Although Americans need to eat more fresh fruits and vegetables, the food gurus these days aren't pushing fruits as much as they once were. That's because more information has come out about fructose, the sugar in fruit. While fine in moderation, in excessive amounts, fructose can be toxic. That's why at Beyond Health, we've always recommended not exceeding more than two pieces of fruit a day. But one fruit the experts still recommend is berries, including strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, cranberries and raspberries. Why? Because no fruit offers so much nutritional value for the calories and fructose it delivers. Berries for Disease Prevention Berries are chock-full of phytonutrients (translation: nutrients in plants) that are some of the world's most powerful antioxidants and anti-inflammatories. Since oxidation and inflammation are fundamental processes in all disease, it's not surprising that scientists have been finding that berries help to prevent and curb every…

What is Diabetes?Decades ago, type 2 diabetes used to be called "sugar diabetes." There was a reason for this. Eating sugar causes diabetes. Too bad we have moved away from that accurate description of this disease. However, sugar causes another form of diabetes—diabetes of the brain. We call it Alzheimer’s disease. Diabetes is the condition where your body’s response to insulin is weakened, and sugar is no longer adequately transported into cells. Insulin resistance is the result of constantly assaulting your body with the dangerous toxin known as sugar. Excessive sugar, especially fructose, and grain consumption are the driving factors behind insulin resistance. Grains, even whole grains, will flood the body with too much sugar and cause insulin resistance. Insulin resistance contributes massively to inflammation, and inflammation will damage and degenerate your brain.Your brain is almost totally dependent on sugar to make the energy it needs to function. Constantly assaulting t…

For years, Beyond Health has recommended limiting fruit consumption to two pieces of fruit per day and avoiding fruit juice altogether. Although fresh fruit is a good source of nutrients, it’s also high in sugar, and sugar, even from healthy sources, can be detrimental if you get too much of it. Although a diet high in fruits and vegetables is often recommended for lowering blood pressure, studies have found that high fruit consumption is not associated with lowered blood pressure and can even cause elevations in blood pressure. How would eating fruit lead to higher blood pressure? It’s the sugar in the fruit that’s the problem. Fruit contains two kinds of sugar—50% glucose and 50% fructose. And they each impact blood pressure. High fructose corn syrup is also composed primarily of glucose and fructose—42% glucose and 55% fructose. Under normal, healthy circumstances, if you eat a piece of fruit, the glucose will cause sugar levels in your blood to rise so…