Processed Food, Metabolism, and The Ills of Society

The Great Simplification #69 with Dr. Robert Lustig

Today’s topic is one that - on the surface - veers a bit outside of the usual themes of this podcast, but is no less relevant to our future. In this episode, I’m joined by neuroendocrinologist, Dr. Robert Lustig to dive into the metabolism of the micro level of the human ecosystem - the humans ourselves. Over the last century, accompanying the transformation of our energy systems, our food and consumption patterns have also been massively transformed. One of the biggest areas of change has been the dramatic increase in sugar consumption and of processed foods. In his most recent book, ‘Metabolical: The Lure and the Lies of Processed Food, Nutrition, and Modern Medicine’, Dr. Lustig explains the biochemistry behind why consumption of these ‘foods’  is linked to almost all of the most common chronic, metabolic diseases that are ruining people’s health and costing us billions of dollars. 

Robert H. Lustig, M.D., M.S.L. is Emeritus Professor of Pediatrics in the Division of Endocrinology, and 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 any way he can, to reduce human suffering and to 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 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).

What are the health effects of our industrial way of producing food and consuming it? 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 metacrisis?  A must watch episode, IMO. 

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In case you missed it…

How certain are you that the world will unfold as you expect? While there will ultimately be only one outcome, the odds of that future fall in a distribution, with some results much more likely than others. These odds shift over time by natural physical events - and by our actions. However, no one alive can know these distributions perfectly, but instead impute their own mental distribution shaped by their own bias, knowledge, and perspective. How might we use a probabilistic approach to better understand what’s possible - and even to better relate to others? By thinking of the future as a spectrum, can we avoid falling into traps of certainty and complacency that inevitably lead to inaction?

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