History of Acai
History of the Acai Berry
The legend of the acai berry begins deep inside the luscious tropical rain forests of the northern region of Brazil. The fruit, called the “crying fruit” by the local native people has been growing and giving them energy for a very long time. As legend goes, long ago there was a tribal chief who instituted a new law amongst his people regarding the lack of food and the effects of starvation on their growing population. The law stated that in order to have enough food for the tribe all of the newborn children were to be killed, so as not to cause the others to go hungry. At this time the tribal chief’s own daughter became pregnant with a child, and showing no favoritism the chief had his grandchild murdered as well. Carrying a heavy heart full of grief, the daughter of the chief stayed in her dwelling for many days. Then one day, she raised her head at the sound of what she thought to be a baby crying in the distance. Deciding to leave her dwelling to search for the upset child, she emerged to find a palm tree filled with fruit growing forth from the ground, which she then laid upon and passed away from total desperation. When the tribal chief found his daughter who had perished, and the tree full of fruit that would feed the tribe, he decided to revoke the law. For his daughter, it is said that he named the tree after her by reversing the letters of her name, Iaca.
Growing abundantly throughout the Amazon, the acai palm tree has provided food for hundreds of years to the people of Brazil. Brazilians are known for their very active and healthy lifestyles, so the acai palm provides them with a fruit that helps to energize them and keep them fit. Resembling a grape, this round, dark fruit grew in popularity in the early 1970’s and 80’s among many athletes, like surfers and soccer players. The acai berries can be blended into smoothies, dried and put into granola bars, or just eaten plain, which made this versatile fruit easy to consume for those that are on the go. Over the years researchers began discovering that this little berry had a big nutritional impact to the body by providing vitamins, proteins, antioxidants, and minerals. Because of its large quantities of antioxidants, the acai berry has recently been named one of the top “superfoods”.
The Acai tree is also found in Panama and Trinidad where the famed fruit grows in fat bunches like bananas, and each tree can grow up to eight bunches. Since it is surrounded by very little pulp, it does require large amounts of the berries to be harvested for products like juice. Because of the acai berry benefits to health and weight loss, many manufactures are using just the extract from the fruit to make diet pills and vitamin supplements. Used every day by many, this fruit has encouraged some in the United States, mostly in Florida, to begin their own production of the acai trees. The effects of these trees however, will not be readily seen in the market anytime soon since it takes the tree about 10 to 12 years to actually produce its first bunch of fruit.
Amazingly, the acai berry’s popularity is not only helping keep countless people healthy and in shape, but it is also a positive force for saving the rainforest. Until recently, the demand from the fruit was limited to the regions it was native to. However, now that the rest of the world has discovered its powerful benefits, the local farmers must work day and night to meet the demand. More and more rainforest is being designated for acai production, and the local economy is booming. When you buy an acai product from a company who works closely with the local farmers , you can feel good that you are doing your part to save this endangered land.
From its introduction into the general population, the acai berry has made itself known mostly in the health food industry, but as more research is being done, the fruit is making its way into pharmaceutical science companies. Although it can be harvested on a regular basis, the popularity of the fruit has caused many producers to restrict the amount that they put into the products. This is why 100% pure acai juice will be a bit more expensive than the normal juices you will find in your grocery store. However, when you try the real thing you will be sure to notice a significant difference.
Acai Berry Research
There has been a lot of information tossed around about the acai berry, some of it true and some of it false. Some of the information has not been scientifically tested. This article will give you an in depth look at some of the actual acai berry research that has been done here in the United States and elsewhere around the world. You will find factual accounts on how the scientific studies were done and what their findings were.
The berry is dark purple when ripe and is the size of a small grape. It has a large seed that is surrounded by a thin layer of edible pulp. Acai Berries cannot be eaten as they are from the Acai Palms. They must be harvested and properly processed before they can be eaten.
The Brazilian people have used acai berries for years to treat skin conditions and digestive disorders. Some of the more recent claims made mostly by Internet marketers and retail merchant is that products made from the acai berry can help lower cholesterol, help with weight loss and give more energy.
With a lifespan of just under 24 hours after being picked, it is a logistical problem to research the acai berry entirety from the time of harvest. There have been some successful studies however that has corroborated many of the nutritional make-up claims that were publicized. One of the first laboratories outside of Brazil to study the purported benefits of the fruit was the University of Florida.
Stephen Talcott and his team showed that extracts from acai berries triggered a self-destruct in up to 86 percent of the leukemia cells tested. In the study six different chemical extracts were made from acai fruit. Each extract was prepared in seven concentrations of which four were shown to kill a significant number of leukemia cells after 24 hours from the time applied. Talcott, although encouraged does caution that the study was only a cell-culture model and that hopes should not be raised. However he does state that compounds that show good activity on cancer cells in a model system can most likely have beneficial effects in humans.
At the University of Bonn in Bonn, Germany a study was done of the antioxidant capacities of eleven commercial and non-commercial samples of the acai berry with the oxidant scavenging capacity in a modified and automated version against three reactive oxygen species. It was found that the antioxidant capacities of all purple acai was excellent against peroxyl radicals and good against peroxynitrite, but poor against hydroxyl radicals compared to European fruit and vegetable juices recently analyzed.
The fruit pulp from the white acai had very low antioxidant capacities against all three reactive oxygen species. It was found that the purple acai fruit phenolic compounds had two major anthocyanins, cyanidin-3-glucoside and cyanidin-3-rutinoside. This makes the overall antioxidant capacities of the fruit estimated to be approximately 10%. It is thought that other compounds that have not yet been identified are responsible for a large part of the antioxidant capacities of the fruit.
At the Department of Pharmacology and Psychobiology in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil a study was done to see if hydro-alcoholic extract taken from the acai stone induces a vasodilator effect in the rat mesenteric vascular bed precontracted with nor epinephrine and if it does to explain the underlying mechanism. The formation of NO was induced in cultured endothelial cells of the acai stone extract, but was reduced by N(G)-nitro-l-arginine (l-NA, 100 microM). The study showed that the vasodilator effect of acai stone extract is dependent on the activation of NO-cGMP pathway. Endothelium-derived hyperpolarizing factor release may also be involved. In the end the study showed that the vasodilator effect showed a possibility to use the acai stone extract as a medicinal plant in the treatment of cardiovascular diseases.
The Natural and Medicinal Products Research in Puyallup, Washington did a study from a standardized freeze-dried acai fruit powder for all analyses and tests. In the study it was found that anthocyanins, proanthocyanidins, and other flavonoids were the major phytochemicals. Cyandin 3-glucoside and cyanidin 3-rutinoside were found to be the two predominant anthocyanins. There were also three other minor anthocyanins found. The major proanthocyanidins found were Polymers. The other flavonoids found were homoorientin, orientin, isovitexin, scoparin, and taxifolin deoxyhexose. There were also several unknown flavonoids detected.
Resveratrol was found in a very low concentration. Fatty acids, amino acids, sterols, minerals, and other nutrients were analyzed and quantified. The two dominant fatty acids found were Oleic acid and palmitic acid. There were nineteen amino acids found. Three sterols were identified in this study, B-sitosterol, campesterol, and sigmasterol.
Some other results of lab studies done found that the acai berry has about the same amount of protein as an egg, that 100 grams of acai berry is equal to14 grams of fiber, 100 grams is also equal to1000 IU of Vitamin A and has a low glycemic index. The acai berry is high in carbohydrates and contains 8 grams of protein per 100 grams. Acai Berry juice has 20 to 30 times more anthocyanins per volume than found in Red Wine. There were sixteen identified antioxidants and phyto-nutrients found in acai berries and seventy compounds that have yet to be identified. The acai berry’s Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity is identified as having the highest scalable antioxidant value of any known berry.
So here are the real facts on the acai berry’s health benefits. The fatty acids and phytosterols found in the acai berry help with the breakdown of bad cholesterol and promote good cholesterol. Keeping cholesterol low is an absolute necessity for maintaining a healthy heart and fighting heart disease. Acai berries contain Omega Fatty acids that our bodies do not produce but need for healthy growth and development of the brain.
The high levels of antioxidants and anthocyanins found in acai berries are the same organic chemical compounds that help fight off disease and toxins in the body and also help boost the immune system. The antioxidants absorb oxidants that allow the oxidation process to happen and free radicals would cause toxicity to the skin. This aids in the treatment of skin problems. The acai berry’s high fiber and fatty acids content protect stomach the lining to assure maximum absorption of nutrients. This allows the excess to be expelled in a safe and consistent manner, which aids the digestive process and can help with weight loss.
As you can see because of the components found in the acai berry, it can have many health benefits. People who integrate it into their daily regimen often report a significant boost in their health, and overall well being.
How to take Acai
<strong>What Is The Best Way to Take Acai? </strong>
Most nutritionists would agree that the best way to get maximum benefit from acai would be by eating it fresh, and whole. If you live in Brazil, or any other location that has access to fresh acai berries, this is certainly your best option. Since the berry does not hold up well during overseas transportation, most of the world does not have that option. If you have decided to start taking an <a href=”http://www.the-acai-fruit.com/acai-supplements/”>acai berry supplement</a>, you have quite a few different choices. You will most often find acai berry supplements as a juice (or pulp), powder, or pill.
Before we go into the details of comparing and contrasting the different types of acai supplements, it should be mentioned that quality is the most important factor for all of them. A pill made with a high quality <a href=”http://www.the-acai-fruit.com/what-is-acai-extract/”>acai extract</a> will be exponentially better for you than an <a href=”http://www.the-acai-fruit.com/acai-berry-juice/”>acai juice</a> blend that contains mostly fillers and little actual acai. To get the most out your <a style=”color: black; text-decoration: none;” href=”http://acaiberrydietnow.com/”>acai berry diet</a>, you need to be able to spot the difference between a low quality and high quality brand. For each type of supplement I will give you some tips on picking out one that is of great quality.
<strong>Avoid the Scams</strong><a style=”color: black; text-decoration: none;” href=”http://acaiberrysite.com/beware-of-free-trial-offers-for-acai/”>leanbodyburn</a> is just one example of the dozens of brands of <a style=”color: black; text-decoration: none;” href=”http://acaiberryscamsblog.com/”>acai berry scams</a> that trick users by offering a free trial, but hide the fact they are signing up for a subscription, and make it very difficult to cancel. <a style=”color: black; text-decoration: none;” href=”http://acaiberryplus.org”>acai berry cleanse</a> products are almost always pushed thru free trials, so be wary of those as well. More about the scams below.
<strong>Acai Juices and Pulp Purees</strong>
If eating fresh acai berries is the best option, then consuming a high quality juice or pulp puree is a close second. Our bodies are designed to absorb the nutrients it needs from what we eat and drink. This means that you will absorb more of the positive aspects of the acai berry if you drink its pulp, compared to taking it in pill or powder form. When you have an <a href=”http://www.the-acai-fruit.com/acai-berry-drink/”>acai berry drink</a> you are simply getting the most bang for your buck.
It is essential that the berries are processed and bottled very soon after they are harvested. This ensures that you get the maximum nutrient and antioxidant content, even after it has been shipped overseas. You also want to make sure that the product incorporates the entire berry into the drink, especially the skin. Most of the Anthocyanin (an antioxidant) content of the acai berry is located in the skin. This means that a high quality acai juice will be much thicker than your typical fruit juice. If the product you buy has the same consistency as normal grape juice, there is a very good chance that it is not a high quality brand.
<strong>Acai Berry Powders</strong>
Another option that is very popular is the use of <a href=”http://www.the-acai-fruit.com/acai-berry-powder/”>acai berry powders</a>. This is the most concentrated form of the acai fruit. Many people who are into healthy eating and exercise, already make use of protein shakes and smoothies. This powder can easily be integrated into your current shake, or you can design a whole new recipe around the great <a href=”http://www.the-acai-fruit.com/what-does-acai-berry-taste-like/”>taste of acai</a>.
Many people find it difficult to come up with the energy needed to get a good workout at the gym, after a hard day at work. Since this berry is such a powerful source of natural energy, it is the perfect addition to a pre-workout shake, giving you all the energy you need to get the most out of your trip to the gym.
Making an acai powder that maintains all of the vitamins, nutrients, and antioxidants that make acai special is even harder than making a quality acai juice. In order for the berries to be turned into a powder they must be dried. However, high temperatures can completely wipe out all of the antioxidant content the berry has to offer. In order to avoid this destruction, acai powder must be made using a process called freeze drying. When it is made this way the powder will retain its dark purple color, and will most likely be slightly oily. Most companies use a process called spray drying. This leaves the powder an unnaturally bright pink color, and completely devoid of any nutritional benefit. When you decide to buy an acai powder, make sure that you are getting on that was freeze dried.
<strong>Acai Berry Pills</strong>
There is little difference between a quality acai powder and a quality <a style=”color: black; text-decoration: none;” href=”http://acaiberrysite.com/acai-pills/”>acai berry pill</a>. This is because the pill will be made by encapsulating the quality powder. With a pill you are simply trading the flavor of the powder for the convenience of the capsule. If you happen to be one of the few people who do not enjoy the flavor of the acai berry, you will probably get the most out of purchasing it in pill form. It is also the easiest and quickest way to consume acai, which is important for someone who does not have the extra time to make an <a href=”http://www.the-acai-fruit.com/acai-smoothie/”>acai smoothie</a> every day.
The main problem with purchasing an acai berry pill is that the vast majority of them are low quality. They are by far the cheapest and most efficient way to produce an <a href=”http://www.the-acai-fruit.com/acai-berry-products/”>acai product</a>, which means nearly anyone can produce and sell them. The acai berry scam that is mentioned on this page will always be trying to sell acai in pill form. Finding a high quality acai pill is going to be much more difficult than finding a good pulp puree or powder.
The requirements for a quality acai powder, mentioned above, hold true for a quality acai pill. The problem is, you will often not be able to check these pills out until you have already made your purchase. There is an easy solution to this problem, and I have found this to be the best way to avoid purchasing a fake acai berry pill.
The trick is to only buy the pills if the manufacturer also sells a high quality <a href=”http://www.the-acai-fruit.com/acai-pulp/”>acai pulp</a> and powder. Try to avoid anyone who only sells it as a pill, unless there is an abundance of proof that they are the real deal. It takes quite a bit more effort to produce a quality juice and powder, so you can be sure that companies who do so have your best interests in mind.
Benefits of Acai
People from the Amazon have been consuming the Acai Berry for years. It’s been used in dishes, drinks, shakes, and as a breakfast item to give you that boost and overall nutrition you need to get through the day. It’s powerful nutrients have massive benefits, and should be an obvious addition to everyone’s daily diet, even if your goal is not weight loss. A lot of what I learned about the benefits of Acai is from www.acaiberrysite.com, so you can go there if you want all the details, but I copied most of the important stuff below:
Originating deep in the Amazon Rainforests, the acai berry is a very special little purple berry. While it may be small in size, it is rich in amazing health benefits. This has led many experts to call this fruit “The top superfood on earth!” and “The #1 food you may not have heard of but NEED to be eating.” Simply adding acai berry to your daily routine is a great way to make each day the best one you have ever had.
Almost everyone could use more natural nutrition in their diet. The typical Western World diet is severely lacking in many on the most essential vitamins and minerals. When you combine this with our long work days and stressful lives, it leaves many of us drained and frustrated. The acai fruit is the perfect way to inject healthy nutrition into your diet, and make you feel like you are ready to take on the world.
This little purple berry is packed full of antioxidants, amino acids and Omega essential fatty acids. Its antioxidant levels outranks nearly every other food on the planet, including; pomegranates, blueberries, and goji berries.
Since it is a natural berry, just like blueberries or strawberries, acai provides all these benefits without a harsh crash or any nasty side effects.
Increase Your Energy
We are a society that depends on mass quantities of coffee, energy drinks, and soda to keep us going throughout the day. However, these drinks only provide a temporary boost before the inevitable crash just a few hours later. They can also have some pretty scary side effects like constant jitters or shakes and a racing heart. Luckily, the acai berry juice
provides a natural, healthy, alternative.
Many people report that after just taking acai for a week that they were able to give up their sugar and caffeine addiction for good. Brazilian athletes have known about this fruit for decades, and used it as their secret weapon to dominate everyone else in surfing and martial arts tournaments. If it helps these athletes have enough energy to make it through a grueling competition, it can certainly help you make it through your 9-5 work day.
Look, Feel, and Think Younger Than Ever
Acai has one of the highest antioxidant counts of any food known to man. This means that it helps fight off harmful free radicals that are naturally produced by our bodies on a daily basis. These free radicals are one of the main culprits of aging, and antioxidants are key to reversing the damage they inflict on our bodies cells.
To put it simply, antioxidants can help you look, feel, and act younger.
One of the first things that some people who take acai notice is that their skin and hair starts to look like it did 10 years ago. The energy boost helps you feel as good as you did in your early 20s. The Brazilian locals have started to call it “Amazon Rainforest Viagra” because of its ability to increase libido.
Acai is also a good source of essential fatty acids, which have been shown to have a positive effect on improving cognitive abilities (which often diminish with age) and reducing joint pain caused by arthritis. acai berry supplements are a complete anti-aging supplement, because it can help you feel young as well as look younger.
Promotes Healthy Weight Loss
The unique combination of essential fatty acids, fiber, amino acids, and antioxidants make the acai berry fruit an interesting supplement for healthy weight loss. This combination has been shown to boost the metabolism and suppress appetite. It also helps prevent the accumulation of fat by controlling your blood sugar and preventing insulin spikes. The high fiber content will help keep you feeling full for longer, as well as regulating your digestive system to work optimally.
Most weight loss pills work by speeding up your metabolism, at the cost of speeding up your heart. There have been so many cases of these type of pills causing damage and even death, that nobody in their right mind could recommend anyone take them. With this natural fruit you can be on your way to losing weight in a healthy manner that keeps it off for good. Not only do you avoid all the potentially deadly side effects of normal weight loss drugs, but you also gain all the other benefits we have talked about so far.
May Help Prevent Heart Disease, Diabetes, and Cancer
One of the most important acai studies, conducted by the University of Florida, showed that acai caused a “self destruct” reaction in Leukemia cells. Antioxidants are one of the best ways we currently know of to help lower our chances of getting cancer, and there is no better way to get them than through acai berry juice or pills.
Fiber and Omega fatty acids are two of the biggest weapons we have in preventing diabetes and heart disease. These nutrients both can help lower blood pressure and cholesterol. Your diet and lifestyle are the most important factor in preventing these deadly diseases, and consuming acai on a daily basis is a great way to start a healthy habit.
Ten things that help make you fat
Eating fat won’t make you fat. Too many calories can, but most “low-fat” or “fat-free” foods actually have just as many calories as their full-fat versions. Yahoo Health has collected a list of 20 bad habits that can actually add to your weight. Here are 10 of them:
- Eating “low-fat”: Low-fat or fat-free foods replace harmless fats with low-performing carbohydrates that digest quickly, causing a sugar rush and, immediately afterward, rebound hunger.
- Sleeping too little or too much: Dieters who sleep five hours or less put on 2 and a half times more belly fat, while those who sleep more than eight hours pack on only slightly less than that.
- Drinking soda — even diet soda: Drinking one to two sodas per day increases your chances of being overweight or obese by nearly 33 percent. And diet soda is no better.
- Eating too quickly: It takes 20 minutes for your stomach to tell your brain that it’s had enough.
- Watching too much TV: A study found that overweight participants who reduced their TV time by just 50 percent burned an additional 119 calories a day on average.
- Eating off larger plates: One study found that when given an option, a whopping 98.6 percent of obese individuals opt for larger plates.
- Taking big bites: Research shows that people who take large bites of food consume 52 percent more calories in one sitting.
- Not drinking enough water: Adequate water intake is essential for all your body’s functions, and the more you drink, the better your chances of staying thin
- Eating too late: A recent study found that those who ate after 8 PM took in the most daily calories and had the highest BMIs.
- Drinking fruity beverages: All juice is high sugar, and the ones that use viscous syrups made mostly from high fructose corn syrup and thickening agents are even worse.
To see the rest of their list, you can click on the link below. Another reason you may want to be sure your diet includes healthy fats? A recent study investigated the effects of dietary medium-chain triglycerides on liver fat accumulation in growing rats with protein malnutrition. Weaning rats were fed either a low-protein diet or control protein diet, either in combination with or without medium-chain triglycerides.
After four weeks, liver fat increased in the low-protein groups compared with the control groups. However, the liver fat content in the low-protein group fed medium-chain triglycerides was significantly decreased compared with that in the other low-protein group.
According to the study:
“These results suggest that ingestion of a low-protein diet caused fatty liver in growing rats. However, when rats were fed the low-protein diet with [medium-chain triglycerides], hepatic triglyceride deposition was attenuated, and mRNA levels encoding CPT1a and CPT2 were preserved at the levels of rats fed control protein diets.”
Over two-thirds of American adults are now overweight or obese, and one-third of adults, along with 17 percent of children and teens, are obese. In fact, in 2010, data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) showed that no state had a prevalence of obesity less than 20 percent, and 36 states had an obesity prevalence of 25 percent or more.
Clearly overweight and obesity are at epidemic proportions, and this trend is putting both adults and children at risk of serious, chronic disease ranging from high blood pressure and heart disease to diabetes and cancer. As for what’s causing so many Americans to gain excess weight, it’s a complex situation.
Why are So Many Americans Overweight and Obese?
There’s the fact that the U.S. government heavily subsidizes the very foods that contribute to weight gain (i.e. corn). There’s the problem with environmental chemicals, like phthalates, which can interfere with the hormonal mechanisms that control your weight. There’s the abundance of stress that many people live with on a daily basis, which leads to emotional eating as well as chronic elevations of the hormone cortisol, that in turn leads to weight gain around your midsection.
But there’s also another issue that cannot be ignored: misinformation. Many Americans are seriously confused about what a truly healthful food is, and this is partly the result of clever and deceptive marketing that makes junk foods and synthetic substances, like artificial sweeteners, appear healthy. Further, fats in general are still considered the dietary villains by many people.
A Consumer Reports survey found that 51 percent said they are limiting their consumption of fat in belief that this is a healthychoice. Changes are this lumps ALL fats into one evil category, when in reality the only types of fats you should really be limiting are man-made varieties like trans-fats and rancid, refined polyunsaturated fats in vegetable oils.
Eating Healthy Fat Doesn’t Make You Fat
It’s encouraging to see mainstream media outlets like Yahoo busting the prevalent myth that fat must be avoided if you want to lose weight. In fact, research suggests that eating healthy fats is actually conducive to weight loss. When you eat fats as part of your meal, they actually slow down your food absorption so that you can go longer without feeling hungry. The fatty acid conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), found in grass-fed beef and full-fat dairy products from grass-fed cows (butter, milk, cheese, etc.), is also associated with reduced body fat and weight.
For instance, a study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that people who ate 3.2 grams of CLA a day had a drop in fat mass of about 0.2 pounds a week (that’s about one pound a month) compared to those given a placebo. Research also shows that women who ate at least one serving of full-fat dairy a day gained 30 percent less weight over a nine-year period than women who ate only low-fat (or no) dairy products.
Unfortunately, many people are still shunning healthy foods like raw butter and grass-fed beef, which contain saturated fat, because they believe it will cause heart disease. In reality, saturated fats are among the healthiest fats you can consume.
Could this Saturated Fat Actually Prevent Liver Disease?
Saturated fats provide the building blocks for your cell membranes and a variety of hormones and hormone-like substances that are essential to your health, and saturated fats from animal and vegetable sources (such as meat, dairy, certain oils, and tropical plants like coconut) provide a concentrated source of energy in your diet that has far-reaching health benefits.
Unfortunately nearly the entire conventional media and nearly every health “expert” will disagree with the above and use statements that all the research supports their belief. Well the truth of the matter is that it doesn’t. Gary Taubes has provided the best rebuttal to this concept in the book he wrote Good Calories Bad Calories. Gary is one of the leading science journalists and he devoured the literature on this and reviewed all the studies and he expertly debunks their flawed logic and details how this misunderstanding has contributed to the epidemic of chronic disease in the U.S.
Additionally, new research this year showed that medium-chain triglycerides, such as those found in coconut oil, helped to stop the development of fatty liver in rats. Saturated fats also act as carriers for important fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E and K. Dietary fats are also needed for the conversion of carotene to vitamin A, for mineral absorption, and for a host of other biological processes.
Saturated fats are also:
- The preferred fuel for your heart, and also used as a source of fuel during energy expenditure
- Useful antiviral agents (caprylic acid)
- Effective as an anticaries, antiplaque and anti-fungal agent (lauric acid)
- Useful to actually lower cholesterol levels (palmitic and stearic acids)
- Modulators of genetic regulation and prevent cancer (butyric acid)
As for the belief that these healthful fats will cause heart disease, research again shows this is simply untrue. A 2010 study in theAmerican Journal of Clinical Nutrition, which reviewed 21 studies relating to the risk of heart disease, stroke and saturated fats, found that:
“… there is no significant evidence for concluding that dietary saturated fat is associated with an increased risk of CHD [coronary heart disease] or CVD [stroke and cardiovascular disease].”
What is the True Dietary Villain for Your Weight?
If you are serious about losing weight, you have got to strictly limit the amount of fructose in your diet, as evidence is mounting that excess sugar, and fructose in particular, is the primary factor in the obesity epidemic. The central issue is that fructose is now used in virtually all processed foods (whether you’d suspect the food would contain a sweetener or not).
If you want to lose weight, cutting soda from your diet is essential … but — and this is a point many fail to appreciate — you’ve got to cut other sources of fructose, too, including that in processed foods, fruit juice, excessive fruit and so-called “healthy” sweeteners like agave. Ideally you should keep your total fructose consumption below 25 grams per day and this includes fruits. This is especially true if you have insulin resistance and are overweight, have high blood pressure, diabetes or high cholesterol.
Fruit Serving Size Grams of Fructose Limes 1 medium 0 Lemons 1 medium 0.6 Cranberries 1 cup 0.7 Passion fruit 1 medium 0.9 Prune 1 medium 1.2 Apricot 1 medium 1.3 Guava 2 medium 2.2 Date (Deglet Noor style) 1 medium 2.6 Cantaloupe 1/8 of med. melon 2.8 Raspberries 1 cup 3.0 Clementine 1 medium 3.4 Kiwifruit 1 medium 3.4 Blackberries 1 cup 3.5 Star fruit 1 medium 3.6 Cherries, sweet 10 3.8 Strawberries 1 cup 3.8 Cherries, sour 1 cup 4.0 Pineapple 1 slice (3.5″ x .75″)
4.0 Grapefruit, pink or red 1/2 medium 4.3
Fruit Serving Size Grams of Fructose Boysenberries 1 cup 4.6 Tangerine/mandarin orange 1 medium 4.8 Nectarine 1 medium 5.4 Peach 1 medium 5.9 Orange (navel) 1 medium 6.1 Papaya 1/2 medium 6.3 Honeydew 1/8 of med. melon 6.7 Banana 1 medium 7.1 Blueberries 1 cup 7.4 Date (Medjool) 1 medium 7.7 Apple (composite) 1 medium 9.5 Persimmon 1 medium 10.6 Watermelon 1/16 med. melon 11.3 Pear 1 medium 11.8 Raisins 1/4 cup 12.3 Grapes, seedless (green or red) 1 cup 12.4 Mango 1/2 medium 16.2 Apricots, dried 1 cup 16.4 Figs, dried 1 cup 23.0 Why Fructose is so Detrimental to Your Waistline …
Thanks to the excellent work of researchers like Dr. Robert Lustig, and Dr. Richard Johnson, we now know that fructose is isocaloric with other sugars like dextrose or glucose but it is NOT isometabolic.
Fructose:
- Is metabolized differently from glucose, with the majority being turned directly into fat
- Tricks your body into gaining weight by fooling your metabolism, as it turns off your body’s appetite-control system. Fructose does not appropriately stimulate insulin, which in turn does not suppress ghrelin (the “hunger hormone”) and doesn’t stimulate leptin (the “satiety hormone”), which together result in your eating more and developing insulin resistance.
- Rapidly leads to weight gain and abdominal obesity (“beer belly”), decreased HDL, increased LDL, elevated triglycerides, elevated blood sugar, and high blood pressure—i.e., classic metabolic syndrome.
- Over time leads to or worsens preexisting insulin resistance, which is not only an underlying factor of type 2 diabetes and heart disease, but also many cancers.
According to Dr. Robert Lustig, fructose is ‘isocaloric but not isometabolic.” This means you can have the same amount of calories from fructose or glucose, fructose and protein, or fructose and fat, but the metabolic effect will be entirely different despite the identical calorie count.
This is a VERY important point so let me repeat it. Most will need to read this seven times or more to fully realize the implications of this simple yet HIGHLY profound, and radically revolutionary important statement:
Fructose is “isocaloric but not isometabolic.”
This means you can have the same amount of calories from fructose or glucose, fructose and protein, or fructose and fat, but the metabolic effect will be entirely different despite the identical calorie count.
This is largely because different nutrients provoke different hormonal responses, and those hormonal responses determine, among other things, how much fat you accumulate.
This is why counting calories alone is often not enough to lose weight successfully!
Even the most popular calorie-counting weight loss program, Weight Watchers, recently admitted this fact and changed their wildly successful formula. The new system instead tries to encourage dieters to consume more natural, less processed food, which I believe is the crux of any long-term weight loss program.
What You Need to Know to Finally Lose Weight
For the majority of people, severely restricting carbohydrates such as sugars, fructose, and grains in your diet will be the key to weight loss. Refined carbohydrates like breakfast cereals, bagels, waffles, pretzels, and most other processed foods quickly break down to sugar, increase your insulin levels, and cause insulin resistance, which is the number one underlying factor of nearly every chronic disease and condition known to man, including weight gain.
As you cut these dietary villains from your meals, you need to replace them with healthy substitutes like vegetables, proteins and fats. Your body prefers the carbohydrates in vegetables rather than grains and sugars because it slows the conversion to simple sugars like glucose, and decreases your insulin level. When you cut grains and sugar from your meals, you typically will need to radically increase the amount of vegetables you eat, as well as make sure you are also consuming protein and healthy fats regularly.
I’ve detailed a step-by-step guide to this type of healthy eating program in my comprehensive nutrition plan, and I urge you to consult this guide if you are trying to lose weight. My thanks to Dave Asprey and his site for the original concept of the chart, which we’ve modified a bit. A summary of the program, specifically highlighting which foods you need to eat and avoid to maintain an ideal body weight and optimal health is below:
Finally, remember that the foods you choose to eat will be the driving force behind successfully achieving your weight loss goals — even more so than exercise. It’s important to realize that exercise — even if you incorporate exercises like Peak 8 into your routine — will NOT compensate for fructose use and can destroy many of the benefits of your hard work. Exercise is still important for weight loss and optimal health … but it will generally not be enough to make up for the damage done by a poor, fructose-rich diet.
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