Is Sugar Making You Fat? (MYTH BUSTED with Science)

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▹ ANABOLIC WINDOW MYTH BUSTED!! →

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This video was edited by Rashaun R using Final Cut Pro X

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I'm 5'5, 174 lbs

[WhatIveLearned]

Jeff, I do like your channel and it has a lot of very valuable videos, but this felt quite lacking. Was hoping to hear at least one of the following addressed:

Sugar...
■Actually lowers energy
-Fructose is the only carbohydrate that depletes energy in the cell before it makes energy. Fructose gets metabolized by an enzyme called fructokinase and that phosphorylates fructose to fructose-1-phosphate and in that process, ATP gets consumed.
-This drastic drop in ATP acts as, as Prof. Richard Johnson puts it, a "mayday signal" in the cell. This causes inflammation, *oxidative stress and an arrest in protein synthesis.* [ *Really not something you want if you're trying to build muscle.* ]

■Stimulates insulin resistance
-During fructose metabolism, insulin receptor IRS-1 is serine phosphorylated, and serine IRS-1 is inactive. This insulin receptor being inactive means insulin can't do its job, contributing to insulin resistance.

■Directly enhancing propensity for fat generation
・Fructose metabolism stimulates the production of Xylulose-5-Phosphate, which stimulates PP2A which activates ChREBP which then activates the three de novo lipogenesis ("new fat making") enzymes- ACL, ACC, FAS.
-An increase in activity of another enzyme, "pyruvate kinase, " which is important in the production of fat in the body from a variety of diet derived substances, is taken as measure of the fat forming activity of the liver. Rats given sucrose showed, after ten days, five times as much of this enzyme activity compared to rats without sucrose.
-Through the action of AMP deaminase, fructose metabolism creates uric acid. This leads to several "problems" - gout and hypertension being two, increased fat production being another.

■Alters gut microbiome for the worse
-As per doi: "Evidence is presented suggesting these sugar compounds, particularly fructose, condition the microbiota, resulting in acquisition of a westernized microbiome with altered metabolic capacity."

■Makes people eat more
-Fructose Inhibits leptin signaling, making you "think" you're hungrier than you should be. As per doi: 10.1542/peds.2011-2912 (Toward a unifying hypothesis of metabolic syndrome.) "Fructose induces substrate-dependent phosphate depletion, which increases uric acid and contributes to hypertension through inhibition of endothelial nitric oxide synthase and reduction of NO; DNL and dyslipidemia; hepatic lipid droplet formation and steatosis; muscle IR; JNK-1 activation, contributing to hepatic IR, *which promotes hyperinsulinemia and influences substrate deposition into fat; and CNS hyperinsulinemia, which antagonizes central leptin signaling and promotes continued energy intake.* "

[StephanieButtermore]

Who’s that hot doctor in the thumbnail ? 👀😜

[MrDubidubidubidu]

I think you are misrepresenting why sugar is considered as bad as it is.
It is very clear that if you adjust calorie intake you are going to see very similar effects in terms of weight gain no matter what you eat. Where the real problem of sugar lies is in the deregulation of metabolism, this is linked to insulin and leptin release which are linked to hunger.
When assessing whether correlation=causation you want to look at whether or not there is a valid mechanism that can explain how an event affects the other. In the case of sugar consumption and obesity, the proposed link is not that somehow sugars give you more calories than previously thought or that these calories are more easily turned into stored fat. The proposed effect of sugar has to do with hunger and satiation mechanisms which get deregulated by glucose intake. You might have noticed this yourself in how candy or sugar-sweetened beverages do very little to curb hunger, or maybe heard someone say that there is always room for dessert. This mechanism of action will not be observed if calories are accounted for, but maybe questionnaires on hunger levels or level of difficulty adhering to the studies would provide more insights.
If you are interested I can dig up a few articles. Sugar intake should be reduced to the minimum as it has absolutely no health benefits and seems to make it harder to adhere to a diet plan.

[Elpokopiko]

Thanks to your series I know it's Monday

[JeffNippard]

LET'S ARGUE!!! (Respectfully as possible, please) What do YOU think? Is sugar making us fat and unhealthy? Why or why not?

[codym.]

Jeff first off, I love the videos! I’ve been a fan for 2 years and can’t get enough of your content (Vlogs, science explained and these videos)! Some time in there near future I would love to see you do a myth bust Monday on Body types (meso endo and ectomorphs) and to the extent those classifications are correct and incorrect when assessing differences in bodies!

[Kayleighmroberts]

Jeff- Can you do a myth bust Monday on artificial sweeteners as well? There is so much conflicting research out there about Sucralose, aspartame, saccharin, etc.. These videos are incredibly informative and as a registered nurse, I highly respect your dedication to health and nutrition research!

[jmyles]

I really appreciate all of the hard work that goes into your science-based videos. I really enjoy watching them!

[TheMolina]

After this I going to re watch Stephanie’s super cheat day. 🤷🏻‍♂️♥️

[Lazerecho]

Insulin sensitivity didn't get mentioned enough.

[kerrinslenders]

Great content - I love the bit about highly palatable foods! Also loving the myth bust Monday’s - I’d love to see one on the addictive nature of highly palatable foods and the link to chronic disease, as well as a breakdown of fat types / fads (MCT oil especially!)

[MomoSimone]

Hi Jeff,

I think when looking at this type of research, it's important to look at and acknowledge the potential for researcher bias. Some of the authors of some of these studies that you mentioned are affiliated in some way with The Coca-Cola Company, PepsiCo International and Kraft Foods, just to name a few.

I think researcher bias is a massive deal and makes me trust certain scientific research less...

[randykim]

I think you omitted some important elements of this discussion, and may have somewhat conflated "sugar" as in refined sugars and high fructose corn syrup with the carbohydrate macronutrient. I know you of course realize there are differences between the kinds of carbohydrates one can eat. While I agree that it is unlikely that ONLY refined sugar is causing obesity or even that it is the biggest factor, I think it plays more than JUST a constituent element of the problem. Refined sugars and the foods that they are found in are typically low fiber, quick digestion simple carbohydrates that spike insulin levels, and while I am NOT suggesting that insulin is the end all be all measurement of fat storage like some mistaken low-carb advocates, it DOES lead to insulin dysregulation issues over time, such as type II diabetes and pre-diabetes. It also has a documented effect on satiety levels, where high GI food ingestion can lead to over-eating through cravings, binges, and over-eating.
This is what all the anti-low carb advocates miss. Yes, when protein is matched and calories are matched, there is no difference between fat restriction and carb restriction because of the laws of thermodynamics, but satiety and hormonal issues MATTER so that many people will experience more HUNGER when consuming simple carb dense foods.

[conormaguire]

Jeff, I’m a new subscriber and these videos are the real deal. You should do a Science Explained on macro proportioning and its impact on bulking/cutting strategy. Specifically, I’d like to know more about the diminishing rate of return on protein intake as it pertains to muscle protein synthesis and hypertrophy.

[ryanwilliams]

Jeff's posting is always on time, I was just arguing with my mom on this subject

[upnorthof]

For anyone in the know, it is quite evident that you cherry picked your supporting documentation to fit your narrative. I strongly suggest to do your own research and take this video with a grain of salt. No just disrespect, just keeping it real.

[qurzyfn]

Love the new series, love the new style of videos. These are probably easier to make than science explained videos or vlogs with cool edits... more videos for us, more successful videos for you :)

[cffnm]

This series is so great, your best work yet Jeff, keep it up!

[dgunderm]

Nice video, but you contradict yourself. If added sugar didn't pose any additional risk than another carbohydrate, then why not consume all your carbohydrates as sugar? The answer is the fructose. As you mentioned in the start (and at the end) fructose is something you want to keep minimal, and you identified that this can be done by restricting total sugar. So why even bother restricting sugar if there is no harm? I understand you didn't have time to go into the details but there is a plethora of mechanistic research on the consequences of dietary fructose including how its differentially processed by the body, how it can overload the liver because it can barely get into muscle, and how it can alter enzyme activities to favour fat production. However, the worst of all is how it affects insulin and leptin sensitivity. You are correct in that weigh gain is caused by caloric imbalance and unfortunately, insulin and leptin resistance actively control your diet and exercise behaviours, causing you to eat more and move less. It would be nice if all of these myths were just so simple, but there is usually a bigger picture at play that makes these concepts more complicated.

[kaaajeee]

yeah, but the increased total of calories consumed is caused by increased sugar and its effect on satiety.