A calorie is NOT a calorie – Part 1

I would like to talk about the calories here, because a lot of people think that all calories are equal.
For example let’s look at the difference between glucose and fructose. They’re both simple sugars and they both have the same amount of calories, but glucose can be metabolised by all the body’s tissues, while fructose can only be metabolised by the liver.
Fructose can be found in fruits and vegetables, but it is also manufactured in a lab.
Glucose is also called grape sugar or blood sugar and can be found in all major carbohydrates like starch or table sugar. They are both good sources of energy but excess glucose can be fatal to diabetic patients and excess fructose can lead to insulin resistance or non alcoholic liver disease.
Most fat gained from excessive glucose is subcutaneous (under the skin) and is not linked to diabetes or heart disease.
Fructose leads to higher ghrelin levels than glucose. Why it is important you may ask? Because ghrelin is the hormone that’s responsible for your hunger. Glucose decreases food intake.
High fructose sweeteners, soft drinks and corn syrup cause a rise in obesity. High fructose diet (too much sweeteners) promotes insulin intolerance which will cause abdominal fat gain and increased triglyceride.
So a calorie is NOT a calorie here, there’s a difference.

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