The Dr. Hyman Show Why Quitting Sugar Could Save Your Life - ENCORE
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Dec 22, 2025 
Dr. Richard Johnson, a physician-scientist known for his work on metabolism and fructose, joins Dr. Robert Lustig, a pediatric endocrinologist and sugar expert. They discuss how sugar sabotages health, triggering overeating and contributing to obesity and fatty liver. Johnson reveals how fructose activates the 'fat switch,' while Lustig highlights sugar's connection to metabolic disease and brain health. They share insights on detoxing from sugar, managing blood sugar, and the surprising effects of sugar on mood and mental health.
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Fructose Triggers A Fat Storage Switch
- Fructose in sugar activates a biological "fat/survival" switch that drives fat storage and lowers resting energy metabolism.
- This switch makes animals and humans eat more and expend less energy, promoting fatty liver and insulin resistance.
Bears Gorging Illustrate The Survival Response
- Mark Hyman describes watching grizzly bears gorge on salmon and berries and then gain massive fat for winter.
- He uses this to illustrate evolution's fat-storage program that never turns off in abundance.
Quality Beats Calories For Metabolic Health
- Fructose drives metabolic disease even without extra calories, causing fatty liver, high blood pressure, and insulin resistance.
- Identical-calorie diets with added sugar produced worse metabolic outcomes than non-sugar diets in animal studies.
