How Fructose Drives Obesity, Type 2 Diabetes, And Chronic Disease

Overview

The majority of foods on our market shelves contain insane amounts of added sugar. One of the most problematic of these sugars is fructose, which raises our levels of uric acid, a central player in the metabolic mayhem affecting so many of us. This doesn’t mean all foods containing fructose are bad. Like all parts of health and nutrition, there are nuances we need to consider to create optimal health. In today’s episode, I talk with Drs. David Perlmutter, Casey Means, and Richard Johnson about how fructose and uric acid impact our physiology, why measuring uric acid levels is so important, and how fructose impacts our energy. Dr. David Perlmutter is a board-certified neurologist and five-time New York Times bestselling author. He serves on the board of directors and is a Fellow of the American College of Nutrition. He is the author of Grain Brain among others, and his new book, Drop Acid, was just released. Dr. Perlmutter received his MD from the University of Miami School of Medicine, where he was awarded the Leonard G. Rowntree Research Award. Dr. Casey Means is a Stanford-trained physician, Chief Medical Officer, and cofounder of metabolic health company Levels, an associate editor of the International Journal of Disease Reversal and Prevention, and a guest lecturer at Stanford University. Her mission is to maximize human potential and reverse the epidemic of preventable chronic disease by empowering individuals with tools that can facilitate a deep understanding of our bodies and inform personalized and sustainable dietary and lifestyle choices. 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. He previously authored The Sugar Fix with Timothy Gower in 2008, and The Fat Switch in 2012. His new book, Nature Wants Us to Be Fat, was just released. This episode is brought to you by Rupa Health, InsideTracker, and Pendulum. Rupa Health is a place where Functional Medicine practitioners can access more than 2,000 specialty lab tests. You can check out a free, live demo with a Q&A or create an account at RupaHealth.com. Right now InsideTracker is offering my community 20% off at insidetracker.com/drhyman. To receive 20% off your first purchase of Pendulum’s Akkermansia probiotic supplement, go to Pendulumlife.com and use code MARK20. Full-length episodes of these interviews can be found here: Dr. David Perlmutter Dr. Casey Means Dr. Richard Johnson