Swap Processed Sugar For Fruit to Avoid Diabetes

In a new report, researchers pinpoint added fructose as a significant contributing factor to type 2 diabetes, and advise individuals to swap processed foods with high levels of added sugar and fructose for whole foods such as fruits and vegetables.

In their report, lead author James J. DiNicolantonio, PharmD, and his co-authors assessed several observational studies and clinical trials, concluding that excessive fructose consumption causes insulin resistance and disturbs the metabolism, as well as leading to increased fasting insulin levels and fasting glucose levels. The researchers also note that, between the years 1950 and 2000, the estimated consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages went up from 10.8 gallons per person per year to 49.3 gallons per person per year, and point out that roughly 75% of all packaged foods and beverages in the United States contain added sugars.
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“Clinicians should advise patients to lower their intake of added sugars—sucrose, known as table sugar, and high-fructose corn syrup—in order to reduce their risk of type 2 diabetes,” says DiNicolantonio, a cardiovascular research scientist at Saint Luke’s Mid-America Heart Institute.

Practical strategies for patients would include actively looking at nutrition labels for ingredients that indicate added sugars contained within the product, which would also include other names such as agave syrup and evaporated cane juice, notes DiNicolantonio, adding that patients should also avoid “free sugars” such as 100% fruit juices, agave and maple syrups, and honey.

Ultimately, the primary care practitioner’s role in helping patients establish and maintain a healthy diet that minimizes added sugar consumption and lowers the risk of type 2 diabetes is “very simple,” adds Sean Lucan, MD, MPH, an assistant professor in the department of family and social medicine at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, and co-author of the report.

“Encourage patients to choose and prepare real foods—foods from farms, not factories; foods from green living plants, not industrial processing plants,” says Lucan. “With this basic principle in mind, the rest should fall into place, with regard to diabetes, weight, and overall health and wellness.”

—Mark McGraw

Reference

DiNicolantonio J, O'Keefe J, et al. Added Fructose: A Principal Driver of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus and Its Consequences. Mayo Clinic Proc. 2015.