Excess sugar consumption from an ultra-processed diet is the primary driver of inflammation, insulin resistance, and the many chronic diseases that come with it. With over 60 percent of Americans’ calories coming from “food-like” products, we’ve landed so deep into the trenches of sugar addiction that real change will require realistic, scalable steps to help people get off sugar for good.

Today on The Dhru Purohit Podcast, Dhru sits down with Dr. Robert Lustig to talk about the impact of added sugar on mitochondrial health and metabolism and how to cut down on consumption on an individual and global scale.

Dhru and Dr. Lustig also discuss what you can expect when significantly reducing the amount of added sugar in your diet, why the quality of your calories matters, and the fascinating ways our bodies store fat. They also share the number one test for metabolic health your doctor probably isn’t ordering and the latest science behind Dr. Lustig’s infamous health-optimization mantra, “Feed the gut, protect the liver, and support the brain.”

Dr. Robert Lustig is a neuroendocrinologist with expertise in metabolism, obesity, and nutrition. He’s the Emeritus Professor of Pediatrics in the Division of Endocrinology and a member of the Institute for Health Policy Studies at UCSF. He is also one of the leaders of the current “anti-sugar” movement that is changing the food industry, in part through his game-changing books. His latest work is Metabolical: The Lure and the Lies of Processed Food, Nutrition, and Modern Medicine.

In this episode, Dhru and Dr. Lustig dive into:
-What to expect after you significantly cut down on added sugar (3:04)
-The safest level of sugar to consume (8:12)
-The effects of large amounts of sugar inside the body (33:21)
-Sugar as the main driver of metabolic disease (40:06)
-How mitochondrial health impacts metabolic health (44:30)
-Eight drivers of disease and how to fight them (50:05)
-Omega-3 fats for cellular health (57:45)
-The role of omega-6 fats in creating health and disease (1:04:26)
-Gut health as a primary source of chronic inflammation (1:10:15)
-Should ultra-processed food be considered real food? (1:20:17)
-Dietary recommendations for safe sugar consumption (1:32:51)
-Recommendations for “safely” drinking alcohol (1:37:00)
-Why the makeup of our calories matters (1:44:03)
-Thin on the outside, fat on the inside (TOFI) (1:47:52)
-The three sites of fat deposition in the body (1:50:18)
-Findings from the SHINE study (1:56:36)
-The Metabolic Matrix (feed the gut, protect the liver, and support the brain) (2:07:45)
-Future directions for processed food and government policy (2:27:50)
-Action items for reducing the added sugar in your diet (2:43:29)

For more on Dr. Robert Lustig: follow him on
-Facebook: @drrobertlustig
-Twitter: @robertlustigmd
-YouTube: @robertlustig
-Website: https://www.robertlustig.com

Also mentioned in this episode:
-Get his book, Metabolical: The Lure and the Lies of Processed Food, Nutrition, and Modern Medicine, here: https://amzn.to/3C57WYF
-The SHINE randomized controlled trial: https://oa.mg/work/10.1016/j.appet.2016.02.009
-Dr. Lustig’s new paper, The Metabolic Matrix: Re-engineering ultraprocessed foods to feed the gut, protect the liver, and support the brain: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnut.2023.1098453/full

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