Paleo Diet and Paleolithic Diet Questions & Answers

Question

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I mean this question very respectfully, I really do, but current disapproval of fructose is a very personal issue for me. I'm reading "limit fruit to lose" or "eating fruit is bad" etc. I agree that fruit should not be a major portion of our diet although I disagree with taking vitamin C and never eating fruit. For me, that equates to eating only protein powder and eliminating meat--what good nutrients are we leaving out?

Here's the real question, then--in my 50+ years of compulsive/addictive eating there was one consistent pattern.

During the intervals of NO control--which ranged from 6 months to 5 years or more--I ate processed junk foods almost to the exclusion of other things so I ate fruit rarely or not at all AND junk foods did not yet contain HFCS. Most of my heavy eating involved lots of breads and pastas and greasy potato/corn chips and buttered popcorn. Also a ton of burgers and fries and pizzas.

About the only sweet thing I consumed was soda, but not that much of it and it contained sugar with much less total fructose than today. I gained weight steadily for as long as the binges continued.

During the intervals of control--willpower, really, until I found primal--I ate fruit on a daily basis, frequently a LOT of fruit as it was my only indulgence. Guess what? I lost weight at a rate of 2 pounds per week at first, 1 pound every week or 2 for the final 10 pounds to an ideal weight.

I want to understand this because it seems so contrary to what I'll call "paleo conventional wisdom."

Help me out here!

UPDATE: Today's Taubes post didn't reach a directly relevant conclusion but it looks like the series might. In the meantime, thanks for your comments so far and I'll read your continuing thoughts with great interest. Nance

edited Nov 9 2011 at 21:15

asked Nov 9 2011 at 20:30

Nance
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	I just noticed that there's a new [Taubes] (garytaubes.com/2011/11/…) post today. – Nance Nov 9 2011 at 20:56
	The above could be relevant to my question; haven't finished reading it yet. – Nance Nov 9 2011 at 20:56

Travis Culp · Accepted Answer · 2011-11-09 20:36:56Z UTC

Paleo conventional wisdom is often as bad as standard conventional wisdom. If your meals are correct for your species, i.e. comprised mostly of meat, adding fruit to your diet should have an insignificant effect on body fat levels unless it hugely magnified your appetite (I've never experienced this). Adding fat would have a much more pronounced effect.

The only noticeable effect of binging on, say, raspberries would be GI tract-related.

As far as fructose itself goes, the effect from whole fruit is generally insignificant in an active person (yes, this contradicts what I bought into in the past).

Beth-WeightMaven · Answer 2 · 2011-11-09 20:43:35Z UTC

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In answer to your question, no, fructose in fruit is not your problem. But I wouldn't be so confident that your binge diet of "lots of breads and pastas and greasy potato/corn chips and buttered popcorn" was as sugar-free as you seem to think it is.

Most added sugars (including HFCS) are half fructose, so it's not inconceivable that fructose was a problem for you then. But at that point, it'd be hard to disentangle the effects of fructose from all the other NAD excesses ... the refined wheat, the veggie oils, the salt, the chemicals.

Anyways, enjoy your fruit ;).

answered Nov 9 2011 at 20:43

Beth-WeightMaven
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"Anyways, enjoy your fruit." I do, but now I discipline myself to eat one "handful" type portion and just lust after it visually the rest of the time. I'm sure you're right about the wheat factor too. – Nance Nov 9 2011 at 20:47

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Keep in mind that there are paleo folks who are LCers, so fruit for them is problematic from a carb allotment point of view. I thought Cordain paleo included fruit, so not sure where this original LC view came from, but Robb Wolf said he used to be a proponent of LC paleo. Also, even if you don't agree with everything Lustig says (like whether or not ethanol is a carb), I think his idea that the liver can only metabolize so much fructose at a time is compelling. But he is fine with fruit because its water and fiber help limit the dose to what nature intended. – Beth-WeightMaven Nov 9 2011 at 21:29

blueballoon · Answer 3 · 2011-11-09 21:02:48Z UTC

When I first went paleo I kind of bought into the limit fruit thing, but that went against everything I had experienced with my diet previous to that. My best body composition was during a time where I ate plenty of fruit (3-4 servings/day, with a little more in summer at times), and I started feeling heavy when I cut it out. (At the risk of being gross, fruit helps keep me regular and curbs my sweet tooth.) I recently added in a few pieces after going without for a while, and I've lost a couple of pounds.

I think the issue for a lot of people is added sugar in general, not the naturally-occurring sugars in whole fruit. That being said, I do know several people who are very sensitive to all sugars, including the ones in whole fruit. YMMV, as always. :)

cliff · Answer 4 · 2011-11-09 21:39:13Z UTC

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I've never seen an obese 811er

answered Nov 9 2011 at 21:39

cliff
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what is an 811er? – peter Nov 10 2011 at 2:09

30bananasaday.com – cliff Nov 10 2011 at 14:05

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i was one! and had a very uncomfortable GI tract. to each his (or her) own :) – Rebekah May 24 2012 at 0:52

Beth-WeightMaven · Answer 5 · 2011-11-09 21:58:29Z UTC

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YMMV is "your mileage may vary." Would have posted this as a comment, but PH keeps giving me a "you can only post 20 comments in an hour ... wait 2 minutes" message over and over.

answered Nov 9 2011 at 21:58

Beth-WeightMaven
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Too funny. I had the same issue last night... – Eric Nov 10 2011 at 1:45

Kewpie · Answer 6 · 2011-11-09 22:03:01Z UTC

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I think the "don't eat fruit" thing comes primarily from the VLC paleo camp. It's never seemed like a good idea to me. I eat fruit daily and have been continuing to lose weight consistantly.

answered Nov 9 2011 at 22:03

Kewpie
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	I'm not so sure. Even when I go through periods of moderate to heavy carb, I still avoid fruit because it's the last thing in my diet to trigger serious, heavy binges that feel far more physiological in nature, as opposed to psychological. I don't claim to know why this is so, but it is so. – Canis Minor Apr 1 2012 at 16:30
	i think this is a case of know thyself. good for you for being self-aware! – Rebekah May 24 2012 at 0:51

Steve Swift · Answer 7 · 2012-04-01 07:03:00Z UTC

I personally feel fructose is terrible for people's general health. (turns into low density fat and causes plaque buildup/heart attacks)

But no your problem isn't fructose. It's glucose.

Your body won't burn calories until your glucose stores are burned up.

But you NEED some glucose for your brain. 20% of your calories per day need to be glucose for your brain.

So in a nutshell even when your dieting you "need" junk food for glucose for your brain.

I just don't know what the exact percent would be, I would do 20% calories from carbs myself, probably spread out as snacks throughout the day every two hours or so starting in the morning. Your body would prioritize your brain over your muscles and other body organs I would think.

Is fructose really my problem?

7 Answers