20 Delicious High-Protein Foods to Eat

People argue about carbs, fats, and everything in between.
However, almost everyone agrees that protein is important.
Eating plenty of protein has numerous benefits.
It can help you lose weight (especially belly fat), and increase your muscle mass and strength, to name a few (1, 2).
The recommended daily intake (RDI) is 46 grams for women, and 56 grams for men (3).
However, many health and fitness experts believe that we need much more than that.
Here is a list of 20 delicious foods that are high in protein.

1. Eggs

Whole eggs are among the healthiest and most nutritious foods on the planet.
They are loaded with vitamins, minerals, healthy fats, eye-protecting antioxidants and brain nutrients that most people don’t get enough of.
Whole eggs are high in protein, but egg whites are almost pure protein.
Protein content: 35% of calories in a whole egg. 1 large egg contains 6 grams of protein, with 78 calories.

 

2. Almonds

Almonds are a popular type of tree nut.
They are loaded with important nutrients, including fiber, vitamin E, manganese and magnesium.
Protein content: 13% of calories. 6 grams per 1 ounce (28 g) serving, with 161 calories.

Other High-Protein Nuts

Pistachios (13% of calories) and cashews (11% of calories).

 

3. Chicken Breast

Chicken breast is one of the most popular protein-rich foods.
If you eat it without the skin, the majority of the calories in it come from protein.
Chicken breast is also very easy to cook, and tastes delicious if you do it right.
Protein content: 80% of calories. 1 roasted chicken breast without skin contains 53 grams, with only 284 calories.

 

4. Oats

Oats are among the healthiest grains on the planet.
They are loaded with healthy fibers, magnesium, manganese, thiamin (vitamin B1) and several other nutrients.
Protein content: 15% of calories. Half a cup of raw oats contains 13 grams, with 303 calories.

 

5. Cottage Cheese

Cottage cheese is a type of cheese that tends to be very low in fat and calories.
It is loaded with calcium, phosphorus, selenium, vitamin B12, riboflavin (vitamin B2) and various other nutrients.
Protein content: 59% of calories. A cup (226 g) of cottage cheese with 2% fat contains 27 grams of protein, with 194 calories.

Other Types of Cheese That Are High in Protein

Parmesan cheese (38% of calories), swiss cheese (30%), mozzarella (29%) and cheddar (26%).

 

6. Greek Yogurt

            Greek yogurt, also called strained yogurt, is a very thick type of yogurt.

 

It tastes delicious, has a creamy texture, and is high in many nutrients.
Protein content: Non-fat greek yogurt has protein at 48% of calories. One 170 gram (6 ounce) container has 17 grams of protein, with only 100 calories.
Just make sure to choose one without added sugar. Full-fat Greek yogurt is also very high in protein, but contains more calories.

Similar Options

Regular full-fat yogurt (24% of calories) and kefir (40%).

7. Milk

Milk is highly nutritious, but the problem is that a huge percentage of the world’s adults are intolerant to it.
However, if you tolerate milk and enjoy drinking it, then milk can be an excellent source of high-quality protein.
Milk contains a little bit of almost every single nutrient needed by the human body.
It is particularly high in calcium, phosphorus and riboflavin (vitamin B2).
Protein content: 21% of calories. 1 cup of whole milk contains 8 grams of protein, with 149 calories.

 

8. Broccoli

Broccoli is an incredibly healthy vegetable, loaded with vitamin C, vitamin K, fiber and potassium.
Broccoli is also loaded with various bioactive nutrients believed to help protect against cancer.
Calorie for calorie, it is high in protein compared to most vegetables.
Protein content: 20% of calories. 1 cup of chopped broccoli (96 grams) contains 3 grams of protein, with only 31 calories.

 

9. Lean Beef

Lean beef is very high in protein, and also tastes delicious.
It is loaded with highly bioavailable iron, vitamin B12 and numerous other nutrients.
Protein content: 53% of calories. One 3 ounce (85 g) serving of cooked beef with 10% fat contains 22 grams of protein, with 184 calories.
If you’re on a low-carb diet, feel free to eat fatty cuts of beef instead of lean beef.

10. Tuna

Tuna is a very popular type of fish.
It is low in both fat and calories, so what we’re left with is mostly just protein.
Like other fish, tuna is also very high in various nutrients and contains a decent amount of omega-3 fatty acids.
Protein content: 94% of calories, in tuna canned in water. A cup (154) contains 39 grams of protein, with only 179 calories.

11. Quinoa

Quinoa is a seed/grain that is currently among the world’s most popular superfoods.
It is high in many vitamins, minerals and fiber, and is loaded with antioxidants.
Quinoa has numerous health benefits.
Protein content: 15% of calories. One cup (185 g) of cooked quinoa contains 8 grams, with 222 calories.

 

 

12. Whey Protein Supplements

When you’re pressed for time and unable to cook, a whey protein supplement can come in handy.

Whey is a type of high-quality protein from dairy foods, shown to be very effective at building muscle mass, and may help with weight loss.
Protein content: Varies between brands, can go over 90% of calories, with 20-50 grams of protein per serving.

 

13. Lentils

Lentils are a type of legume.
They are high in fiber, magnesium, potassium, iron, folate, copper, manganese and various other nutrients.
Lentils are among the world’s best sources of plant-based protein, and are an excellent food for vegetarians.
Protein content: 27% of calories. 1 cup (198 g) of boiled lentils contains 18 grams, with 230 calories.

Other High-Protein Legumes

 Soybeans (33% of calories), chickpeas (19%) and kidney beans (24%).

14. Ezekiel Bread

Ezekiel bread is different from most other breads.
It is made of organic and sprouted whole grains and legumes, including millet, barley, spelt, wheat, soybeans and lentils.
Compared to most breads, ezekiel bread is very high in protein, fiber and various nutrients.
Protein content: 20% of calories. 1 slice contains 4 grams, with 80 calories.

 

 

20 Delicious High-Protein Foods to Eat

People argue about carbs, fats, and everything in between.
However, almost everyone agrees that protein is important.
Eating plenty of protein has numerous benefits.
It can help you lose weight (especially belly fat), and increase your muscle mass and strength, to name a few (1, 2).
The recommended daily intake (RDI) is 46 grams for women, and 56 grams for men (3).
However, many health and fitness experts believe that we need much more than that.
Here is a list of 20 delicious foods that are high in protein.

1. Eggs

Whole eggs are among the healthiest and most nutritious foods on the planet.
They are loaded with vitamins, minerals, healthy fats, eye-protecting antioxidants and brain nutrients that most people don’t get enough of.
Whole eggs are high in protein, but egg whites are almost pure protein.
Protein content: 35% of calories in a whole egg. 1 large egg contains 6 grams of protein, with 78 calories.

 

2. Almonds

Almonds are a popular type of tree nut.
They are loaded with important nutrients, including fiber, vitamin E, manganese and magnesium.
Protein content: 13% of calories. 6 grams per 1 ounce (28 g) serving, with 161 calories.

Other High-Protein Nuts

Pistachios (13% of calories) and cashews (11% of calories).

 

3. Chicken Breast

Chicken breast is one of the most popular protein-rich foods.
If you eat it without the skin, the majority of the calories in it come from protein.
Chicken breast is also very easy to cook, and tastes delicious if you do it right.
Protein content: 80% of calories. 1 roasted chicken breast without skin contains 53 grams, with only 284 calories.

 

4. Oats

Oats are among the healthiest grains on the planet.
They are loaded with healthy fibers, magnesium, manganese, thiamin (vitamin B1) and several other nutrients.
Protein content: 15% of calories. Half a cup of raw oats contains 13 grams, with 303 calories.

 

5. Cottage Cheese

Cottage cheese is a type of cheese that tends to be very low in fat and calories.
It is loaded with calcium, phosphorus, selenium, vitamin B12, riboflavin (vitamin B2) and various other nutrients.
Protein content: 59% of calories. A cup (226 g) of cottage cheese with 2% fat contains 27 grams of protein, with 194 calories.

Other Types of Cheese That Are High in Protein

Parmesan cheese (38% of calories), swiss cheese (30%), mozzarella (29%) and cheddar (26%).

 

6. Greek Yogurt

            Greek yogurt, also called strained yogurt, is a very thick type of yogurt.

 

It tastes delicious, has a creamy texture, and is high in many nutrients.
Protein content: Non-fat greek yogurt has protein at 48% of calories. One 170 gram (6 ounce) container has 17 grams of protein, with only 100 calories.
Just make sure to choose one without added sugar. Full-fat Greek yogurt is also very high in protein, but contains more calories.

Similar Options

Regular full-fat yogurt (24% of calories) and kefir (40%).

7. Milk

Milk is highly nutritious, but the problem is that a huge percentage of the world’s adults are intolerant to it.
However, if you tolerate milk and enjoy drinking it, then milk can be an excellent source of high-quality protein.
Milk contains a little bit of almost every single nutrient needed by the human body.
It is particularly high in calcium, phosphorus and riboflavin (vitamin B2).
Protein content: 21% of calories. 1 cup of whole milk contains 8 grams of protein, with 149 calories.

 

8. Broccoli

Broccoli is an incredibly healthy vegetable, loaded with vitamin C, vitamin K, fiber and potassium.
Broccoli is also loaded with various bioactive nutrients believed to help protect against cancer.
Calorie for calorie, it is high in protein compared to most vegetables.
Protein content: 20% of calories. 1 cup of chopped broccoli (96 grams) contains 3 grams of protein, with only 31 calories.

 

9. Lean Beef

Lean beef is very high in protein, and also tastes delicious.
It is loaded with highly bioavailable iron, vitamin B12 and numerous other nutrients.
Protein content: 53% of calories. One 3 ounce (85 g) serving of cooked beef with 10% fat contains 22 grams of protein, with 184 calories.
If you’re on a low-carb diet, feel free to eat fatty cuts of beef instead of lean beef.

10. Tuna

Tuna is a very popular type of fish.
It is low in both fat and calories, so what we’re left with is mostly just protein.
Like other fish, tuna is also very high in various nutrients and contains a decent amount of omega-3 fatty acids.
Protein content: 94% of calories, in tuna canned in water. A cup (154) contains 39 grams of protein, with only 179 calories.

11. Quinoa

Quinoa is a seed/grain that is currently among the world’s most popular superfoods.
It is high in many vitamins, minerals and fiber, and is loaded with antioxidants.
Quinoa has numerous health benefits.
Protein content: 15% of calories. One cup (185 g) of cooked quinoa contains 8 grams, with 222 calories.

 

 

12. Whey Protein Supplements

When you’re pressed for time and unable to cook, a whey protein supplement can come in handy.

Whey is a type of high-quality protein from dairy foods, shown to be very effective at building muscle mass, and may help with weight loss.
Protein content: Varies between brands, can go over 90% of calories, with 20-50 grams of protein per serving.

 

13. Lentils

Lentils are a type of legume.
They are high in fiber, magnesium, potassium, iron, folate, copper, manganese and various other nutrients.
Lentils are among the world’s best sources of plant-based protein, and are an excellent food for vegetarians.
Protein content: 27% of calories. 1 cup (198 g) of boiled lentils contains 18 grams, with 230 calories.

Other High-Protein Legumes

 Soybeans (33% of calories), chickpeas (19%) and kidney beans (24%).

14. Ezekiel Bread

 

 

 

11 Ways to Stop Cravings for Unhealthy Foods and Sugar

Food cravings are the dieter’s worst enemy.
These are intense or uncontrollable desires for specific foods, stronger than normal hunger.
The types of foods that people crave are highly variable, but these are often processed junk foods that are high in sugar.
Cravings are one of the biggest reasons why people have problems losing weight and keeping it off.
Here are 11 simple ways to prevent or stop unhealthy food and sugar cravings.

1. Drink Water

Thirst is often confused with hunger or food cravings.
If you feel a sudden urge for a specific food, try drinking a large glass of water and wait a few minutes. You may find that the craving fades away, because your body was actually just thirsty.
Furthermore, drinking plenty of water may have many health benefits. In middle-aged and older people, drinking water before meals can reduce appetite and help with weight loss (1, 2, 3).

Bottom Line: Drinking water before meals may reduce cravings and appetite, as well as help with weight loss.

2. Eat More Protein

Eating more protein may reduce your appetite and keep you from overeating.
It also reduces cravings, and helps you feel full and satisfied for longer (4).
One study of overweight teenage girls showed that eating a high-protein breakfast reduced cravings significantly (5).
Another study in overweight men showed that increasing protein intake to 25% of calories reduced cravings by 60%. Additionally, the desire to snack at night was reduced by 50% (6).

Bottom Line: Increasing protein intake may reduce cravings by up to 60% and cut the desire to snack at night by 50%.

Protein Intake – How Much Protein Should You Eat Per Day?

“Protein is King” – Dr. Spencer Nadolsky
Protein is incredibly important.
If we don’t get enough from the diet, our health and body composition suffers.
However, there are vastly different opinions on how much protein we actually need.
Most official nutrition organizations recommend a fairly modest protein intake.
The DRI (Dietary Reference Intake) is 0.8 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight, or 0.36 grams per pound.
This amounts to:

• 56 grams per day for the average sedentary man.
• 46 grams per day for the average sedentary woman.

Although this meager amount may be enough to prevent downright deficiency, studies show that it is far from sufficient to ensure optimal health and body composition.
It turns out that the “right” amount of protein for any one individual depends on many factors… including activity levels, age, muscle mass, physique goals and current state of health.
So… what amount of protein is optimal and how do lifestyle factors like weight loss, muscle building and activity levels factor in?
Let’s find out…

15 “Health Foods” That Are Really Junk Foods in Disguise

Unhealthy foods are the main reason the world is fatter and sicker than ever before.
Surprisingly, some of these foods are considered healthy by many people.
 Here are 15 “health foods” that are really junk foods in disguise.

1. Processed “Low-Fat” and “Fat-Free” Foods

The “war” on saturated fat is the biggest mistake in the history of nutrition.
It was based on weak evidence, which has now been completely debunked (1).
When this started, processed food manufacturers jumped on the bandwagon and started removing the fat from foods.
But there’s a huge problem… food tastes horrible when the fat has been removed. That’s why they added a whole bunch of sugar to compensate.
Saturated fat is harmless, but added sugar is incredibly harmful when consumed in excess (2, 3).
The words “low-fat” or “fat-free” on a packaging usually mean that it is a highly processed product that is loaded with sugar.

2. Most Commercial Salad Dressings

Vegetables are incredibly healthy.
The problem is that they often don’t taste very good on their own.
That’s why many people use dressings to add flavour to their salads, turning these bland meals into delicious treats.
But many salad dressings are actually loaded with unhealthy ingredients like sugar, vegetable oils and trans fats, along with a bunch of artificial chemicals.
Although vegetables are good for you, eating them with a dressing high in harmful ingredients will totally negate any health benefit you get from the salad.
Make sure to check the ingredients list before you use a salad dressing… or make your own using healthy ingredients.

 

3. Fruit Juices… Which Are Basically Just Liquid Sugar

A lot of people believe fruit juices to be healthy.
They must be… because they come from fruit, right?
But a lot of the fruit juice you find in the supermarket isn’t really fruit juice.
Sometimes there isn’t even any actual fruit in there, just chemicals that taste like fruit. What you’re drinking is basically just fruit-flavored sugar water.
That being said, even if you’re drinking 100% quality fruit juice, it is still a bad idea.
Fruit juice is like fruit, except with all the good stuff (like the fiber) taken out… the main thing left of the actual fruit is the sugar.
If you didn’t know, fruit juice actually contains a similar amount of sugar as a sugar-sweetened beverage (4).

 

Is Fruit Good or Bad For Your Health? The Sweet Truth

“Eat more fruits and vegetables.”
If I had a dime for every time I heard that recommendation, I’d be a rich man today.
Everyone knows that fruits are healthy… they are the default “health foods.”
They come from plants… they’re real, whole foods and humans have been eating them for a long time.
Most of them are also very convenient… some people call them “nature’s fast food” because they are so easily portable and easy to prepare.
On the surface, they seem like the perfect food.
However… many people have challenged the belief about the health effects of fruit in the past few years.
The main reason is that fruit is relatively high in sugar compared to other whole foods.

“Sugar” is Bad… But it Depends on The Context

There is a lot of evidence that added sugar is harmful (1, 2, 3).
This includes table sugar (sucrose) and high fructose corn syrup, which are both about half glucose, half fructose.
The main reason they are harmful, is because of the negative metabolic effects of fructose when consumed in large amounts.
I’m not going to get into the details, but you can read more about the harmful effects of added sugars here.
Many people now believe that because added sugars are bad, the same must apply to fruits, which also contain fructose.
However… this is completely wrong, because fructose is only harmful in large amounts and it is almost impossible to overeat fructose by eating fruit.

 Bottom Line: There is a lot of evidence that large amounts of fructose can cause harm when consumed in excess. However, this depends on the dosage and context and does not apply to fruit.

Fruit Juice is Just as Unhealthy as a Sugary Drink

Fruit juice is often perceived as healthy.
That’s understandable, given that it is natural and has the word “fruit” in it.
However… what many people fail to realize is that fruit juice is also loaded with sugar.
In fact, fruit juice contains just as much sugar and calories as a sugary soft drink… and sometimes even more (1).
The small amounts of vitamins and antioxidants in the juice do not make up for the large amount of sugar.


Fruit Juice Isn’t Always What it Seems
Unfortunately, food and beverage manufacturers aren’t always honest about what is in their products.
The fruit juice you find at the supermarket may not be what you think it is… even if it’s labelled as “100% pure” and “not from concentrate.”
After being squeezed from the fruit, the juice is usually stored in massive oxygen-depleted holding tanks for up to a year before it is packaged.
The main problem with this method is that it tends to remove most of the flavor, so the manufacturers need to add so-called “flavor packs” to the juice, to bring back the flavor that was lost during processing.
So even if you’re buying the highest quality juices at the supermarket, they are still far from their original state.
Some of the lowest quality ones don’t even resemble fresh-squeezed fruit juice at all… they are basically just fruit-flavored sugar water.

Bottom Line: Fruit juice isn’t always what it seems, even the higher quality types have gone through processing methods that remove the flavor, making it necessary to add “flavor packs” to bring them back to their original state.

Fruit Juice Contains Vitamins, Minerals and Antioxidants, but it Lacks Fiber and is Loaded With Sugar

Fruit juice is missing a lot of the stuff that makes whole fruit healthy.
Orange juice, for example, does contain Vitamin C and is a decent source of folate, potassium and Vitamin B1 (2).
It also contains antioxidants, some of which can increase the antioxidant value of the blood (3, 4).
But calorie for calorie (or sugar gram for sugar gram), it is nutritionally poor compared to whole oranges and other plant foods like vegetables (5).

The main problem is this… fruit juice contains no fiber and is very high in sugar.
Take a look at the breakdown for a 12 ounce (350 ml) portion of Coca Cola and apple juice:

• Coca Cola: 140 calories and 40 grams of sugar (10 teaspoons).
• Apple juice: 165 calories and 39 grams of sugar (9.8 teaspoons).

This is the ugly truth about fruit juice… most types contain a similar amount of sugar as a sugar-sweetened beverage, sometimes with even more total calories!

Bottom Line: Fruit juice contains some nutrients, but less compared to many plant foods. It contains no fiber and is just as high in sugar and calories as most sugar-sweetened beverages.

Insulin and Insulin Resistance – The Ultimate Guide

Insulin is an important hormone that controls many processes in the body.
However, problems with this hormone are at the heart of many modern health conditions.
Sometimes our cells stop responding to insulin like they are supposed to.
This condition is termed insulin resistance, and is incredibly common.
In fact, a 2002 study showed that 32.2% of the US population may be insulin resistant (1).
This number may rise to 70% in obese adult women and over 80% in some patient groups (2, 3). About a third of obese children and teenagers may also have insulin resistance (4).
These numbers are scary, but the good news is that insulin resistance can be dramatically improved with simple lifestyle measures.
This article explains what insulin resistance is, why you should care and how you can overcome it.

Insulin and Insulin Resistance Explained

Insulin is a hormone secreted by an organ called the pancreas.
Its main role is to regulate the amount of nutrients circulating in the bloodstream.
Although insulin is mostly implicated in blood sugar management, it also affects fat and protein metabolism.
When we eat a meal that contains carbohydrates, the amount of blood sugar in the bloodstream increases.
This is sensed by the cells in the pancreas, which then release insulin into the blood.
Then insulin travels around the bloodstream, telling the body’s cells that they should pick up sugar from the blood.
This leads to reduced amounts of sugar in the blood, and puts it where it is intended to go, into the cells for use or storage.
This is important, because high amounts of sugar in the blood can have toxic effects, causing severe harm and potentially leading to death if untreated.
However, due to various reasons (discussed below), sometimes the cells stop responding to the insulin like they are supposed to.
In other words, they become “resistant” to the insulin.
When this happens, the pancreas start producing even more insulin to bring the blood sugar levels down. This leads to high insulin levels in the blood, termed hyperinsulinemia.
This may continue to develop for a long time. The cells become increasingly more insulin resistant, and both insulin and blood sugar levels go up.
Eventually, the pancreas may not be able to keep up anymore and the cells in the pancreas may become damaged.
This leads to decreased insulin production, so now there are low amounts of insulin and cells that don’t respond to the little insulin that is available. This can lead to skyrocketing blood sugar levels.
When blood sugar levels exceed a certain threshold, a diagnosis of type 2 diabetes is made. In fact, this is a simplified version of how type 2 diabetes develops.
Insulin resistance is the main cause of this common disease that affects about 9% of people worldwide (5).

Resistance vs Sensitivity

Insulin resistance and insulin sensitivity are two sides of the same coin.
If you are insulin resistant, then you have low insulin sensitivity. Conversely, if you are insulin sensitive then you have low insulin resistance.
Being insulin resistant is a bad thing, while being insulin sensitive is good.

Bottom Line: Insulin resistance implies that the cells are not responding well to the hormone insulin. This causes higher insulin levels, higher blood sugar levels and may lead to type 2 diabetes and other health problems.

What Causes Insulin Resistance?

 
            There are many potential causes and contributors to insulin resistance.

 

Why Is Fructose Bad For You?

Dr. Robert H. Lustig is a pediatric endocrinologist, an expert on obesity in children and a very talented speaker. He’s also the man who brought the dangers of fructose into mainstream attention.
His presentation above, Sugar: The Bitter Truth, is a 90 minute lecture that delves deep into the science and biochemistry behind fructose consumption, with over 6 million views.
This video is a must watch. I’ve seen it 3 times already and it is about as entertaining as a movie in my opinion. He also published a bestselling book on sugar called Fat Chance.

Why Is Fructose Bad For You? Some Important Points

Sugar (sucrose) and high fructose corn syrup both supply a significant portion of the total calories in a standard western diet.
They both consist of two simple sugars: glucose and fructose.
Glucose also comes from starches like potatoes, our bodies produce it and every cell on earth has glucose in it. Glucose is a molecule absolutely vital to life.
Fructose, however, is not. Humans don’t produce fructose and throughout evolutionary history have never consumed it except seasonally when fruit were ripe.
Glucose and fructose are metabolized very differently by the body.
The key thing to realize, is that while every cell in the body can use glucose, the liver is the only organ that can metabolize fructose in significant amounts.
When people eat a diet that is high in calories and high in fructose, the liver gets overloaded and starts turning the fructose into fat.
Lustig and other scientists believe that excess fructose consumption may be a key driver of many of the most serious diseases of today. These include obesity, type II diabetes, heart disease and even cancer.

How Sugar Messes up Your Liver and Gives You Diabetes

Modern man is plagued with many diseases that you will not find in some “primitive” populations like modern hunter-gatherers.
These include obesity, heart disease, some cancers and last but not least, type II diabetes… which has reached epidemic proportions in the past few decades and now afflicts about 300 million people worldwide.
This disease is a common cause of early death, blindness, amputation and a severely decreased quality of life… and it is advancing rapidly, every single year.
In the video above, Dr. Robert H. Lustig and Dr. Elissa S. Epel explain how excess sugar can mess up liver metabolism and ultimately lead to diabetes.

Excess Sugar is Associated With Diabetes

Dr. Lustig recently took part in a study where they examined the associations between sugar consumption and diabetes in 175 countries (1).
They found very clear associations, where each 150 kcal (about one can of soda) per day of sugar increased the prevalence of diabetes by 1.1%.
To put this number in perspective, if all of the U.S. added one can of soda to their daily diet, almost 3.5 million more people would become diabetic.
In this study, added sugar was the only part of the diet that correlated with diabetes when they adjusted for confounding factors.
These types of studies are so-called observational studies, which can not prove that one thing caused another, it can only show that they are correlated.
However, there are other lines of evidence linking sugar to the development of type II diabetes and this specifically involves how sugar affects the liver.

How Fructose Messes up Your Liver

Sugar is composed of two molecules… glucose and fructose.
Glucose can be metabolized by every cell in the body and if we don’t get it from the diet, our bodies make it.
However, fructose is different. The only organ that can metabolize sugar is the liver, because only the liver has a transporter for it (2).
Athletes or highly active individuals can eat quite a bit of fructose without problems, because their livers will turn the fructose into glycogen – a storage form of glucose in the liver.
However, when someone’s liver is already full of glycogen (which is true of most people), the fructose will be turned into fat (3).
Some of the fat gets shipped out as blood triglycerides while part of it remains in the liver, contributing to non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (4, 5).
At the same time, your liver becomes insulin resistant. This causes elevated insulin all over your body, which can lead to obesity, metabolic syndrome and many other diseases (6, 7).
Eventually, the pancreas will become unable to secrete sufficient insulin to drive blood glucose into cells.
At this point, blood sugar levels elevate significantly… and that’s when a diagnosis of diabetes is made.

This Does NOT Apply to Fructose in Whole Fruits

Fructose is harmful in the context of excess calories. If we eat small amounts or we are already in a calorie deficit, fructose will not cause harm.
Fruits are a real food with a low energy density, lots of water and significant chewing resistance. It is almost impossible to overeat fructose by eating whole fruit.
There are a few instances where minimizing fruit might be a good idea.
If you are:
a) Diabetic.
b) Very carb sensitive.
c) Eating a very low-carb ketogenic diet.
…then you should probably avoid fruit as much as possible, except perhaps for the occasional berries.
But for healthy people trying to stay healthy, there is no proven reason to avoid natural, whole fruit.
What Dr. Lustig says applies to excess fructose from added sugars. It does NOT apply to moderate consumption of fruit.

Added Sugar is The Single Worst Ingredient in The Diet. Period.

“Did all of a sudden the entire world just become a bunch of gluttons and sloths? All at the same time? I mean, get real.” – Dr. Robert H. Lustig
There are many things wrong with the modern diet… but the massive amounts of added sugar may just be the worst.
Numerous studies show that sugar, more than any other ingredient in the diet, may be driving some of the world’s leading killers… including heart disease, diabetes and even cancer (1, 2, 3).
The video above (hat tip to Dr. Andreas Eenfeldt) – is from ABC’s Catalyst, a popular science program in Australia.

The Low-Fat “Revolution” Gave Sugar a Free Pass

The first dietary guidelines for Americans were published in 1977, giving birth to the low-fat “revolution.”
At this time, the main public health message was that people needed to eat less saturated fat and cholesterol… that is, less of traditional foods like meat, butter, full-fat dairy and eggs.
Unfortunately, the food industry complied and brought a plethora of low-fat “health foods” to the market.
But removing the fat from foods makes them taste horrible.


That’s why the food industry added a whole bunch of sugar to their foods to compensate for the lack of fat.
Although sugar wasn’t actually endorsed by public health guidelines, the primary emphasis was on reducing saturated fat, essentially distracting people from the stuff that actually matters.
Today, people are eating massive amounts of added sugars, usually without even realizing it.
According to Dr. Stephan Guyenet, in the year 1822 we ate the equivalent of a 12 ounce can of soda every 5 days.
Today, we’re eating the equivalent of a 12 ounce can of soda every 7 hours.
On average, Americans are eating about 22 teaspoons of added sugar per day, or 355 calories. This amounts to 70 pounds (32 kg) per year (4).
Keep in mind that these are averages. Young males are eating about a 100 pounds of sugar per year… and many individuals are eating much, much more.

Bottom Line: When the low-fat guidelines first came out, food manufacturers removed the fat from foods but added a whole bunch of sugar instead.

Most People Are Eating MUCH More Sugar Than They Think

The thing is… most people don’t have a clue about how much sugar they’re actually eating.
They’re not pouring 22 teaspoons per day in their coffee or on their breakfast cereal, they’re getting it from conventional foods.
These days, almost every processed food has sugar in it. Just go to the supermarket and look at the labels, you may be surprised… even many so-called “health foods” are loaded with sugar.
Food manufacturers often use confusing terms (like “evaporated cane juice”) for sugar, in order to deceive the consumer and hide the true amount of sugar in their foods.
Even foods that are often considered healthy, like many breakfast cereals and low-fat yogurt, have so much sugar that they’re not much different from a candy bar.
The worst part of it is… sometimes the mainstream health organizations actually endorse these seriously unhealthy foods.
For example, the Australian Heart Foundation puts their “Tick” of approval on various high-sugar junk foods like breakfast cereals, low-fat yogurt, breads and others.
How are people supposed to have a chance of eating healthy if the organizations that are in charge of protecting the population’s health are literally advising people to eat this crap?

Bottom Line: People are getting a lot of sugar from conventional foods, without even realizing it. Many of these processed, high-sugar foods are endorsed by health organizations like the Australian Heart Foundation.

Sugar Goes Way Beyond Just Empty Calories

Added sugar can have severe harmful effects on metabolism (5).

The main reason is that it supplies a large amount of fructose, a simple sugar that is metabolized strictly by the liver (6).
In the context of a high-calorie, high-carb Western diet, this is a complete disaster.
The sugar get turned into fat in the liver, leading to insulin resistance and a host of metabolic problems (7).
It is well known that fructose is uniquely efficient at causing the buildup of visceral fat, that is fat that collects in the liver and around the organs (8, 9).
This type of fat is much, much worse than the fat that builds up under the skin. It actively secretes pro-inflammatory hormones into the bloodstream, wreaking havoc on your health (10).
The ability of sugar and refined carbohydrate to induce insulin resistance and increase visceral fat accumulation is now believed to be among the leading drivers of many of the world’s most serious chronic diseases.
It is also known that liquid sugar (as in sugary soft drinks and fruit juices) has a uniquely fattening effect. Liquid sugar calories aren’t “registered” as food by the brain, so we don’t compensate by eating less of other foods instead (11, 12).
Sugar is terrible… but when consumed in liquid form, it is even worse.
Overall, sugary soft drinks (and fruit juices) are probably the unhealthiest and most fattening aspects of the modern diet, by far.
Keep in mind that this does not apply to whole fruit, which also contain fiber and make people feel full before they can overeat on fructose.

Added Sugar is a Harmful, Disease Promoting Ingredient That Should be Avoided Like The Plague

Of course, there are many things wrong with the modern diet. No one is saying that it’s only sugar.
Refined carbohydrates, seed oils and processed foods in general are also a huge problem, without regards to whether they contain sugar or not.
But there is now overwhelming evidence that sugar is uniquely harmful, perhaps more than any other aspect of the diet.
If you care about your health and want to live a long and disease-free life, then you should avoid added sugar like the plague.