The idea is good, though. If there was a way to make a similar test but with better data, it’s be quite useful. But I guess that’s impossible without actually measuring biomarkers.

I’m curious if you (or a knowledgeable reader) could clarify some things about the youtube video Bianca posted (Sugar: The Bitter Truth – link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBnniua6-oM). It’s a very long talk (1.5 h!), but very well done – for the first time since converting to low carb, I’m questioning some of my knowledge. Unfortunately, I am not trained in biochemistry.

Essentially, Dr. Lustig says that not all carbs are equal. He explains the various biochemical processes that occur when ingesting glucose, ethanol, and fructose, and claims that while fructose and ethanol are both essentially poisons, glucose is actually good for us (“the energy of life” that all living things can metabolize). His argument is mainly that it’s a volume problem – eating 120 calories of glucose (white bread) will produce maybe half a calorie of waste product (VLDL) in the liver, whereas nearly all ingested fructose will be expelled from the liver in some toxic form or other (VLDL, uric acid, etc). He also claims that fructose is less toxic when consumed with fiber, as in fruit.

Now, I’ve been of the impression that all carbs are turned into sugar in the body, whether whole grain bread, potato chips, or donuts, and so they are all equally bad. Have I misunderstood? Would I have gotten similar benefits had I simply cut out all sucrose and fructose from my diet, rather than reducing ALL carbs?

(I ask this because I have some stubborn – and overweight – family members who cannot comprehend life without bread despite my insistence. Convincing them to cut out sugar if they can still eat whole-grain bread might be a tad more effective )

Hi, Mike! Re fructose, glucose, etc.–are you familiar with a sweetener called “Whey Low” that is supposed to be low-carb? The company’s info says the creator, a biochemist, developed it for his wife after she was diagnosed w/diabetes. It’s synthesized from glucose, fructose, and one other sugar (don’t remember now which), but in such a way that, according to the company’s claims, the carbs aren’t absorbed completely.

Anyway, it’s supposed to be good for baking, but I’ve avoided it so far because I can’t seem to find any documentation that isn’t produced by the company itself. Do you know anything about this sweetener and its usefulness in a LC diet? Thanks!

I’m not familiar with it, so I can’t comment.

I’m not familiar with them, so I don’t know.

-Mike

Here’s anothere RealAge article on saturated fats and leptin. Would you mind addressing it?

After reading this, I realize these dopes are even more out of touch with the scientific literature than I thought.

I can’t believe how out of touch these guys are. “Dietary cholesterol causes heart disease”, “BMI”, “Eat more soy!”, etc, etc.

And the self-reinforcing low-fat cycles continues. Sigh.

I don’t know. Maybe they’re lying low until the scandal blows over. Or maybe you didn’t have any problems for the drug companies to exploit.