🍇 Is fruit healthy? and how much is too much?

Fruit is rich in a sugar called fructose.

But fructose is unlike glucose (its sister sugar molecule) because fructose is very sweet, but does not generate an insulin response.

Fructose consumption has increased worldwide, paralleling an increase in obesity and chronic metabolic diseases.

However, fructose is also found in sodas and breakfast cereals. So what does this say about fruit?

After ingesting fructose, up to 7g is converted to glucose in the intestine.

However, this cap is very easily met by drinking fruit juice.

Higher doses of fructose are transported to the liver where by-products of fructose breakdown can overwhelm mitochondrial capacity, increasing the risk of fatty liver disease, insulin resistance and chronic metabolic diseases (e.g. obesity).

Fructose also promotes:

• The formation of free radicals which interfere with cellular functioning, increasing the risk of ageing

• Changes in the brain reward system, driving excessive food intake

To some extent, these effects are similar to ethanol (alcohol).

However, it’s much harder to reach the ‘fructose threshold’ by eating whole berries and apples, especially when spreading fruit intake across the day.

Here’s are some guidance to help you:

• Best fruits for metabolic health: wild berries, pomegranates

• Fruit highest in fructose: mangoes, jackfruit

• The healthier fruit juice: extra virgin olive oil (yes, olive is a fruit)

🥊 Punchline

Fructose can exert detrimental health effects beyond its calories, especially when consumed in large quantities in the form of fruit juice.

🥩 Is it bad for you to eat red meat every day?

Beef is a high-quality source of protein, iron, zinc and vitamin B12.

Many cultures eat red meat daily, but nutrition guidance highlights the need to reduce intake of red meat to reduce disease risk (e.g. cardiovascular disease).

This is often because research on red meat groups all types of red meat together (e.g. unprocessed, lean, processed).

A new review of 20 studies outlined how daily intake of unprocessed beef does not increase cardiovascular disease risk.

Overall, average 161g/d of beef intake did not impact blood pressure, total cholesterol, HDL- and LDL-cholesterol compared to diets with less or no beef.

Only 1 from the 20 studies reported daily unprocessed beef intake was associated with a small increase on LDL-cholesterol.

However, most people eat more than 161g of unprocessed red meat in one sitting and often intakes are from processed meats.

🥊 Punchline

Daily unprocessed beef consumption does not increase CVD risk factors and can be a part of a health-oriented diet.

👨‍🦱 Intermittent fasting and weight loss: what’s the catch?

The popular intermittent fasting can induce weight loss.

But recent evidence points to a curious side effect: hair loss.

A new study in animal models demonstrate how intermittent fasting negatively impacts hair follicle regeneration.

Calorie restriction from fasting is known to negatively impact the stem cells in the hair follicle.

What’s new is that fasting triggers a complex web of communication between the adrenal glands and fat cells in the skin.

However, before you ditch intermittent fasting because another ‘fad’, consider that mice are voracious animals and food restriction for no (perceivable) reason can induce high stress levels, confounding the results.

🥊 Punchline

Research on intermittent fasting in expanding. Despite multiple health benefits, intermittent fasting may come with slower hair growth.