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I thought we could start a thread/repository of all things sugar related.
This study about maple syrup had interesting results. Granted was funded by the Canadian Maple Syrup industry, but still results are worth taking a look at:
https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1065118
@Cari can you approve the thread and this post?One of the things that Ray Peat mentioned was that in many studies, they would find ways to make fructose appear harmful, or hide it’s beneficial effects. The study below is a great example. Brad Marshall used this study to discuss the SCD1 enzyme, and how Sterculia Oil can inhibit it (side note- Vitamin E has also been shown to inhibit this very same enzyme). I’ll post the study and abstract in this message, and point out a massive confounder in the next message.
https://www.liebertpub.com/doi/abs/10.1089/jmf.2019.0177
Abstract- The metabolic syndrome (MS) underlies metabolic disorders considered risk factors for the development of diabetes and cardiovascular diseases, which are major causes of morbidity and mortality in most of the world. Sterculic acid has been proposed as a potential tool for the treatment of MS since it inhibits the activity of the stearoyl-CoA desaturase-1 (SCD1), a central enzyme in lipid metabolism. We analyzed the effect of sterculic oil (SO) co-administration with 30% fructose in drinking water on the development of MS in male Wistar rats. After 8 weeks, 0.4% SO exerted a protective effect from MS development since parameters altered by fructose (blood pressure, insulin resistance, serum glucose and triglycerides, steatosis, and adiposity) were similar to those of control rats.
So, in this study, they created metabolic syndrome in the rats by adding in 30% Fructose (not sucrose) into their drinking water. Take a look at the table below. “SD” stands for Standard Diet, and “HF” for High Fructose. The SDS and HFS groups had Sterculia Oil added to the same respective diets above.
(if you open the image in another tab, it will appear larger)
If you look down to energy intake, you can see that the rats given the High Fructose diets consumed almost twice as many calories as the standard diet rats. And since they ate less food, that means that over 50% of their calories came from pure fructose (again, not sucrose). This is a staggering amount on its own, and there would be very little glucose consumed with it (whatever starch was in the food). Mike Fave pointed out that rats don’t have the ability to handle large amounts of pure fructose, and any animal might struggle with getting 50% of calories from pure fructose. However, even with that massive increase in calories, the HF rats only gained about 10% more weight (25 grams) than those on the standard diet. The rats that got sterculia oil along with the high fructose weighed about the same as the SD rats, even eating 75-80% more total calories.
For men who want to bear children, here is your homework assignment- Eat a pound of sugar every day.
Eating 1 lb of sugar daily has strikingly positive effects on (male) fertility
The study examined 15 normal, non-smoking young men, who followed a diet in which they were given all food from the scientists for two weeks. The diet was based on the Nordic Nutrition Recommendations for healthy eating with one exception: during the second week, the researchers added sugar, corresponding to around 3.5 litres of fizzy drinks, or 450 grammes of confectionery, every day. The sperm quality and other indicators of the participants’ health were investigated at the start of the study, after the first week (during which they ate a healthy diet), and after the second week (when the participants had additionally consumed large amounts of sugar). One third had poor sperm motility at the beginning of the test. Motility is one of several factors influencing the quality of sperms, and that of the general population was the proportion of people with low sperm motility studied. The authors were surprised to learn that the motility of sperm of all participants during the research had become natural. “The study shows that sperm motility can be changed in a short period, and seems to be closely coupled to diet.
Based on some old testimonial threads from RPF, it seems like it can also improve libido and, um, other related functions.
One compound of note that I have stumbled across once again that I had not considered in awhile is that of the compound known as Urolothin A. It appears to be gaining ground in research for its role in mytophagy and clearing of damaged or dead mitochondria from the cell. It plays a role in obesity, glucose resistance, inflammation as well as energy production. The role it plays in brain health in terms of reducing or possibly preventing dementia in tau plaque build up draws a parallel to diabetes mellitus as these are as some tend to believe are related ie Type two and in terms of the brain type three diabetes.
What I found interesting in this report was that Urolithin A is produced in the microbiome and that only about forty percent of the population produce this substance (which population was researched was not revealed). But for those that struggle with metabolic issues this might be something to look at in terms of an experiment to supplement with as there are foods that do contain the polyphenols required for the production of Urolithin A such as pomegranates, strawberries and walnuts, but if you do not have the proper blend of bacterium in your microbiome you may not be able to produce Urolithin A. But you can supplement with it. This video on the topic gives a decent overview but there is still much to be learned on this and as with many things in a biological entity it is never a matter of just one compound but how that increase in one element interacts with every other element and their current levels inside the organism that are factors in the results for energy production.
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