The fi tness industry is becoming an


alternative health industry. If we want to provide a solution to the health crisis, we must take on the food side of things


high level of fructose (55 per cent in HFCS and 50 per cent in sucrose) and a ubiquity of which most of us are blissfully unaware. Lustig and co’s beef with fructose is not its calorie content, but the way it is metabolised within the body. Unlike glucose, fructose is metabolised almost entirely by the liver, where it is converted into glucose and other sources of energy. However, studies have shown that when fructose is consumed in large quantities, our liver struggles to cope, leading to many of the problems associated with metabolic syndrome: hypertension, infl ammation, build-up of abdominal fat,


November/December © cybertrek 2012


abnormal fat levels in the blood, insulin resistance, and glucose intolerance. Left unchecked, it all points in one direction: chronic disease, ranging from non- alcoholic fatty liver disease and type 2 diabetes to heart disease and stroke. Nor does the case against sugar end


there. Many experts point to the sweet stuff’s addictive qualities, which some studies have shown to be similar to those of nicotine and heroin. Researchers at the National Institute for Physiological Sciences in Japan, for example, found that when mice anticipate a sugary treat, their brains release a chemical called orexin.


This triggers the body to use up any sugar already in the bloodstream to pave the way for the expected infl ux. But if the sugar is not forthcoming, energy levels dip and powerful cravings follow. Lustig and his allies also highlight the


effect of sugar on appetite controls. In short, they argue that the negative impact of too much fructose on our body’s insulin-producing mechanisms interferes with both production of the hormone leptin, which tells us when we’re full, and suppression of the hormone ghrelin, which tells us when we’re hungry. The end result? We can’t stop eating.


Read Health Club Management online at healthclubmanagement.co.uk/digital 41


There is growing evidence that foods containing sweeteners such as fructose can trigger processes in the body that lead to chronic disease, as well as obesity


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