Is fructose driving metabolic disease? | Dr Richard Johnson

In Episode #215, I’m joined by Dr Richard Johnson to discuss obesity, fructose, and metabolic disease.

“Fructose” has become something of a fear word in modern diet culture. It is often positioned as the villain, without the in-depth breakdown of where we are sourcing this fructose and the quantities it is consumed in. Similarly, the relationship between health and obesity is hotly contested. Dr Richard Johnson sits down with me today to clarify the scientific relationship between these factors, getting into what the evidence tells us.

In this episode, we take a broader view at the history of obesity before honing in on the biology and mechanisms. We discuss the ideology of obesity, whether you can be healthy at any size, and the degree of risk related to where you store fat. We also cover a variety of animal studies, sources of fructose, and how the modern food environment shapes our body weight.

Specifically, we discuss:

• Intro (0:00)
• History of Obesity (2:30)
• Body Fat & Health Span (10:36)
• Causes & Behavioral Patterns (23:55)
• Fructose vs Excess Calories (38:18)
• The Hazda (1:03:50)
• Fructose & Fruit (1:11:10)
• Fruitarians (1:22:25)
• Not All Carbs are the Same (1:32:30)
• Purines & Uric Acid (1:39:55)
• Carnivore Diet (1:42:22)
• Summarizing Obesity (1:53:56)
• Outro (2:02:46)

To connect with Dr Richard Johnson, you can find him on Instagram and Twitter. You can also learn more at his website, https://drrichardjohnson.com/. His latest book, Nature Wants Us To Be Fat, is now available.

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Make sure to head to theproof.com/podcast for the full show notes.

Enjoy, friends.

Simon

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• Simon Hill, Msc, Bsc (Hons)
• Creator of Theproof.com and host of The Proof with Simon Hill
• Author of The Proof is in the Plants
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