Hello Jeff,

Welcome to the board!

Are you ready to be socked?

I know the tendency is to want to believe that sugars and starch from natural sources are better for you than empty, junk-food carbohydrates. To some extent it is true. There are essential vitamins, nutrients and fiber in these foods. There are also a lot of carbohydrates, which your body will treat in the same way as refined sugar. It won't distinguish and say, "Aha, this is from an apple so it's better that a doughnut." It will begin the process of dealing with the sugar. Briefly, this is the way it works: Insulin carries glucose to your cells to be used as fuel. Some of it gets converted to glycogen and is stored in the muscles and liver. What is leftover gets turned into fat. The fatter you get, the less responsive to insulin your cells become. The more carbohydrates you eat, the more insulin is produced creating insulin resistance. Lots of glucose remains in your blood turning into more fat. This is where sugar addiction set in. (You can also be an addict without being fat.) Your cells aren’t getting the fuel they need and the excess insulin drives your blood sugar below normal range. So you eat more sugar.


Fruit juices are even more deadly than fruit. Why? Because you ingest more sugar that way. The fiber in fruit is left behind. You may eat one apple, but it will take 3-4 apples to make a glass of juice. I don’t really think a lot of people would eat 9-12 apples a day, but it would quite easy to consume 3 glasses of juice.

Most serious low-carbers would not consume fruit—except for the occasional treat of melons or berries—or fruit juice.

If I were a Vita-Mix salesperson, I would tell you the same thing. But I’m not and I’m speaking from a low-carb perspective.

My questions to you are: Have you studied the issue in depth and what low-carb plan are you following?

Karen