Fruit sugar, fructose, in its natural whole food form is generally safe to consume in moderate quantities.
Fructose is metabolized only in the liver and thus needs to be consumed in moderation.

The human body is genetically predisposed to making fat in the liver from fructose, or converting it to glucose for further storage as triglyceride fat. This is a great adaptation if you are planning to fatten up to survive the winter!

However, if you are not a polar bear or an orangutan or a human about to starve for a while, then I highly caution you to avoid fructose as a liquid beverage and in processed foods, especially high fructose corn syrup.

We are seeing far too many children with fatty livers and secondary liver inflammation. This is the precursor state to diabetes and liver cirrhosis. It is a serious problem, as the liver is an organ without which you cannot survive.

Avoid all forms of liquid fructose and sugar! Your children will eventually thank you.

Dr. M

Dr. Chris Magryta is a physician at Salisbury Pediatric Associates. Contact him at newsletter@salisburypediatrics.com