Nature Wants Us to Be Fat

The Surprising Science Behind Why We Gain Weight and How We Can Prevent - and Reverse - It

By: Richard J. Johnson MD

Narrated by: Jonathan Todd Ross

Length: 9 hrs and 24 mins

Publisher's summary

Nature puts a “survival switch” in our bodies to protect us from starvation. Stuck in the “on” position, it’s the hidden source of weight gain, heart disease, and many other common health struggles. But you can turn it off.

Dr. Richard Johnson has been on the cutting edge of research into the cause of obesity for more than a decade. His team’s discovery of the fructose-powered survival switch - a metabolic pathway that animals in nature turn on and off as needed, but that our modern diet has permanently fixed in the “on” position, where it becomes a fat switch - revolutionized the way we think about why we gain weight.

In Nature Wants Us to Be Fat, he details the mounting evidence on how this switch is responsible both for excess fat storage and for many of the major diseases endemic to the Western world, including heart disease, cancer, and dementia. Dr. Johnson also reveals the surprising link between the survival switch and health conditions such as gout, kidney disease, liver disease, stroke - and even behavioral issues like addiction and ADHD. And, most important, he shares a science-based plan to help listeners fight back against nature.

Guided by ongoing clinical research - plus fascinating observations from the animal kingdom, evolution, and history - Dr. Johnson takes you along on an eye-opening investigation into:

• What you can do to turn off your survival switch
• What we have in common with hibernating bears, sperm whales, and the world’s fattest bird
• Why it’s fructose (not glucose) that drives insulin resistance and metabolic disease
• The foods we eat that trigger the body to make its own fructose
• The surprising role salt and dehydration play in fat accumulation

Dr. Johnson not only provides new recommendations for how we can prevent or treat obesity, but also how we can use this information to reduce our risk of developing disease. Nature wants us to be fat, and when we understand why, we gain the tools we need to lose weight and optimize our health.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2022 Richard Johnson (P)2022 Audible, Inc.

Science + Opinions

I liked that he lays out a simple formula of staying away from larger than 8 grams of fructose if you want to not trigger a cascade of bad health. However, he mixes a lot of opinion on the science and sometimes it takes away the credibility of the science. For example, he goes to great lengths to describe how hunter/gatherers from the past benefited from our fructose switch. However he can't also realize that all of the rest of the year those same people would have been primarily eating red meat, so why does he insist on lots of opinions about the dangers of red meat even though that is perhaps the single greatest non-inflamitory food that we certainly have evolved to eat. Also his hall pass offered to Gatorade simply because his good friend made it was not consistent with how fructose would lower ATP and contribute to NAFLD, diabetes, and other conditions. Also his concern of LDL-c needs to be reexamined...especially after within a few weeks when Dave Feldman releases the Lean Mass Hyper Responder study results showing high LDL-c on a low-carb diet is not contributing to plaque formation or progression outside at rates different than "good" LDL-c levels.

Future Text Book

Written by a modest researcher the clever insight & accessible & compelling conveyance makes this a must-read for many looking to understand the root causes of metabolic disorder & its impact.

Excellent book! The introduction of a new science notion of ‘survival switch’

This study has opened my eyes on a good and bad role fructose plays in our life. Many thanks to the author and the team that did this interesting discovery!

Great book!

This book offers insight on why people can’t lose weight by offering info about the “Survival Switch” and how it blocks us from losing weight. He presents info on how to reset this situation by changing your diet. Good stuff!

Excellent summary of the science about weight loss

One of the better summary of the science about weight loss. Superbly written. And covers all the aspects. With insights on how to affect your metabolic rate

Mandatory Read for Every Human

Wonderful research and so grateful for the author and collaborators, that they share it, so it doesn’t take 16 years to reach the general public! Give a copy to your Doctor and change Doctor if they won’t read it!

My kind of research book

Wine I don’t agree with some of his stance on Keto/Lo-Carb diets, which I believe newer studies support my beliefs, I still appreciated the research and knowledge I gained from this book. No diet is perfect or broad sweeping. Everyone reacts differently, however, with this knowledge of a “survival switch” I do believe we are starting to get the blueprint to understand why some people via genetics struggle with weight loss/gain.

It’s coming together

Finally all the pcs are coming together all these scientist following leads and you can really start to see where it all overlaps !!!

good journey on the process of health so far

this had good points I would like to see expanded on .. enjoyed the story and it's path.

Comprehensive and easily understood

Dr, Johnson provides a comprehensive review of his research and the research of others in understanding the role of sugar as it relates to health. The role of Uric acid is thoroughly discussed and analyzed. A great audio book.