Book Review: Nature Wants Us to Be Fat, by Dr. Richard Johnson

Johnson, R. (2022).?Nature wants us to be fat: The surprising science behind why we gain weight and how we can prevent—and reverse—it. Dallas: BenBella Books, Inc.

Summary

Learn what the “survival switch” is in nature and how we can prevent it from becoming a “fat switch” for us in this modern world. The evolution, history, animal studies, and clinical research tell why fructose drives insulin resistance and disease. Foods, salt, dehydration, umami flavors, and vitamin C all play a role in how this switch gets turned on and off.

There are three parts: Part I: Why Nature Wants Us to Be Fat; Part II: The Fat Switch and Disease; and Part III: Outfoxing Nature. I recommend this book to anyone who is struggling to lose weight.

Basics of the Switch Diet, pp. 189-190

Sugar: Reduce sugar intake to 5% of daily calories; eliminate sugary drinks entirely

Carbohydrates: Reduce high-glycemic carbohydrates; emphasize low-glycemic vegetables and high-fiber foods; limit fruit to 3-4 servings daily, separated by half servings for high-glycemic varieties; avoid dried fruit, fruit juices, fruit syrups, and fruit concentrates

Protein: Limit high-umami proteins (red meats, organ meats, and shellfish); emphasize fish, poultry, dairy, and vegetable proteins

Fat: Emphasize monounsaturated and omega-3 fats; saturated fats can account for up to 10% of total caloric intake

Salt: Reduce salt intake to 5-6 grams daily; limit processed foods

Water: Drink 8 ounces of water 6-8 times a day

Dairy: Generally recommended; butter and cheese OK if LDL cholesterol levels are controlled; limit high-umami cheese

Coffee and Tea: Recommended

Dark Chocolate: Encouraged

Alcohol: Reduce or eliminate; if you must drink, sip slowly and alternate with water

Vitamin C: Supplement daily

If you are looking to lose weight, the author provides a Switch-Informed Dietary Plan that will stimulate fat burning. The diet should be low-carb, avoid high-glycemic foods, and incorporate intermittent fasting.

Advantages

The book is well-written and makes much sense. There is a glossary of terms, which is helpful. Studies and experiments are shared and explained. The Switch Diet is presented for optimum health, and you can follow a stricter version if you are trying to lose fat.

Disadvantages

I can’t entirely get behind the recommendation to limit red meat; the author doesn’t share enough details to support this advice.

Golden nuggets

·??????Page 7, “This book presents an unconventional approach followed by myself and my many collaborators as we have tried to answer the fundamental question of why we develop obesity and related diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, and more…Our approach is to explore the question from many angles, including using classical clinical and laboratory studies, as well as lessons from nature, history, and evolution.”

·??????Page 8, “…we identified a biological process that animals use to help them survive…the survival switch, as it turns on a whole series of physical and metabolic changes, as well as behaviors, that protect animals in nature when food is not available. One of the features of the switch is that it helps the animal store fat, which can be broken down to provide energy if no food is available. Many humans today have also turned on this switch, and keep it persistently on, with the result that we are now becoming fat. Hence, what was once a survival switch meant to protect us is now a fat switch driving obesity.”

·??????Page 9, “Although fructose present in sugars added to our food and beverages is the main culprit driving this program, we have identified other foods, and other factors, that turn on the survival switch. This research has yielded new insights into preventing and treating these diseases. Some treatments are already commonly used, such as low-carbohydrate diets and intermittent fasting.”

·??????Page 15, “Fat is not a bad thing, if you live in the wild.”

·??????Page 27, “We now have our first clue to the cause of obesity: fat has a purpose. Fat provides calories to animals when they cannot find food. It is a safeguard during times of trouble, and can be critical for survival. Fat is a good guy in nature and, when present, is generally desirable…a tool meant to help us when food is not available.”

·??????Page 31, “When fat is broken down, it provides not only the energy we need to survive, but also water. This is not because there is water in fat, but rather because burning fat generates water as one of its by-products.”

·??????Page 38, “People are eating more and exercising less, and this is causing obesity—but not solely because of bad habits. Most people with obesity are resistant to leptin, impairing their ability to control their hunger, and many have reduced metabolism, especially at rest.”

·??????Pages 42-43, Explanation of Sugars

·??????Page 53, “Fructose causes leptin resistance, which makes us hungrier, which leads us to eat more.”

·??????Page 65, “Fruit contains vitamin C, but as fruit matures, its vitamin C content falls, while the fructose content increases. Fruit contains the most fructose and the least vitamin C when it is mature and its seeds are ready to be planted. This high fructose level is likely the reason animals tend to favor eating ripe fruit; it provides the best raw materials for driving fat storage.”

·??????Page 71, “Many studies have shown that people who are overweight or who have metabolic syndrome tend to have lower blood levels of vitamin C. There are also studies that suggest increasing vitamin C intake reduces the risk for developing metabolic syndrome. In particular, vitamin C dosages of 500 mg daily have been reported to improve blood pressure, reduce blood triglycerides, increase HDL cholesterol (the good cholesterol), ad lower BM in several studies.”

·??????Pages 90-91, Producing fructose is a survival strategy. “The body makes fructose via the polyol pathway when: glucose levels are high (e.g., in uncontrolled diabetes); the body is dehydrated; blood pressure is low; blood supply is impaired (e.g.., during heart attack); oxygen is low (e.g., at high altitude); uric acid levels are high; fructose is ingested.”

·??????Page 95, “…eating salt creates a dehydrated state that helps the animal retain additional water indirectly by increasing its fat stores.”

·??????Page 95, “Mild dehydration stimulates the development of obesity, and people with obesity show signs of dehydration. A high-salt diet is one way to trigger dehydration, and our studies showed that this, in turn, stimulates fructose production and fat formation. This suggests that the body’s production of fructose represents a response to dehydration, similar to the release of vasopressin.”

·??????Page 101, “Gram for gram, glutamate is more powerful than sugar or salt in causing obesity.”

·??????Page 115, “It is not the amount of salt that is important in driving blood pressure, but the balance of salt and water.”

·??????Page 127, “The observation that alcohol is another source of fructose also explains why drinking alcohol is associated with increased risk for metabolic syndrome, and especially increasing blood pressure and triglyceride levels.”

·??????Page 149, “Whenever we eat fructose, a small amount is metabolized in the intestine before it can reach the liver. This portion…4- to 5-gram range, is metabolized like any other calorie—and notably, it does not activate the switch…This means we do not have to worry about eating foods with only small amounts of fructose, such as carrots, sweet peas, pumpkins, and other vegetables. Fruits are a little different from vegetables. They tend to include more fructose per serving…whole fruits contain substances that tend to block the effects of fructose, such as vitamin C, plant compounds known as flavonoids, potassium, and fiber.”

·??????Page 156, Reboot the system by eliminating fructose for five days to two weeks. ?

·??????Page 159, “Use artificial sugars with caution, if at all. They do not cause weight gain on their own, but they also do not block craving for sugar and may encourage it.”

·??????Page 165, Is there a way to block our craving for sugar?

·??????Page 167, “The primary way this switch is activated is by eating or making fructose; dehydration and elevations in blood glucose both ‘turn on’ the body’s ability to make fructose. Ingesting foods that are rich in umami can also activate this biologic switch…”

·??????Page 173, “On a low-carbohydrate diet (and therefore a diet that is low in fructose and high-glycemic carbohydrates), the survival switch is turned down, and you are less hungry. Therefore, even though your diet may be high in fat, you will not gain weight.”

·??????Page 174, “Omega-3 fatty acids stand out as a very healthy fat that can block many of fructose’s effects.”

·??????Page 175, “The idea diet is one that does not enforce calorie restriction, but rather naturally reduces caloric intake by quelling hunger—as occurs when blocking the survival switch (since one of the key consequences of the switch is inducing hunger through craving and leptin resistance).”

·??????Page 209, A Switch-Informed Dietary Plan to Lose Weight