What about Fructose?

Glad you asked. Fructose, found mostly in fruits and some root vegetables, is processed differently than glucose. Instead of entering your bloodstream and triggering an insulin response, fructose heads directly to your liver for processing. This is why carbohydrates with a higher percentage of its sugars in the form of fructose will naturally have a lower glycemic value. Simply put, your blood glucose levels cannot be increased if you are consuming fructose instead. This is one of many reasons why the glycemic index is of very little value.

As the liver processes fructose, multiple elements of heart disease become elevated. That is, triglyceride levels are increased and LDL particles are oxidized. The sad thing is, cholesterol gets blamed as being at fault when it is the fructose consumption that is turning the cholesterol into something harmful.

The elevated level of triglycerides also impairs the transport of leptin into your brain. Fructose is unable to enter the cells of your brain (think wrong key/lock combination). If leptin does not reach your brain, your brain will not send out the signal to stop eating. This means that fructose does not have the same satiety effect compared to that of glucose.

At the same time, the amount of leptin secreted has already been decreased because of the smaller insulin response produced by your consumption of fructose. It is the secretion of insulin which triggers leptin secretion in the first place.
Leptin is not the only hormone responsible for hunger. Ghrelin, produced in the stomach, signals hunger. Contrary to leptin, ghrelin increases before meals and decreases after meals. Fructose however does not suppress ghrelin levels as much as glucose does.

As if obesity and heart disease weren’t bad enough, fructose consumption also increases uric acid levels in the body, which in turn results in gout. Again, fructose somehow escapes all blame though and gout sufferers are instead told to refrain from red meat.

Your liver itself isn’t safe either. Having to process excessive amounts of fructose can actually lead to fatty liver disease. That’s right, your liver will look identical to that of an alcoholic if you eat enough fructose.

Not all of the fructose makes its way to your liver though. This is a problem because it is significantly more reactive in the bloodstream than glucose. In fact, fructose is 10 times more effective than glucose at inducing the cross-linking of proteins that leads to advanced glycation end-products (AGEs). AGEs are toxic and contribute to such things as atherosclerosis, asthma, arthritis, myocardial infarction, nephropathy, retinopathy, and neuropathy. These AGEs are also more resistant to the body’s disposal mechanisms than those created by glucose.

Stay tuned for part 4 where we will discuss sucrose and high-fructose corn syrup.

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Something You've Heard Before

Most carbohydrates contain some level of glucose, whether it is by itself or paired with fructose to form sucrose. When you eat or drink a glucose containing food, the glucose enters your bloodstream upon digestion. The rate at which this happens determines the glycemic value of the given food. A higher glycemic value is equal to a faster absorption rate and vice versa.
Once the glucose has entered your bloodstream, some of it will be used as energy through the process of glycolysis. This is why you may feel a rush of energy when you eat sweets. Your pancreas must then secrete enough insulin to escort the unused glucose into your cells. Think of insulin as the key needed to gain entry to your cells. At this point, you will be in a state of hypoglycemia because the insulin did its job and cleared the blood of glucose. This results in the body thinking it needs more energy and you begin to crave more of the quick-hit, simple sugars that you just consumed. This is the beginning of the sugar craving cycle.

As you give in to your cravings this downward cycle continues. Your pancreas continues to secrete insulin to clear your blood of glucose, but over time, the locks on your cells begin to jam and the keys (insulin) no longer work like they used to. It requires the help of additional insulin to be able to enter. In the mean time, the glucose is essentially locked out of your cells. This need for more and more insulin to clear the glucose from your blood is referred to as insulin resistance.

At the same time that your pancreas is working overtime to produce the insulin you need, it also begins to reduce glucagon production. Like insulin, glucagon is a hormone produced by the pancreas. Instead of letting glucose into your cells like insulin does, glucagon is responsible for the process that converts stored glycogen into glucose and lets it out of your cells to be used as energy.

You see, when your blood glucose levels are low, the pancreas secretes glucagon so that glucose can be released from your cells for energy. However, if you are insulin resistant, your blood glucose levels are consistently elevated, signaling to your pancreas that additional glucose should not be released from your cells. Thus, dramatically hindering your efforts of reducing stored body fat.

Stay tuned for Part 3 where we will discuss fructose.

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Jennie and I received the ice cream maker attachment for our KitchenAid mixer and plan on making some ice cream this weekend. I have no clue what flavor we will be shooting for, but will be sure to document the process. In the meantime, here are a few recipes that I found in my cookbooks and online. If you give any of them a shot, please be sure to share your experience with the rest of us.

Chocolate Nut Butter Ice Cream (Performance Menu)

• 1/2 C coconut milk
• 1 tsp unsweetened cocoa or carob powder
• 1 Tbsp cashew butter
• 1 Tbsp crushed walnuts
• Few drops pure vanilla extract (optional)

Prepare the ice cream about an hour before you want to eat it. Pour the coconut milk into a coffee cup or small dish. Add the other ingredients, mix well. Place into the freezer for one hour. To get a good, ice cream-like consistency, the mixture needs to be stirred periodically to break up the portions that will get frozen hard.

Coconut Milk Ice Cream (Performance Menu)

• 1 can coconut milk
• 2 C fresh fruit
• 1 tsp vanilla (optional)

Simply place all ingredients in a blender and puree. Pour into dessert cups (coffee cups work equally well) and put in the freezer for about 1 hour or until it has chilled to an ice cream-like consistency.

Optimal Ice Cream (Hyperlipid Blog)

• 1 pint double cream
• 6 egg yolks
• 10 drops vanilla extract
• sweetener to taste

Pumpkin Pie Ice Cream (KitchenAid)

• 3 C cream
• 6 egg yolks
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 3/4 tsp pumpkin pie spice
• 1.5 C canned pumpkin
• sweetener to taste

Scold half of the cream. In a separate bowl, whisk the 6 egg yolks. Add the vanilla and sweetener to the yolks. Slowly whisk the scolded cream into this mixture. Add the pumpkin pie spice and stir entire mixture over medium heat for about 10:00. Be sure not to boil the mixture. Add the remaining cream and the canned pumpkin and whisk. Strain the mixture to remove any egg parts that may have solidified and chill mixture in the refrigerator. Once chilled, pour into ice cream maker. Churn for 15-20 minutes until desired consistency.

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What is Sugar?

All carbohydrates, otherwise known as saccharides, are a form of sugar. The simplest form of sugar is known as a monosaccharide. The two most common of which are glucose and fructose. When two monosaccharides are joined together, a disaccharide, such as sucrose (table sugar), is formed. Monosaccharides, as well as disaccharides, are referred to as simple sugars. If multiple monosaccharides or disaccharides are joined together in a long chain, polysaccharides, or complex carbs, result. Starches are a form of complex carbs and include such foods as potatoes, rice, wheat, and corn.

You need to know that you are hard-wired to crave sweetness. You come from an environment where every calorie had to be found and then dug up or killed. Concentrated sources of sugar were very rare. Therefore, the brain urges you to eat more of these calorie dense foods whenever the tongue tastes it. This has become bad news in our current world where sugar is cheap and in great abundance.

Stay tuned for Part 2 where we will discuss glucose.

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Our next Ramp-up session has reached capacity. If you are still interested in participating in a ramp-up session, but did not get into this session, contact us to be put on the waiting list for the next one. For those of you who did sign-up in time, here is the schedule of classes:

Ramp-up Classes:

• Monday, July 20th @ 7pm
• Wednesday, July 22nd @ 7pm
• Saturday, July 25th @ 8am
• Monday, July 27th @ 7pm
• Wednesday, July 29th @ 7pm
• Saturday, August 1st @ 8am

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They have released the schedule of events for Friday's Affiliate Cup Challenge. Here is the order that CrossFit Fire will perform the WODs:

10:00am - Hill WOD

12:00pm - North Pad WOD

2:00pm - Stadium WOD

Descriptions of these WODs can be found on the CrossFit Games website. We will continue to update everyone as the weekend progresses.

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Ramp-up

If you or anyone you know has been thinking about trying CrossFit Fire, this is your opportunity. Our next ramp-up session is scheduled to begin in just 2 short weeks. The session consists of 6 classes over the course of 2 weeks and attendance at all 6 classes is mandatory. If a class is missed it will have to be made up during a private session. If you have any questions or would like to sign-up, please contact either Bill or Jennie. Remember, spots are reserved on a first come, first serve basis and space is limited!

Ramp-up Classes:

• Monday, July 20th @ 7pm
• Wednesday, July 22nd @ 7pm
• Saturday, July 25th @ 8am
• Monday, July 27th @ 7pm
• Wednesday, July 29th @ 7pm
• Saturday, August 1st @ 8am

Schedule Changes

Due to the 2009 CrossFit Games beginning this Friday, there will be a few scheduling changes. Here is the temporary class schedule:

• Thursday, July 9th: 6:00pm, 7:00pm
• Friday, July 10th: 5:30am, 6:00pm
• Saturday, July 11th: 9:00am ("Team Saturday"), 10:00am (Free Intro)
• Monday, July 13th: 5:30am, 6:00pm, 7:00pm

If you have any questions while we are out of town, please feel free to contact Zach.

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