vegetarian and

omnivorous groups shows that the higher intake of fructose in

alternative nutrition of healthy subjects may cause an increase of

AGE levels. " PMID: 12234125

But, as shown in the pdf of the study (page

2) :http://www.biomed.cas.cz/physiolres/pdf/2002/51_313.pdf

Carnivors ate 75g of veg vs 117 g of vegetables for vegetarians

Carnivors ate 340g of fruit vs 601g of fruit for vegetarians

Apart from the fact that I am amazed anybody could call themselves a

vegetarian eating only 117g of the stuff, there's is only about 350g

difference in total veg and fruit intake between both groups, so how

I wondered could that make such a big difference in AGEs levels,

especially when it is only the fructose which is supposedly

responsible and therefore only a few grams would separate the two

groups (maybe 20g of fructose or so). So there had to be another

explanation and it seems to come in two later studies:

The question then became is there something in vegetarians that up

regulates fructose in a dangerous way and the answer seems yes as a

study on mice concludes " RESULTS: The contents of glucose, glycated

protein, glycosylated haemoglobin and fructosamine were

significantly lowered by taurine treatment to high fructose rats.

Taurine prevented in vitro glycation and the accumulation of AGEs.

Furthermore, taurine enhanced glucose utilization in the rat

diaphragm. This effect was additive to that of insulin and did not

interfere with the action of insulin. CONCLUSIONS: These results

underline the potential use of taurine as a therapeutic supplement

for the prevention of diabetic pathology.

PMID: 15196090 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE] year 2004

and in relation to this being applied to humans another study

suggests " Some researchers have proposed that the relatively high-

fructose content of vegetarian diets may explain this phenomenon,

but there so far is no clinical evidence that normal intakes of

fructose have an important impact on AGE production. An alternative

or additional possibility is that the relatively poor taurine status

of vegetarians up-regulates the physiological role of

myeloperoxidase-derived oxidants in the generation of AGEs - in

which case, taurine supplementation might be expected to suppress

elevated AGE production in vegetarians. Thus, a taurine supplemented

low-fat vegan diet may be recommended as a strategy for minimizing

AGE-mediated complications in diabetics and in patients with renal

failure " . PMID: 15607576 [PubMed - in process] year 2005

That, I think, is probably the reason fructose has been getting some

bad press, we just need to make sure we get enough taurine. That's

why meat eaters are better protected against fructose induced AGEs,

but on the other hand meat eaters therefore consume more " ready-

made " AGEs in their cooked meats and fats etc. Although our bodies

can produce taurine, vegetarians must not have enough. " Taurine, an

amino acid derivative found in meat and other animal foods (except

for milk and milk products), appears to shield the heart from harm.

It's best known for empowering bile acids to clear cholesterol from

the body. It may also fight cellular troublemakers that can damage

the heart. Studies in animals suggest that taurine lowers blood

pressure as well—yet another heart-healthy property. Although

research has produced conflicting results, taurine may also benefit

vision disorders, epilepsy, and gallstones.

While the body synthesizes taurine on its own, strict vegetarians

who consume no meat products may need to pay special attention to

getting enough of this amino acid derivative. " quoted from

http://www.wholefoods.com/healthinfo/wholehealth/taurine.html

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