I haven't. Lustig was also on the "it's fructose" train for a while, but it doesn't fit my personal experience well. I gained 100lbs doing pretty strict keto, eating almost zero fructose. Where does he suggest the uric acid is coming from?
The first part of the book gives details of many experiments done on mice and rats to show that fructose is the cause of obesity.
He posits this is because metabolism of the fructose causes stress on the mitocondria from the uric acid produced by metabolising the fructose.
This results in reduced ATP production and blocks the leptin pathway leaving you low energy and hungry so that you overeat.
His recommendation is fairly similar to a low carb diet except that your body can convert glucose into fructose if you are dehydrated, a condition he says all obese people are in. So he recommends salt is kept to 3 to 5 gm/day and 8 glasses of water/day including one with each meal. No alcohol as thats dehydrating but coffee is ok because that encourages excretion of uric acid.
He also reccommends intermittent fasting of 2 days of 500 kcal then 5 days normal eating.
In the final chapters he compares mediteranean, keto, paleo and low carb diets an recommends mediteranean. At this point he mentions red meat dangers, reducing saturated fat anf tufts university which I felt he's not up to date on those.
I hope this helps I've tried to summarise the book.
His theory is that if sufficient fructose hits the liver it throws the fat switch that lowers your metabolic rate and makes you ravenously hungry. Its a survival mechanism to gain fat before winter etc.
So similar to the "torpor" theory with PUFAs that Fire in a Bottle has, I see.
Overall it doesn't seem to jive super well with my experience. I've not only eaten close to 0 fructose for nearly a decade now, but also nearly 0 glucose. I don't think I've been super hydrated the whole time, in fact I was an avid sparkling water drinker for a year or so and it didn't seem to make a difference. I don't drink any alcohol and lots of coffee.
So shouldn't I, by his theory, always have been very lean?
It could be that this fructose mechanism is basically the mechanism behind low-carb, and is necessary but not sufficient for fat loss.
The PUFA theory is almost exactly the same, the idea being that PUFAs from excess seed oils hit the mitochondria and break energy metabolism there, causing hunger and lack of available energy.
And maybe excess protein (BCAAs?) have a similar function?
I enjoyed reading the book where he details using mice with various genes knocked out giving them glucose or fructose and observing but there must be something everyone is missing. I'm sure there must be something that affects everyone.
It could be 1 secret ingredient, or it could be there are 3-4 and so nothing works for everybody. That's my "slightly complicated" theory. Maybe some people need to avoid carbs, some PUFA, some just need to fix their sleep, some eat low protein. Nothing works for everyone.
He also gives a lot of history going back to the time we lost the gene that coded for uricase that other apes use to deal with uric acid and the reson aquiring more copies of the gene that gives us amylase to digest grains.
I can believe all his book except the final couple of chapters. Its well written.
I haven't. Lustig was also on the "it's fructose" train for a while, but it doesn't fit my personal experience well. I gained 100lbs doing pretty strict keto, eating almost zero fructose. Where does he suggest the uric acid is coming from?
You can convert glucose to fructose in your body especially when dehydrated.
His book is worth a read. I'm nearly halfway through it.
He has a good explanation of why camels get fat without eating any fructose.
So even if you consume no fructose thats not a problem as you produce your own when conditions are met.
Could you tl;dr the actionable lever for me? I.e. what does he suggest obese people do to get lean?
tl;dr ?
too long, didn't read. Internet speak for summary.
The first part of the book gives details of many experiments done on mice and rats to show that fructose is the cause of obesity.
He posits this is because metabolism of the fructose causes stress on the mitocondria from the uric acid produced by metabolising the fructose.
This results in reduced ATP production and blocks the leptin pathway leaving you low energy and hungry so that you overeat.
His recommendation is fairly similar to a low carb diet except that your body can convert glucose into fructose if you are dehydrated, a condition he says all obese people are in. So he recommends salt is kept to 3 to 5 gm/day and 8 glasses of water/day including one with each meal. No alcohol as thats dehydrating but coffee is ok because that encourages excretion of uric acid.
He also reccommends intermittent fasting of 2 days of 500 kcal then 5 days normal eating.
In the final chapters he compares mediteranean, keto, paleo and low carb diets an recommends mediteranean. At this point he mentions red meat dangers, reducing saturated fat anf tufts university which I felt he's not up to date on those.
I hope this helps I've tried to summarise the book.
His theory is that if sufficient fructose hits the liver it throws the fat switch that lowers your metabolic rate and makes you ravenously hungry. Its a survival mechanism to gain fat before winter etc.
So similar to the "torpor" theory with PUFAs that Fire in a Bottle has, I see.
Overall it doesn't seem to jive super well with my experience. I've not only eaten close to 0 fructose for nearly a decade now, but also nearly 0 glucose. I don't think I've been super hydrated the whole time, in fact I was an avid sparkling water drinker for a year or so and it didn't seem to make a difference. I don't drink any alcohol and lots of coffee.
So shouldn't I, by his theory, always have been very lean?
It could be that this fructose mechanism is basically the mechanism behind low-carb, and is necessary but not sufficient for fat loss.
The PUFA theory is almost exactly the same, the idea being that PUFAs from excess seed oils hit the mitochondria and break energy metabolism there, causing hunger and lack of available energy.
And maybe excess protein (BCAAs?) have a similar function?
I enjoyed reading the book where he details using mice with various genes knocked out giving them glucose or fructose and observing but there must be something everyone is missing. I'm sure there must be something that affects everyone.
Reading stuff like this has become my hobby.
You and me both, buddy ;)
It could be 1 secret ingredient, or it could be there are 3-4 and so nothing works for everybody. That's my "slightly complicated" theory. Maybe some people need to avoid carbs, some PUFA, some just need to fix their sleep, some eat low protein. Nothing works for everyone.
He also gives a lot of history going back to the time we lost the gene that coded for uricase that other apes use to deal with uric acid and the reson aquiring more copies of the gene that gives us amylase to digest grains.
I can believe all his book except the final couple of chapters. Its well written.