In this post, I would like to write about couple of stuff relating to metabolism, enzymes and aging. Of course the discussion will be about adverse impact of sugar, particularly fructose yet again. You must be wondering these posts are mostly about fructose? Simple, the difference between the 'neutral' glucose and the 'bad' sugar fructose, is the metabolism when it is consumes in the body. I particularly chose fructose for thorough discussion, because it is the most devastative sugar amongst all.
Now, firstly, let's start off with how fructose could affect our body's metabolism. Eating too much fructose may cause your body to burn calories less efficiently. Over time, this could cause you to gain weight. Research suggests that fructose lowers your body's basal metabolic rate (BMR), which is the number of calories you use at rest.
You may not realize it, but you burn calories all day long, whether you are breathing, resting, eating, working, sleeping or running on treadmill. This is because many physiological processes that keep your organs running and tissue nourished require energy, even when you sleep. BMR is an important factor in weight management. The funny thing is, I've known a so called 'fitness trainer' in Malaysia, who doesn't even know what is BMR! He just said, "It is Basal Metabolic Rate". Of course it is, but what are the factors of BMR? How it actually functions? How can a Fitness First trainer qualified to charge a client for individual training, when he doesn't even know how your body function? Totally absurd.
As a rule, BMR gradually declines as you get older, which is one of the reason why many people who never needed to worry about their weight suddenly fidn themselves fighting flab as they enter middle age and beyond. Cells metabolize fructose very quickly. In the process, they lose ATP, the molecules that serve as the main power source for metabolism. Unfortunately, as your ATP levels sink, so does your metabolism rate. This means that a high fructose diet can depress your metabolic rate.
Your weight is a reflection not only of the calories you eat, but also the calories you burn, so if your metabolic rate drops, weight gain will result. There is also another explanation why you gain more weight when you consume fructose than when you take in an equal amount of calories from other foods. Research has shown that fructose enhances the absorption of glucose. This suggests that the fructose in sugar and HFCS may cause you to absorb more glucose that you would, when eating a meal of an equal amount of starch, when breaks down to glucose.
Next, let's move on to fructose's impact on enzymes. In a nutshell, fructose is actually a 'fast food', because your body processes it so rapidly. Unfortunately, if you are flooding your system with fructose by eating too many sugary foods, the enzymes required to break it down may respond by becoming overreactive. This could cause your body to set in motion the metabolic changes that cause weight gain every time you consume fructose, even just a small amount.
Enzymes are body's catalysts. One enzyme in particular, called fructokinase, helps to convert fructose into energy. This fructose enzyme, is present in tissue cells throughout the body, with the highest concentrations in certain organs, including the liver, intestines, and kidneys. High levels of fructose enzymes are also present in fat cells.
Fructose enzymes may turn fructose into energy, but they do so at high price. As I mentioned in earlier post, burning fructose generates uric acid, which has been linked with weight gain, among other metabolic problems. Unfortunately, if you eat large amounts of foods containing fructose every day, your body responds by manufacturing a huge volume of fructose enzymes. This makes your cells overly sensitive, causing them to generate large amounts of uric acid every time you consume sugar. It's as though your body is a machinery for manufacturing uric acid and other damaging compounds got stuck in high gear.
Apparently, avoiding fructose in the diet kept fructose enzymes under control, which in turn kept uric acid levels low. On the other hand, eating a high fructose diet turned up the volume on fructose enzymes, making them overreact and generating excessive amounts of uric acid.
Okay. Let's talk a bit about the effects of fructose on aging. I'm sure a lot of people would be interested in this one, especially ladies out there. The science is clear and powerful. Cutting back on fructose will help maintain a healthy weight and control the various conditions such of metabolic syndrome such as high blood pressure, high blood glucose, lipid problems and obesity. As campaigns for soft drinks and other products that are sweetened with large amounts of sugar and high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) often feature images of youthful, active people. Nonsense! Ironically, consuming too many foods and beverages that contain high fructose may actually accelerate aging and overall physical decline.
Although it may taste sweet, fructose is a volatile chemical. When it makes contact with proteins and amino acids in your body, fructose sparks a chemical reaction similar to the one that occurs when you toast bread or roast meat. This chemical change produces molecules called advanced glycation end products (AGEs).
Normally, your body manufactures AGEs at a slow, steady pace. Certain conditions, however, cause levels of AGEs to increase. Glucose, like fructose, reacts with proteins in the body to produce AGEs. As I mentioned in earlier post, fructose has up to 7 times more AGEs then glucose! People with poorly controlled diabetes have elevated blood levels of glucose. Not surprisingly, they also tend to have very high concentrations of AGEs, which have been linked to blindness, kidney and nerve damage and other diabetes complications.
AGEs damages collagen, the fibrous material that accounts for accounts for about 30 percent of the proteins in the human body. Collagen is the main component of the connection tissue in tendons, ligaments, organ walls, blood vessels and cartilage, and inner portion of bones. High activity of AGEs also seems to attract oxidative stress and inflammation. Meanwhile, many health experts believe that AGEs play a critical role in the aging process. Folks, thats all for today, I'm tired, had a long day, too much of thinking and writing. Till then, stay tuned. Happy New Year everyone.
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