Is an All-Fruit (Sugar) Diet Bad for Your Health?

January 27 2013 by in Cancer, Sugar/fructose

Ashton Kutcher as Steve Jobs

This is scary. The late Steve Jobs was a vegan and sometimes lived on an all-fruit (sugar) diet. Ashton Kutcher is playing Jobs in the upcoming movie “jOBS”. To get into character Kutcher tried the all-fruit diet. The result? He ended up in the hospital with stomach pains and an inflamed pancreas. His pancreas perhaps had to work extra hard to take care of all that sugar.

It’s scary, as Jobs died from pancreatic cancer.

USA Today: Ashton Kutcher suffers health scare prepping for ‘Jobs’

More about cancer

35 Comments

Top Comments

Kris Gunnars
January 27 2013 8
Even highly intelligent people like Jobs can fall for the vegan propaganda.

I wonder how the vegan docs will put a spin on this news story. Apparently some of them have been claiming that the diet prolonged his life.

"After he developed cancer Jobs remembered some of his earlier teachings about the benefits of low-protein vegetarian diets for cancer.(548) I believe Jobs was right, and a healthy low-fat vegan diet will slow the growth (doubling times) of a cancer and prolong a patient’s life."

From a vegan doc's blog who I will not link to. It sickens me.

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Reply to comment #5 by Zepp
nostent4me
January 27 2013 5
We know that excess fructose and alcohol results in the same thing, steatohepatitis.
And for Benecol lovers note that omega 6 accelerates this,,, for both alcohol and fructose...
(See Peter HYPERLIPID)
When it comes to the pancreas, it seems to have a a special liking for fructose: "....the researchers found that when the pancreas tastes fructose from foods, it responds by producing more insulin...:" See more:http://news.health.com/2012/02/06/pancreas-may-taste-fructose-hinting-at-links-to-diabetes/
The jury is still out on Jobs, but the fructose causing insulin resistance and elevated fasting insulin means any cancer breeding anywhere becomes inadvertently promoted, all the time...

Good for the young lookalike that he "kicked up i time" on the massive fruit diet!
More insulin leads to heart disease , or cancer as shown in several studies.
Awaiting my own fasting insulin levels at the moment. Hoping close to 5 rather than 15 !

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1
Kris Gunnars
January 27 2013 8
Even highly intelligent people like Jobs can fall for the vegan propaganda.

I wonder how the vegan docs will put a spin on this news story. Apparently some of them have been claiming that the diet prolonged his life.

"After he developed cancer Jobs remembered some of his earlier teachings about the benefits of low-protein vegetarian diets for cancer.(548) I believe Jobs was right, and a healthy low-fat vegan diet will slow the growth (doubling times) of a cancer and prolong a patient’s life."

From a vegan doc's blog who I will not link to. It sickens me.
2
Dina
January 27 2013 1
Poor guy! Hope he got something to think about ... (He and maybe others.)
3
Mia
January 27 2013 1
I agree, there's no doubt that his vegan lifestyle contributed to his death, being a vegan is a very risky lifestyle to live, dangerous to one's health.
4
Ketopia
January 27 2013 3
For me this is a stark reminder of how little we know about optimal nutrition and how important our food choices are.

Yes, if we're reading this blog, we're likely of the opinion that LCHF is the way to go...but there are countless other blogs and doctors touting vegetarian, and no end to other wacky diets (depressingly, I even saw one called the "Hollywood Cookie Diet" at the pharmacy) endorsed by MD's, "research", celebrities, and other health care professionals.

No doubt Steve Jobs made a highly informed decision to go all fruit. The problem is, of course, selection bias. When so much of the nutrition fundamentals are unknown, it's easy to find more and more information that confirms our choices by ignoring others. This is a fundamental problem we all face when determining, at a personal level, what our way of eating is going to be...
5
Zepp
January 27 2013
Well.. I dont think he got Pancreatis by going all fruit!

There must be some other reasons tho that, and this could cause him to be sensitive to a drastic shift to an all fruit diet!

The moste comon cause to pancreatis is high consumtion of alcohol!

You know.. almoste everyone that ends up with this problem get accused to be a hevy drinker.

Reply: #6
6
Reply to comment #5 by Zepp
nostent4me
January 27 2013 5
We know that excess fructose and alcohol results in the same thing, steatohepatitis.
And for Benecol lovers note that omega 6 accelerates this,,, for both alcohol and fructose...
(See Peter HYPERLIPID)
When it comes to the pancreas, it seems to have a a special liking for fructose: "....the researchers found that when the pancreas tastes fructose from foods, it responds by producing more insulin...:" See more:http://news.health.com/2012/02/06/pancreas-may-taste-fructose-hinting-at-links-to-diabetes/
The jury is still out on Jobs, but the fructose causing insulin resistance and elevated fasting insulin means any cancer breeding anywhere becomes inadvertently promoted, all the time...

Good for the young lookalike that he "kicked up i time" on the massive fruit diet!
More insulin leads to heart disease , or cancer as shown in several studies.
Awaiting my own fasting insulin levels at the moment. Hoping close to 5 rather than 15 !
7
Michael Kovacs
January 27 2013 4
My late grandmother died of pancreatic cancer at the age of 83, She did not drink alcohol at all, But she ate lots of fruit and fruit juice because everyone knows how healthy fruit is. (Eyes Rolling)
8
HighlySkeptical
January 27 2013 3
More likely his chronic exposure to mercury fumes while soldering in the garage. Lead and mercury was common and poorly handled when he and Woz were making early machines by hand. This could also account for his famous crazy mood swings and rages - mercury is ESP. toxic to the pancreas & nerves.
9
Wade Henderson
January 27 2013 2
How....How easily so many people buy into standard movie studio promotion for a soon to be released film.

The film was made many months ago, but ONLY NOW is the early 2012 story about his being hospitalized released, just in time for the Sundance Film Festival.

But many posters here leap on this flimsy Hollywood promotion as being true.
How easily people pad their belief system by anything that comes down the road without any proof of it being even remotely true.
10
Auto
January 27 2013 1
Doctor, good point.
What you say make sense to me.
I wonder why he was thin.

I used to eat lot of fruits and carbohydrates.
I got 12 Kg in 4 years.
I read the last book of Gary Taubes (I saw your interview to him on YouTube) and I lost 7 Kg in only one month. And other 3 the month after.

No more fruit and carbohydrates.
I think the sugar is a poison.
Well, anything is a poison, it depend on the quantity.
I believe that quantity for me is very little and reduced in the years.

Thanks a lot.
11
Karen
January 27 2013
My brother in law got pancreatitis last year and he is allergic to alcohol (so never drinks any at all) so I know it isn't always caused by alcohol. He drank a lot of soft drink - sugar link???
12
Zepp
January 28 2013
Well.. one have to drink a lot of fructose in many years to get Pancreatis!

Soo.. mayby he was on a all-fruit diet before?

One can get this condition of a lot of reasons.. alcohol is the moste comon.

But if one combine alcohol and fructose.. then one give the pancreas a hard jobb.
13
nostent4me
January 28 2013 1
2 soft drinks a week doubled the risk of pancreatic cancer in 2 large long term studies studies referenced here:
http://www.naturalmedicinejournal.com/article_content.asp?edition=1&#...

Only eating fruits have however been shown to protect, due to the fibers, but fruit juice is very close to soda. Same sugars and if no or little fibers it is really just the same thing with a little extra of Vitamin C, though often wasted due to the competition with the high sugar...

Even if fruit juice is only half as bad I imagine every fruitairian would start the day with a large glass of freshly squeezed juice. 7 servings a week, or more? Jobs was one of those I gather. Fridge always stocked with special make of fresh juice.
Pancreatic cancer risk could then treble, in line with above.
P.C. is the 4th leading cause of death in the US with near 40,000 deaths per year.
Smoking used to be the main risk, but cases has doubled or trebled since the 1930's and 5 year survival is still very low, only 6%., while smoking has dropped off.
Vegetables alone protect more than vegetables and fruit, and fruit alone gives protection, but the least. No real teeth for those of us that are or have just been in the risk zone.
Here a reference: http://cebp.aacrjournals.org/content/14/9/2093.long

Taking the poision with the antidote is of course better than pure and deadly as in soda or juice, but why take the poision at all? Most good veggies have the antioxidants, without the sugar, I mean the fructose.
14
Joy
January 28 2013 2
Fruit = sugar= fat.
AND to think all the years we have been told lies by dieticians etc. I used to eat loads of fruit and could not loose weight. Since following a LC lifestyle I have lost 10 kgs. I wish I had found this out many years ago!
15
Morganier
January 28 2013
In the end, grandmother will be found right. Do evertything in a moderated way. Eat fresh real food and move.
16
Ted Hutchinson
January 28 2013 2
Georgia Ede MD has an interesting series of 3 blogs on What Causes Cancer? Part I & " and Cancer Part III–Dietary Treatments
That may help those new to the topic to understand the logic of glucose/fructose reduction to prevent cancer or slow progression.

Here is an example of someone who has put those ideas into practice.

Elaine Cantin: How to Cure Breast Cancer with a Modified Ketogenic Diet

For those who want to learn more
KetoNutrition Metabolic Strategies for Neurodegenerative Diseases and Cancer

Those who are considering buying Dr Seyfried's book, which is somewhat expensive for lay people, this link Cancer as a Metabolic Disease: Thomas Seyfried may want to read this extended review with extended extracts first
17
Ted Hutchinson
January 28 2013
Cancer as a metabolic disease Thomas N Seyfried and Laura M Shelton Free full text article covering the basics.
18
Nads
January 28 2013
http://www.westonaprice.org/blogs/kdaniel/2011/12/27/ivegetarian2-the...

This is all about Jobs's strange food obsessions.
19
Jane2
January 28 2013
Fructose is more dangerous than sugar. Not only the pancreas but also the liver can be effected.
In his case it's the lack of protein and good animal fats. Because the body needs lots of protein to be able to handling carbs and enough fat to lower the insulin respons to sugar.
When the body lacks this kind of nutrients , which are the primal and only nutrients we really need, diseases will appear.
The body can not handle other than protein and fat. Remember that vitamin pills and so on are invented only for vegetariens.
The lack of animal fat is also the cause of 'his famous crazy mood swings and rages", as it is in all diseases of the brain. When you eat enough animal fat, nothing can hurt you.
20
Wade Henderson
January 28 2013 1
Jane2 "The lack of animal fat is also the cause of 'his famous crazy mood swings and rages", as it is in ALL diseases of the brain. When you eat enough animal fat, NOTHING can hurt you"

Reading that statement, and the logic included, it would appear you aren't eating enough animal fat for optimal brain performance.

Reply: #21
21
Reply to comment #20 by Wade Henderson
nostent4me
January 30 2013
Jane2 isn't that far off the mark. If you had asked for a reference you could have got this one.
http://lansbury.bwh.harvard.edu/pufa_and_neurodegeneration.htm

It is always bad news when "Lipid peroxidation" takes place in the fats our body rebuilt its structures with and when it comes to the brain you are right about animal fats as the satfats there are the slowest of all to oxidize, or go rancid as we say. Only satfats for my brain, apart from a few well embedded animal omega 3's!
And not surprisingly there is growing evidence that the PUFA arachidonic acid and its metabolites contribute to AD.
22
Nan
January 31 2013 1
I read his biography and since his teens he was into vegetarian and monofood eating, even before going vegan. My experience with veganism was awful, and I've wondered if his diet didn't have something to do with his diet.

sugaraholics.com
23
Claudia
February 3 2013 3
A vegan diet and an all-fruit diet are not the same thing. A truly vegan diet is actually a well-balanced diet that includes all the things a healthy non-vegan would eat albeit from different sources. I don't understand why people feel so threatened by people who choose not to consume dairy, eggs and meat. One should be much more concerned by the power of the dairy lobby which extends in all aspects of society including education, while it has been proven that the higher one's dairy consumption is the more they are at risk for Type 2 diabetes.
That being said, Jobs' diet was just a reckless diet that had no scientific evidence of being healthy or even safe.

Reply: #24
24
Reply to comment #23 by Claudia
nostent4me
February 3 2013 1
...Our echosystem isn't working well without grazing animals....
Agree that there are veggies low in sugar and with Vitamin C/ Sugar ratio for instance
higher than fruits and many organic grown can be great. Since I went low carb and high fat I have never before in my life eaten so much veggies ! And also less meat. Before 10 oz sirloin with chips etc, now a 6 oz ditto with salad and hardly able to get it all down! My activity level is also a lot higher now.

In Sweden there is no real dairy lobby, at least not for the farmers. The farmers milk price keeps dropping and the profits are made by creameries and retailers. They really need a lobby, for real grass fed milk and beef, let me explain why:
One of the best methods to preserve nature is through grassland where deep rooted species like red clover (and broadleaf trees) takes minerals from deep below and bind it with nitrogen etc. from the air. Often till-free agriculture that never goes into dust bowls.

With the animals grazing such fields the humus layer gets thicker year on year and the soil can then gradually bind more nutrients both from winter and summer feces the animals expel, with minimum run off. The thicker the humus layer the more micro organisms in it which mean the more animal feces can be absorbed and bound in the soil. At that point no fossil nitrates produced with fossil fuels is required, and no GM crops are required to perpetuate it. It is a smart way back to basics. But meat produced this way will not grow as fast and therefore it costs more per kg, although the message that grain fed beef is an environmental liability and the meat itself has zero omega 3, fed on GM food with potential unknowns, wrong fats etc. is spreading, yet only among the informed. Chep in the short term so to say.

Animal-free agriculture usually employ nitrogen fertilizer and GM crops that grow on land which is losing millions of tonnes of topsoil in dustbowls whenever it is dry the "wrong " time of the year. Most of the produce goes for animals boxed into huge factoryfeedlots to gain maximum weight is shortest time. An awful practice that should be banned, in my opinion.

The slurry from these farms is spread on the land but often over 30% of it, and fossil produced fertilizers is washed straight out of (usually) well drained fields with rains.
Here goes the nitrates out to waterways and seas, causing increasing algae blooming every year. Finally a lot, nobody in charge wants to know how much, of the same algae is rotting away. When the algae mass grows large enough on beaches and in places on the seabed methane is produced, whenever oxygen is consumed inside the rotting mess.
Methan density is half that of air, so it rises immediately. (If it was heavier than air... )

Animal based agriculture has been tested and approved through thousands of years.
Mostly with till-free grass land. Todays experimental monocultures based on artificial fertilizers , GM seeds, humus free(?) soil and pesticides is just experimental, but due to short term huge profits and political influence often gained just through same, the destruction of rain forest and grassland is allowed to contiue. New GM crops that can grow with only water, sunshine and pesticides from nutrient free soils are being developed, consequently delivering nutrient free crops, in my opiion, made up for by exploding vitamin sales.

And if we all were to go vegan next year , unfortunately all our cattle bar some for zoos will be killed during a few transition years as no new offsprings will be produced as it isn't financially viable to keep animals in a vegan society. Unfortunately that is the cruel backside of it, for the animals.
For us to mainatin humus in the soils without animals, I mean to protect the soil from erosion without grass land, I don't know how, but there may be a way.

We agree however, I believe, that cruel and polluting factory farming should be closed down and imports to all decent countries of such (usually GM based) grain and corn fed meat should be banned as soon as possible, together with same frains as we do not approve of GM in Europe.

Finally, methane is not a fossil green house gas when it is produced by grass fed cattle. But when produced by algae produced by nitrogen from fossil fuel, it is, although it breaks down to CO2 within 12 years approx. The same with methane from cattle, but that CO2 was taken from the atmospere by the grass that the cattle consumed and so on. Big difference!

A book about by a former vegan by Lierre Keith, "The Vegan Myth" may be an interesting alternative reading for many.
25
Theresa
February 6 2013
Sugar is very bad for the human body...period! It is not naturally found in the body like iron or zinc. It poisons and kills slowly. Fruit is ok because it is natural. People talk about fat being harmful. It is the sugar that is the toxin. High fructose corn syrup is the worst. Remove this poison from your diet altogether. Look up " The bitter truth about sugar" on you tube. Watch the video, I promise it will change the way you think about that sweet, white stuff again!
men's living
26
Pinkmonkey
February 18 2013
Did Andreas really post this? I am a medical professional and i must say this concerns me. Total speculation. Misleading to the readers here who might not be familiar with research and science.

I think a lot of people here get very defensive and angry if their god-like beliefs are upset but please for two minutes just go with a neutral view and look at the studies on pancreatic cancer on pubmed for example.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/16204695/?i=3&from=/1146116...

Intakes of pork and total red meat were associated with the highest risk of developing pancreatic cancer, the highest risk was for processed meat.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/15231857/

A diet with adequate quantities of fruits and vegetables, and control if calories will help to prevent pancreatic cancer.

Or just go for easy

nutritionfacts.org/video/largest-study-ever (not saying this doc is perfect but he is just outlining the biggest study ever on pancreatic cancer).

Reply: #28
27
Pinkmonkey
February 18 2013
Is an all fruit (sugar) diet bad for your health?

To be fair, and before making any conclusions, everyone should watch the below documentary trailer. An absolutely fascinating watch for anyone for or against sugar/fruit.

http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?v=Gv3vEXy_EwU&desktop_uri=%2Fwatch%...
28
Reply to comment #26 by Pinkmonkey
Zepp
February 18 2013
Well as you do understand this study was a guessing game, not a real study!

" Carcinogenic substances related to meat preparation methods might be responsible for the positive association"

You know.. red meat have other asosiations too.. it make one smoke more, drink more alcohol, sleep less and quit traning!!

And red meat is food like pizza, MC Donalds meal and so on.. do you understand what peopel they have cathed.. in this so cald study.. how is an obsevation!!

I can tell you that is not those how goes for grass feed beef and organic foods.. the rest I let you gues about by your self!

Science For Smart People
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y1RXvBveht0
29
mutansar
February 26 2013
I was wonder which cream to use in my coffee you sad heavy cream. We don't have heavy cream in England so double cream or whipping or single. I am using double at the moment please tell soon thank you.
30
Zepp
February 26 2013
Heavy cream is whipping cream.. but ofcourse if you have acces to double cream its probably better.. less laktose.

Our whipping cream is 40% fat.
31
Thorsten
October 30 2013
As far as I know Jobs did not die from pancreatic cancer but from a neuroendocrine tumor of the pancreas. Two totally different tumor entities, the latter not in any way related to chronic pancreatitis

Reply: #32
32
Reply to comment #31 by Thorsten
sten
October 30 2013
A pancreatic neuroendocrine tumor (NET) may also be called a pancreatic endocrine tumor (PET), islet cell tumor, islet cell carcinoma, or pancreatic carcinoid.

The endocrine (hormone secreting) pancreatic cells (islet cells) are the ones normally producing insulin.

Is it not all pancreatic cancer?
33
Thorsten
October 31 2013
Reply to comment #32 by sten

"Is it not all pancreatic cancer?"
not at all. pathogenesis and clinical course of pancreatic NETs are totally different from pancreatic cancer (=pancreatic adenocarcinoma). Pancreatic NETs are mostly benign with relatively good prognosis, affected patients can live many years with this diagnosis, even with liver metastases. Pancreatic adenocarcinoma has a very poor prognosis, it is one of the worst cancers to have, most patients die within 6 months after getting the diagnosis. There are data suggesting an association of fructose consumption with pancreatic adenocarcinoma development, as far as I know there is nothing to suggest a connection of any kind of macronutrient with NETs. So to me the story about Jobs eating only fruits and a suggested connection with his tumor is nonsensical. I am a big fan of this website and of LCHF, but a fact is a fact and thorough research is more important than a new headline.
34
Thorsten
October 31 2013
by the way, if you don't mind me asking, is "sten" the diet doctor?
35
Trent Black
March 4 2014
When you get cancer in the USA, the doctors take you off sugar.

If you talk to some of the USA insurance companies, cancer rates follow the diabetic rates for any small area in the USA (usually by county).

If you go to one of the health institutes in the USA famous for cancer healings, like hippocrates or ann wigmore, they put you on a sugar free sprout diet with green juices. It works for most cancers but pancreatic or liver.

Chemists will tell you that a chemical is a chemical is a chemical. So sugar is sugar. Even if added with some vitamins, in the form of a fruit.

-trent

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