When we take a global bird’s eye view of diets around the world, it’s clear that the Western diet makes humans sick. Any nation that has acquired our habits of eating highly-processed foods, rich in refined carbohydrates, fructose, and inflammatory fats, ends up metabolically unhealthy. Metabolic health is much more than just maintaining a healthy weight. It’s the sum of our cardiovascular, mitochondrial, liver, gut, and hormone function—and a poor diet impacts all of these systems for the worse.

Today, I’m excited to talk to Dr. Robert Lustig, all about fixing our metabolic health. Dr. Lustig is a neuroendocrinologist with expertise in metabolism, obesity, and nutrition. He’s the Emeritus Professor of Pediatrics in the Division of Endocrinology and a member of the Institute for Health Policy Studies at UCSF. He is also one of the leaders of the current “anti-sugar” movement that is changing the food industry, in part through his game-changing books. His latest work is Metabolical: The Lure and the Lies of Processed Food, Nutrition, and Modern Medicine.