- A strain called the spontaneously hypertensive rat (SHR), fed a high-sucrose (table sugar, 50% fructose) diet.
- Sprague-Dawley (generic lab strain) rats fed a high-fructose diet.
On to humans. Total sugar and fructose consumption have been increasing in the U.S. in recent decades, along with metabolic syndrome. I think the average numbers may hide some important information, because there is a fraction of the population that consumes far more than the average amount of sugar through soda. Leptin resistance seems to be central to the metabolic syndrome, and typically precedes the other symptoms. The evidence suggests that the rat research on metabolic syndrome is applicable to humans.
I don't think sugar acts alone in causing the metabolic syndrome in humans. I believe the liver is a central player in the disorder, as many of the markers used to diagnose it are measures of processes that occur in the liver (triglyceride synthesis, glucose and insulin disposal). Insulin resistance in the liver is sufficient to cause many of the hallmarks of the metabolic syndrome in mice. The fructose portion of sugar and high-linoleic (omega-6) vegetable oils act synergistically to cause liver dysfunction in rats and probably humans.
I also believe wheat contributes to the process, perhaps through its ability to cause hyperphagia (overeating) or intestinal damage. So we're back to the three big killers in the modern diet:
- Refined vegetable oils
- Sugar
- Wheat
9 comments:
It looks like I accidentally closed comments on this post, sorry! Feel free to comment now.
Hey Stephan,
Good stuff as always. You're right, it does have something to do with the liver. One of my colleagues is a pediatric liver specialist. He has hundreds of patients between 8 and 16 years of age that all have NAFLD. It's got to be the sheer volume of fructose consumed, along with the other forms of sugar contained in the food (drink) items. I can't really see anything else, particularly when these types of carbohydrates constitute 60% or more of their typical daily intake. Including the processed vegetable oils that typically cover the rest of their diets, their livers are just getting pounded by a sledgehammer.
I think you can remove the "probably" at the end of your post and use an educated guess in your conclusion. As far as wheat goes, I can't separate it from glucose/fructose because of what it does to insulin (at least in the way we consume it).
Brian
Thanks Brian,
That is really sad. Those children will grow up with a metabolic handicap. Fortunately, it seems to be at least partially reversible if you have the right information.
Good morning Dr.Stephan
thanks for this good information about metabolic syndrom but I would like to tell you about high fat diet that can induced metaboilc syndrom also.
good luck
Nermin Bastawi
physiology department
Fuculty of Medicine
Cairo University
Norman,
You must mean in rats or mice. In humans, a high-fat diet (low-carbohydrate diet) reverses the metabolic syndrome quite effectively. And even in rats, omega-6 rich vegetable oils are the best way to make them overweight. Saturated fat isn't as effective.
Dear Stephan
Thanks for this good information about metabolic syndrom. I am interested in your last response mentioning that a high-fat diet (low-carbohydrate diet) reverses the metabolic syndrome quite effectively. Would you be kind to direct me to any research and study with respect to the effectiveness of this diet in reversing the metabolic syndrom condition.
Hi TT,
Here's an open-access article that goes into detail about the effects of reducing carbohydrate on the metabolic syndrome.
http://www.nutritionandmetabolism.com/content/2/1/31
Thanks for the great info! I just came across this article and I found it really informative. I have a question regarding flax seeds (and other such seeds). Since most of us have an imbalance of omega 3:omega 6, should we still consume these high in linoeic acid? Health practitioners seem to promote that you can never quite have enough.
Hi,
Just landed up in ur post and found it interesting..Nice one
" The evidence suggests that the rat research on metabolic syndrome is applicable to humans. " you had mentioned this in your blog.. I would like to read the article which proves the above statement..
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