I’m no doctor or scientist, but these personal discoveries have had noticeable results for my health and fitness so I’m writing them down.
I already know that I’m prone to converting sugar into fat pretty easily. My family has history of type 1 and type 2 diabetes, so why eat the single worst form of sugar for a diabetic (or pre-diabetic)? There’s just no need whatsoever (for me).
One of the most eye-opening scientific medical facts that Peter Attia’s Outlive explains is how the human animal, probably through genetic mutation, has adapted to not produce a specific enzyme related to converting fructose into blood sugar instead of fat. Evolutionary biologists attribute this weird genetic trait of humans (which other primates don’t have) to the reason the human species dominated the planet. We could live anywhere and build up fat stores to survive the winter specifically from the number one sugar source nature provides: fructose. Now we face obesity epidemics in proportions the world has never seen for exactly the same reason. Human bodies are exceptionally efficient and prone to storing fructose as fat. All those Internet scams about eating bananas are absolutely true and based on observable medical facts. Fructose converts to fat faster than any other sugar type on the planet (in humans).
I always wondered by gorillas at the zoo could look so ripped while eating all the sugar they do. I modeled my diet after them at one point. One reason is because they always take in their fructose along with the fiber and water in the fruit and veggies that slow down the reaction to the fructose entering the body. This is why you should never drink fruit juices of any kind. There are always better alternatives that use different sugars. One other reason the apes are so buff is they have an enzyme that tells their bodies not to store fructose as fat, but to use it. I suppose this is also why they and horses are much more susceptible to hyperinsulemenia (insulin resistance) because they physically cannot store fructose as easily leaving that sugar to go directly into the blood stream and force more insulin.
Foods that contain other types of sugars, and in moderation. The irony is that these other sugars aren’t stored as easily as fat, but that also makes them more dangerous in different ways. When they get converted they go directly to blood sugar and are more likely to spike insulin levels than fructose. But that also means they are much less likely to get converted into visceral body fat killing our internal organs—especially when combined with stress-reducing, low-pace (cardio zone two) training.
I take a natural vitamin supplement in portions throughout the day and I eat other good foods that have core nutrients, yes, including occasional meat and daily eggs. I also don’t completely banish fruits and veggies, I just keep them at reasonable levels. For example, I had to reduce my bananas in my smoothy to one half because I was having problems if I didn’t.
I also eat a lot of simple cereals that have been fortified. For some reason I can digest them well and they seem to be meeting the nutritional quota.
I have a theory that the reason all the ketogenic diets work for so many is quite simply because they stop eating fructose, period. Wouldn’t that be a strange coincidence? This is particularly possible since so many foods have high-fructose corn syrup in them—the single deadliest sugar on the planet responsible for more deaths indirectly than any other food ingredient.