Dhru Purohit Show
#252: The Latest Science on How to Turn Your Body’s Fat Storage Switch Off with Dr. Richard Johnson
Episode guests
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Quick takeaways
- Sugar and high-glycemic carbs, as well as salt, play a major role in driving obesity.
- Insulin resistance, fatty liver, and other features of metabolic syndrome are triggered by sugar and fructose.
- Monitoring and reducing fructose intake can help mitigate the risk of obesity and related health conditions.
- Consuming fructose and liquid sugar can lead to a faster absorption of fructose, triggering a metabolic switch in the body that causes fat storage.
Deep dives
The role of sugar and salt in driving obesity
Sugar and high-glycemic carbs, as well as salt, play a major role in driving obesity. Sugar and high-glycemic carbs like fruit dose stimulate fat accumulation, while salt stimulates dehydration and increases the production of fruit dose, leading to fat deposition. Nature has programmed the body to accumulate fat as a survival mechanism, but this mechanism has become problematic in modern times. Insulin resistance, fatty liver, and other features of metabolic syndrome are triggered by sugar and fruit dose. Understanding these mechanisms can help break the cycle of obesity.
The limitations of traditional medicine in addressing personalized nutritional guidance
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The impact of uric acid on obesity and metabolic health
Uric acid, mainly associated with gout, is typically regarded as a waste product with no significant function. However, recent research reveals that uric acid is a cardio-metabolic risk factor. High fructose corn syrup and sugar consumption raise uric acid levels, leading to hypertension, obesity, fatty liver, and insulin resistance. Interestingly, the body itself can generate fructose from glucose, resulting in similar adverse metabolic effects. Monitoring and reducing fructose intake from sources like fruit juices and dried fruit can help mitigate the risk of obesity and related health conditions.
Connecting glucose, insulin, and fructose in obesity
Elevated glucose levels trigger fructose synthesis in the liver, leading to the development of obesity and metabolic syndrome. Despite the low glycemic index of fructose, it plays a significant role in driving metabolic abnormalities. Consuming glucose initiates the production of fructose, leading to fructose-induced insulin resistance and fat accumulation. Moreover, the concentration of fructose the liver encounters, particularly from liquid sugar intake, strongly influences the activation of the fat storage mechanism. Understanding the detrimental effects of excessive fructose and its interconnectedness with glucose and insulin can help individuals make informed dietary choices to combat obesity.
The impact of fructose and liquid sugar on fat storage
Consuming fructose and liquid sugar can lead to a faster absorption of fructose, triggering a metabolic switch in the body that causes fat storage. Liquid sugar is found to be worse than solid sugar, especially when consumed on an empty stomach. The concentration of fructose in the liver can be reduced when other foods are present, such as fiber. Studies have shown that consuming liquid sugar, like soft drinks, in a short period of time can trigger the fat storage switch, while consuming it slowly over a longer period of time has less impact.
The crucial role of uric acid in fat storage
Uric acid, which is naturally higher in humans compared to other mammals, plays a significant role in fat storage. When energy levels drop due to a high intake of fructose or alcohol, uric acid is generated in the body, triggering the fat storage switch. Higher uric acid levels are associated with obesity, heart disease, and diabetes. Humans lack the enzyme uricase that degrades uric acid, leading to higher concentration levels. This mutation is believed to have occurred during a period of global cooling in our ape ancestors, providing a survival advantage by promoting fat storage.
The impact of salt on fat storage
Salt, when consumed in high amounts, can also stimulate fat storage. Salt raises the salt concentration in the blood, making the body think it's dehydrated, triggering fat storage as a survival mechanism. Processed foods are a major source of high salt intake in today's diet. Drinking water and avoiding excessive salt can help prevent dehydration and the activation of the fat storage switch.
This episode is brought to you by InsideTracker.
Why do we get fat? As Americans have gotten heavier over the past century, and disease rates have skyrocketed, there have been many theories: We’re eating too much fat. Too many carbs. An excess of sugar. Is it our lifestyle or our diet that’s to blame? Or could there be a single common cause that explains the sharp increase in not only obesity, but conditions as disparate as heart disease, cancer, and dementia?
This week on The Dhru Purohit Podcast, Dhru sat down with Dr. Richard Johnson to talk about his team’s discovery of the fructose-powered survival switch—a metabolic pathway that animals in nature turn on and off as needed, but that our modern diet has permanently fixed in the on position, becoming a fat switch—and how it has revolutionized the way we think about why we gain weight.
Dr. Richard Johnson is a Professor of Medicine at the University of Colorado in Denver and has been a practicing physician and clinical scientist for over 25 years. He is internationally recognized for his seminal work on the role of sugar and its component fructose, in obesity and diabetes. His work has also suggested a fundamental role for uric acid (which is generated during fructose metabolism) in metabolic syndrome. His new book is entitled Nature Wants Us to Be Fat and will be published on February 8, 2022.
In this episode, we dive into:
-Why nature wants us to get fat and why it’s important for survival (5:44)
-What triggers the fat storage switch (9:05)
-The central function of uric acid in the body (16:32)
-How uric acid, previously thought of only in terms of gout, is actually playing a central role in metabolic disorders (20:54)
-Understanding the difference between fructose and glucose (26:12)
-Why obesity is not a calories in, calories out problem (29:38)
-Why it’s fructose (not glucose) that drives insulin resistance and metabolic disease (49:51)
-The survival switch: why humans become fat (1:10:38)
-Alcohol consumption and obesity (1:33:54)
-The surprising role salt and dehydration play in fat accumulation (1:48:45)
Also mentioned in this episode:
-Nature Wants Us to Be Fat: The Surprising Science Behind Why We Gain Weight and How We Can Prevent—and Reverse—It - https://benbellabooks.com/shop/nature-wants-us-to-be-fat/.
For more on Dhru Purohit, follow him on Instagram @dhrupurohit, and on YouTube @dhrupurohit. You can also text Dhru at (302) 200-5643.
This episode is brought to you by InsideTracker.
InsideTracker looks at everything from metabolic and inflammatory markers to nutrients and hormones. Traditional lab tests can be hard to read on your own, but InsideTracker makes their results easy to understand and provides tips on how to use food first for optimal nutrition. Right now, they’re offering my podcast community 25% off. Just go to insidetracker.com/DHRU.
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