Alzheimer’s is now being called “type 3 diabetes” for its link to insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes, metabolic syndrome, and obesity. A new hypothesis has emerged, suggesting that fructose, aka sugar derived from fruit, may play a crucial role in the underlying mechanism.
Today, fructose is consumed mainly in concentrated forms such as fruit juice, dried fruit, and high fructose corn syrup in soda and ultra-processed foods. Metabolic health and Alzheimer’s scientists are proposing that this abundance of fructose in our modern diet may be starving our brain’s memory center due to a genetic survival trait.
This week on The Dhru Purohit Podcast, Dhru sits down with Dr. Richard Johnson for a second time to discuss his revolutionary new hypothesis on the link between fructose consumption and Alzheimer’s disease. Dhru and Dr. Johnson discuss the evolutionary mechanism behind fructose metabolism, insulin resistance, and weight gain that has completely backfired due to its overconsumption.
Dr. Richard Johnson is a professor of medicine at the University of Colorado 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 fructose in obesity, diabetes, and now, Alzheimer’s disease. His work also highlights the fundamental role of uric acid (which is generated during fructose metabolism) in metabolic syndrome.
Dr. Johnson is a prolific scientist with research that has been funded by the National Institute of Health since the 1980s. He is a member of the American Society for Clinical Investigation and has published over 700 papers, lectured in over 45 countries, and is a highly cited scientist. He is the author of The Fat Switch and his newest bestselling book, Nature Wants Us to Be Fat.
Also mentioned in this episode:
- The Fat Gene
- Try This: Doubling Down on Morning Hydration for Better Focus and Energy
- Could Alzheimer’s disease be a maladaptation of an evolutionary survival pathway mediated by intracerebral fructose and uric acid metabolism?
- Study Suggests Fructose Could Drive Alzheimer’s Disease (study press release)
- Nature Wants Us to Be Fat: The Surprising Science Behind Why We Gain Weight and How We Can Prevent—and Reverse—It by Dr. Richard Johnson
- The End of Alzheimer’s Program: The First Protocol to Enhance Cognition and Reverse Decline at Any Age by Dr. Dale Bredesen
- Drop Acid: The Surprising New Science of Uric Acid―The Key to Losing Weight, Controlling Blood Sugar, and Achieving Extraordinary Health by Dr. David Perlmutter
For more on Dr. Richard Johnson, follow him on Instagram @drrichardjjohnson, on Twitter @RichardJJohns11, or through his website, drrichardjohnson.com.
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