Fructose: A Sweet Molecule for Gut Health
Fructose is a sweet molecule, but unlike glucose (note very sweet), it’s not a requirement for the body’s metabolic processes. ( If it gets into the blood from the gut, it is a burden on the LIVER). However, fructose seems plays an important role in maintaining a healthy gut ( in the colon or large intestine) because it is what attracts the gut bacterial to eat fiber and output the butyrate. The bacteria in your colon use fructose as a reward system for their work. They break down fiber to access the fructose molecules, which stimulates their activity and helps them create essential by-products that benefit your body. Off course these essential by products can also be supplied via the mouth, eg. butter!
Hence the reason why we are told to ” Eat fruit on an empty stomach”
Fiber and Fruits: Feeding Your Gut Bacteria
In my world, fruits mean both fiber and fructose! The goal is to feed the gut bacteria with fiber, which promotes a healthy digestive system. While fiber itself isn’t the bacteria’s favorite, they love fructose. The bacteria “mine” the fiber to extract fructose, and in the process, they produce butyrate and other important short-chain fatty acids that are vital for maintaining colonic health.
Again you can get these fatty acids like butyrate from eating beef, eggs, butter, pure milk.
However, if you are not eating beef, goat, lamb, butter, eggs and milk from animals. Then you need to ensure that you are getting loads of fiber and it must be loaded with fruit juices. So it may be instructive to understand why you are to eat “Watermelons on an empty stomach” or “have the whole orange”.
However, if you don’t have fruits and you have other sources of fiber, apply the same principle. Empty stomach with FRUITS is a method to feed the “colon bacteria” the high carbohydrate content will take between 30 to 1 hours to move thing all the way down there.
Remember plants and other refined carbohydrates are all seeking to move quickly from the Acidic stomach into the small intestine and down to the colon.
Source of Fructose that is generally considered ok:
Fruits – when eaten!
All other fructose including fruit juices are problematic as they allow many molecules of fructose to leave the small intestine and enter the blood stream and enter into the liver.
