One of my patients suffering from obesity, uncontrolled diabetes, and the cost of her medication agreed in June 2019 to adopt a more whole-food plant-based diet.
Excited by the challenge, she did an amazing job. She increased her intake of fresh fruits and vegetables, stopped eating candies, cookies and cakes, and reduced animal-derived foods. In six months, she lost 19 pounds and her average blood glucose reading, HbA1c, dropped from 11.5% to 7.6%.
She was doing very well and I expected her HbA1c to continue to fall and become one of our plant-based successes that reversed diabetes.
Her three-month follow-up visit in March 2020 was canceled due to the blockade of COVID-19. When I finally met her again in May 2021, she regained some of her weight and her HbA1c rose to 10.4 percent.
She explained that an educator of a diabetic doctor and a diabetic nurse told her she was eating too much “sugar” in a plant-based diet.
She was advised to limit carbohydrates by reducing fruits and starchy vegetables and eating more fish and chicken. Sugar-free candies, cakes, cookies and artificial sweeteners were encouraged. In the face of conflicting medical advice, she relied on the traditional knowledge that “sugar” is bad and should be avoided as much as possible, especially if you have diabetes.
I’m a physician and I’m accredited for preventive medicine at the Lifestyle Medicine Clinic in Morehouse Healthcare, Atlanta. This new medical discipline focuses on helping patients modify their healthy lifestyle behaviors.
Patients who adopt an all-food plant-based diet often increase their carbohydrate intake and often see a reversal of chronic illnesses such as diabetes and hypertension. In my clinical experience, the myths about “sugar” and carbohydrates are common among patients and medical professionals.
Fruit vs sugar
Your body works with glucose. It is monosaccharides that cells use for energy.
Glucose is a molecular component of carbohydrates, one of the three essential micronutrients. The other two are fat and protein. Starch is a long, branched chain of glucose.
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Moreover: These molecules (glucose, fructose, and galactose) are the three types of monosaccharides found in starch, fruits, and milk.
Naturally occurring carbohydrates travel in nutritious packages such as fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts and seeds.
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Moreover: Chains of simple sugar molecules linked together form starch and other carbohydrates.
Humans have evolved to crave sweet taste to get the nutrients they need to survive. Our bodies cannot make them, so we need a daily supply of vitamins, minerals and fiber. The best source of these substances for our ancient ancestors was sweet, ripe, delicious fruits.
In addition, fruits contain phytonutrients and antioxidants, as well as chemicals produced only by plants. Phytonutrients such as ellagic acid in strawberries have the property of fighting cancer and promote heart health.
Refined sugar, on the other hand, is highly processed to remove all nutrients except calories. They are a concentrated form of carbohydrates. The food industry produces refined sugar in many forms. The most common are sucrose crystals, known as table sugar, and high-fructose corn syrup found in many processed foods and sweet beverages.
Continuing to satisfy your sweet taste with refined sugar-containing foods, rather than the nutrient-rich fruits that have been passed down through evolution, may not give you all the nutrients you need. I have.
Over time, this deficiency can create a virtuous cycle of overeating that leads to obesity and obesity-related health problems. Females who eat the most fruits tend to have a lower obesity rate.
Toxicity of sugar
Purified sugar is not directly toxic to cells, but can combine with proteins and fats in foods and bloodstream to produce toxic substances such as advanced glycation end products (AGEs). High blood sugar levels can produce glycated low-density lipoproteins. High levels of these and other glucose-related toxic substances are associated with an increased risk of a wide range of chronic health problems, including cardiovascular disease and diabetes.
The most commonly associated illness with sugar is type 2 diabetes. A surprising number of people, including health professionals, mistakenly believe that eating sugar causes type 2 diabetes. This myth leads to a focus on lowering blood glucose and “counting carbohydrates” while ignoring the real cause of progressive loss of pancreatic beta cell function. At the time of diagnosis, the patient may have lost 40-60 percent of the beta cells responsible for insulin production.
Insulin is a hormone that controls the amount of glucose in the bloodstream by blocking the production of glucose in the liver and sending it to fats and muscle cells. Loss of beta cell function means that sufficient insulin is not produced, resulting in the hyperglycemic levels characteristic of type 2 diabetes.
Beta cells have low levels of antioxidants and are susceptible to metabolic and dietary oxidation-free radicals and AGEs. Fruit antioxidants can protect beta cells. Researchers have found that eating whole fruit reduces the risk of type 2 diabetes and the lowest risk for those who eat the most fruit.
Detoxification from sugar
People who are interested in losing weight and improving their health often ask if they should do “sugar detoxification”. This is a waste of time, as in my opinion you can’t get rid of sugar from your body. For example, if you eat only freshly baked chicken breast, the liver converts protein to glucose in a process called gluconeogenesis.
A low carb diet can lead to weight loss, but at the expense of health. A diet that significantly reduces carbohydrates is associated with malnutrition and an increased risk of death from all causes. On a low-carb ketogenic diet, the body breaks down muscles and converts protein into glucose. Lack of fiber causes constipation.
Eliminating foods sweetened with refined sugar is a valuable goal. But don’t think of it as “detox”. It should be a permanent lifestyle change. The safest way to “detox” refined sugar is to increase your intake of nutritious fruits and vegetables. Removing the refined sugar will make the taste buds more sensitive and grateful for the natural sweetness of the fruit. 
Jennifer Luke, Associate Professor of Community Health and Preventive Medicine, Morehaus School of Medicine.
This article has been republished from Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Please read the original article.
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