Why Sugar Is Problematic for Metabolic Health | Dr. Robert Lustig

Levels Advisor Robert Lustig, MD, explains why added sugar, especially fructose, is harmful.

There are 262 names for sugar, and the food industry uses all of them, which makes eliminating added sugar from your diet tricky.

What you need to know about fructose:

- Fructose stimulates the reward center in the brain, making it highly addictive.
- Fructose and alcohol are metabolized in the same way.
- Fructose and alcohol both may lead to Alzheimer’s disease.
- Fructose inhibits mitochondria, the powerhouse of cells, from doing their work well.
- Fructose does not show up via continuous glucose monitoring (CGM).
- There is no biological reaction in any vertebrate organism that requires dietary fructose.

✅ What you can do:

- Avoid added sugars as much as possible.
- The occasional dessert is not harmful, nor is fruit.
- However, many people are consuming too much added fructose meal after meal.

#metabolichealth #fructose #addedsugar #alzheimers

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Levels helps you see how food affects your health. With real-time, personalized data gathered through biosensors like continuous glucose monitors (CGM), you learn which diet and lifestyle choices improve your metabolic health so you can live a longer, fuller, healthier life.

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[nikolaypetrovnikolov]

Do you mean fructose in fruits is bad for our health?

[davealan]

Dr Lustig is the person who’s lectures motivated me to understand glucose. Always pray for him

[nicovgz]

This hit me so hard as someone very rarely east sugar, athletic, and mostly ketogenic, but struggles with alcohol. About a month ago, I went on a particularly nasty week long bender and after that I started getting these weird symptoms like feeling like I’m in a dream state especially during the day and walking around in public. I get super anxious and panicky.. my head feels heavy.. it’s made life so much harder. Anyways… it makes sense that fructose and alcohol are metabolized the same way cuz the way I drink.. I might as well eat a wedding cake by myself. I’m giving myself this sobriety thing a shot…. Okay may be not a “shot” 😂 but y’all know what I mean. Pray for me

[UnnamedThinkTank]

Fructose is mostly present in fruits. But generally you will be hard pressed to eat enough fruits to even match the calories of 1 candy bar.

For example a Snickers bar is about 280 calories.
You would need to eat 4 average sized oranges (average 70 calories) to reach the calorie count of 1 Snickers.

Of course if you decide to squeeze the 4 oranges into a cup of orange juice, then it is just another sugar bomb because there is no fibre or flesh to slow down the absorption, and you won't feel full thus making it easy to over consume.

Don't get addicted to your fruit juice!

[thompsongeorge]

It’s crazy how much we don’t know about our own health. After reading Rethinking Health Secrets, I started making small changes and I feel like a different person. This book is powerful.

[beateschoffler-spieth]

Das scheint so zu sein, die eigenen Beobachtungen bestätigen es . Thanks!

[HMC-pp]

The only sugar I allow myself now is what is in the fresh fruit I eat. It’s surprising how food cravings seem to have diminished since I chose to change what I eat. I use to snack after dinner almost all the way to bedtime. Now after dinner, I don’t even think about food.

[LilithAustin]

Once I have a piece of lemon meringue pie... I can't stop thinking about till I get another piece 😬

[tylermoore]

"This [fructose] feels good, I want more." Not for me, satiation with the sweet taste kicks in pretty quickly. The body has various balancing mechanisms. What we need to investigate is why these mechanisms are no longer working in a lot of people.

[antoniafurla]

Being slim and far from pre diabetic i tried keto and turned out to be a lean mass hyper responder. Not sure extreme ldl levels are good I adjusted my diet, added carbs and I KNOW there’s a lot of fear when it comes to carbs, carb addiction etc.
My cholesterol came down quickly by adding just various kinds if soluble fiber but I can’t help myself from analyzing what really triggers cravings for more and how to avoid that!
This short video is actually great. Then comes the challenge of balancing your food intake and I believe that avoiding processed food(something obvious to me as I’ve read labels and cooked from scratch for the last 30 years…) is number one. I also notice that if I get my slice of sourdough with some olive oil along with my salad I feel more satusfied and full. Eating enough protein is also important. Quality meat, cheese(love sheep/goat cheeses), eggs etc. Fruit I love but it becomes a craving when what I previously mentioned isn’t added and leaves me feeling weird. Some fruit or berries added to a meal, a salad, with greek youghurt is fine! As dessert it destroys digestion and causes bloating and tummy pain!! I happen to belive in dessert! Some dark chocolate a scoop of quality ice cream! Again! IF the basics(protein, fiber, moderate amounts of starch(that slice of sourdough, some beans, even moderate amounts of ovenroasted potatoes or sweet potatoes with your meat/fish… a small serving of your favourite pasta enjoyed after a small salad as a starter, if you love oliveoil/vinegar, even better but no crap in a bottle dressings from the supermarket with an incomprehensible lable!)….if the basics are right I strongly believe the so called cravings can be controlled and also the amount of food consumed=not over eating. If not so then something else is missing. Your mental state? Stress? Eating too fast? I believe that analyzing all that is just as important as eliminating food and limiting pleasure! I drink half a glass of wine with a good meal. More, then I feel crappy! It’s about flavour, enjoyment. I still have to work on chewing and distractions like TOTALLY putting away the phone during meals!! Imagine when you don’t remember eating/chewing because of constant distraction!!!! What a waste of a good meal. Even if you eat alone make sure it’s enjoyable, pretty, go slowly! Listen to your body’s signals. If you feel energized and ok it’s probably good for you. If you know you chose wisely, good produce, no artificial crap etc food becomes your nourishing friend, a treat, medicine, not a destructive drug in a mentally turbulent moment. I have read so much and followed so many during this journey and I sense so many underlying issues, cravings, fear, emotional imbalance, stress etc etc that need to be dealt witg BEFORE going on an extreme diet. Something HAS to be wrong when the medical industry is focusing on obesity drugs to the extent we see today! Get people active in the sense that mindful movement becomes a part of people’s every day life! Create peace and body awareness because this signals to your mind to listen to your dietary needs, to be kind to yourself without the extremes!! This type of gentle movement, simple yoga etc or a short guided meditation during a school/work day could change a lot! Enough said!!

[BuaThumlaied]

Thank you for sharing this with great clips and help with these.

[kylequatmann]

This is what Chatgbt says. Not sure it is right but here it is.
There's no solid evidence that fructose directly causes Alzheimer's, but some studies suggest a possible indirect link — especially with high fructose intake over time.

Here’s the gist:

Diets very high in fructose (like from lots of sugary drinks and processed foods) may contribute to insulin resistance, obesity, and metabolic issues, which are risk factors for Alzheimer’s.

Some recent research also hints that excess fructose in the brain might disrupt neuron energy balance and promote amyloid plaque formation — one of the hallmarks of Alzheimer’s.

However, most of these findings are from animal studies or very controlled settings. Human data is still early and not conclusive.


So it’s not that fructose = Alzheimer's, but more like chronically high intake could contribute to the conditions that make Alzheimer’s more likely.

Want me to dig into what those studies actually found?

[pall]

I am a 55-year-old noninsulin diabetic, on metformin, not terrible Hgbaic 6.5, but a sweet addict who grew up eating junk processed food and is still trying to come off it. Just found out I have some heart blockage starting, so it's time to get really serious. Sugar addiction is crazy. I hear a lot about the keto diet, fixing a lot of medical issues, which is a fat-based diet if I understand it correctly. How will the keto diet affect my lipids, and will keto increase lipids and heart disease? What is the best plant-based diet?

[RiverasEstate]

This is when you strip down the other micronutrients. Is not the same to drink apple juice than it is to eat to fruit itself. It’s digested and process very differently in the body.

[lisae.]

My dad was an alcoholic. I have a sugar addiction.

[Julian-so]

I’m gonna have a beer, and forget I watched this

[blessme-nggu]

Common man has awakened & Cautioned by imparting knowledge & awareness repeatedly dubbed in 😮❤

[AuntyHelen-]

Our body can also make fructose itself to put weight on or conserve weight in times of stress and crisis. It's refered to as the polyol pathway.

[HS]

Thank you, one is worse, the other one is bad.

[johnnysanchez]

Great information great public service 👍