The Great Simplification #69 – Robert Lustig: “Processed Food, Metabolism, and The Ills of Society”

In this episode, Dr. Robert Lustig joins Nate to dive into the metabolism of the micro level of human systems – the humans ourselves. Over the last century, accompanying the transformation of our energy systems, our food and consumption patterns have been massively transformed. One of the biggest areas of change is the dramatic increase in sugar consumption. But are our bodies adapted to eating such high-sugar, processed foods? What are the health effects connected to this way of eating? And, writ large, how does our metabolic dysfunction as individuals contribute to the energy-hungry global Superorganism? What are the systemic drivers that currently prevent a shift towards healthier food systems? Can changing how we eat make us healthier – and thus better equipped to face the complex challenges of the meta-crisis?

About Robert Lustig

Robert H. Lustig, M.D., M.S.L. is an Emeritus Professor of Pediatrics in the Division of Endocrinology and a Member of the Institute for Health Policy Studies at UCSF. Dr. Lustig is a neuroendocrinologist, with expertise in metabolism, obesity, and nutrition. He is one of the leaders of the current “anti-sugar” movement that is changing the food industry. He has dedicated his retirement from clinical medicine to help to fix the food supply in any way he can reduce human suffering, and salvage the environment. Dr. Lustig graduated from MIT in 1976 and received his M.D. from Cornell University Medical College in 1980. He also received his Masters of Studies in Law (MSL) degree at the University of California, Hastings College of the Law in 2013. He is the author of the popular books Fat Chance (2012), The Hacking of the American Mind (2017), and Metabolical: The Lure and the Lies of Processed Food, Nutrition, and Modern Medicine (2021).

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