Controlling Sugar Cravings & Metabolism with Science-Based Tools | Huberman Lab Podcast #64

You say fructose in high fructose corn sirup, but fructose is 50% sukrose. Or table sugar. It should be emphasized.

Now I’m on 750mg instead of 2500mg & 18-20 intermittent fasting. Throughout the day I have 3 cups of coffee with cinnamon in am & the rest fresh lemon water .
Thank you so very much your mission. God Bless

Insulin drives hunger and weight gain, what you eat effects how much insulin is secreted. Some foods cause more and faster insulin to be released therefore more weight gain. It doesn't matter how many calories you eat if insulin isn't secreted ( as In Type 1diabetes) you will lose weight. Hence it was called The Wasting Disease. We need to think about insulin not just calories. Read The Obesity Code by Dr. Jason Fung

Swoon...what a guy

Some people can experience "traumatic" events and not "be" traumatized; some people can be exposed to "addictive" substance and not become addicted.
The angle that interests me is why this is so. Is it simply diversity for diversity's sake or is it because we treat people with cookie cutter attitudes? Is it because we've abandoned our spiritual needs? Is it because we've simply been brain washed over time to accept quick fixes instead of investing in long views?
Any substance that "changes" how I feel emotionally or fills an emotional need is bound to become an addiction.
If I can't get what I need to keep me sane from other humans, my body will crave the next best thing to fill that void.
Food is easy. It's fast, cheap and within arms reach.
The body registering satiety - fixing hunger - is one thing, feeling "normal" - as in not mentally and emotionally off balance, is another.
My opinion, for what it's worth, is that anyone ingesting unhealthy amounts of sugar is a signal for the rest of the community that trouble is brewing.
Science is cool, but on its own can fall flat.

Dr Huberman, huge fan. Can you please do an episode on insulin resistance, specifically gestational diabetes and preventions. I am currently pregnant. My family history of diabetes and ethnicity put me at higher risk for GDM. I have been proactively educating myself, exercising and eating well a year before pre-conception to help prevent GDM. With being pregnant, I feel out of routine and control again. I am looking for more information and actionable tasks on this topic to center and ground myself. Thanks!

Many do disagree on the principle of calories in calories out. I would like that you would be more up-to-date on this. The theory of thermodynamics is flawed. Even the way calories are measured is flawed. Dr. Benjamin Bikman has amazing research on how different foods are metabolized differently in the body. Certainly in my own life I have proven this over and over again. I can easily eat carbs and gain a pound yet eat the same amount of calories of animal protein and fat and lose weight.

I did truly enjoy this episode. I suffer from Type 1 diabetes so some information I am familiar with. I appreciate however Your effort to look on sugar from neural point of view. It is quite interesting I must confess. Especially the neuropod cells part. Thank You

Dr. Huberman do you believe in shapeshifters?

Do you have any information on Sugar & its effect on women especially during their menstruation cycle I have often wondered why the cravings for sugar, during a woman’s period, were so overwhelming, that it just driving us & some women crazy for sugar. I would appreciate any insight. Also, what happens with sugar during menopause would be helpful as well.

This content is extraordinary; it recalls a book I read with equally fascinating themes. "Better Sleep Better Life" by William Brook

New research says: We shouldn’t think about glucose and fructose separately, because the body (including the brain) has a mechanism for converting glucose to fructose.

So I don’t get what are the other nutrients that we crave when we crave something sweet? Can I have those and not crave sweet things anymore? The topic I think got lost

@hubermanlab @andrewhuberman can you please do a show on chiropractors and the effects of going to a chiropractor and your health, specifically immune system and more

Aside from my great plant based diet I have fallen pray to sugar simply because of my work place . It’s an awful addiction . So glad to hear this podcast ! Thank you 🙏

Whole Foods PLANT Based is the best diet for many reasons . I would love to hear you do a podcast on that !

Thank you so much! I am curious about Peanut Butter! I take care of my chokesterol and glucose as well is it ok to have peanut butter? Is it a good cholesterol?
Thanks ❤

I quit eating sugar a year ago, after watching your video. 🙏🙏🙏 I did it for like one month and it was the hardest thing ever, but very rewarding. Then I started to eat from time to time chocolate with Erythritol instead of sugar. Sometimes I baked my own desserts using Erythritol, almond flour or coconut flour and I have tried all sort of recepies. Now I am not so strict anymore and I eat proper sugar desserts if there's an event or a special ocassion. But since a while now, I fell in love with 85% dark chocolate. The thing is that I eat it almost daily before my workout. Is it bad? It has like 14 g of sugar per 100g and I eat 25, 30 g per day. I am not worried about the sugar, because it is very little, but maybe I eat too much dark chocolate in general. What do you think? Thanks for your amazing work!

thank you so much for the free info

Most people have brains that work best in the morning. It has nothing to do with fasting. I am one of those people and I've always eaten breakfast first thing waking up. Also I guess I should watch your IMF videos because the metastudies I've seen have all said that aside from weight control there are basically no benefits to the "skipping breakfast" variety. I don't specifically recall what they said about mental states or glucose use or availability in the brain, so maybe I just missed some papers or the metastudies didn't concentrate on that. But the long term effects all seem to be for true IMF (lasting a few days). So maybe it's a placebo effect for you or maybe I missed a key paper *shrugs*. While we're sharing anecdotes though I can say the vast majority of people I know regularly skipping breakfast are not in great health genearlly. Doing a proper fast is a great challenge though -- if you're of good health I'd recommend giving it a try. Along with the health benefits I feel like they help me kind of tap in to what my body is actually doing and feeling.

very good

I just drank my 8oz of water for the next hour

What about the hormones?

The statement (made in this video): "(dietary) glucose is vital for the brain" is patently false.

Can the brain utilizes glucose? Yes. Can the brain utilize other compunds? Of course it can.

Can the body manufacture and deploy glucose into the blood with the complete absence of dietary glucose? Of course it can. Dietary glucose is absolutely not required for optimal brain function.

Hopefully your understanding of how fuctose behaves in the context of human metabolism has improved significantly following your recent interview with Dr. Lustig.

What about what the Glucose Goddess says? She has some info on apple cider vinegar before eating to reduce glucose spikes.

I ain’t gonna judge you on the eating the skin of mangoes because I eat the skin of kiwi’s so I think that goes hand and hand😂

Love these podcasts, cuz it's a genius combination of science-based tools and hilarious comments from dr. Huberman

The best standup ever honestly 😅❤

Thanks a lot

I would like to understand how glutamate and Gaba work in the brain. As well as calcium and sodium. I love your podcasts!!!!!🎉❤

We have Will Smith at home
Will Smith at home:

Thank you for clear explanation!! But made me a bit hopeless... I wonder if quitting sugar/seeet intake for a while( some calls sugar detox?) will not help but make it worse? Do we have hope for people who are trying to cut sugar for obesity /NAFLD?? I know it is hard... I do not know strong will is the answer??

first time I ever heard of someone other than me eating the skin of mangos!

You had me dead when you said nerd speak💀

If you don’t eat the outside of a mango, you’re a monster.

Interesting to think that sweet tasting vapes have a double whammy of desire for more.

I think the brain works better on ketones than glucose.

Skip first 8 minutes, it is only annoying advertisment.

you need to change you mic setup. It block your face.

I don’t eat a crazy amount of sugar but I’m ready to give it up too. I gave up alcohol five years ago and never looked back, but it’s quite common after stopping drinking to get a bit of a sweet tooth. I’m over it. Ready to level up even further! 🙌💪

I need this broken down into a 10 minute video

Thanks for your insight !,,, I understand you are a world class expert in Retinal Cell Biology, But the discussion on glucose response to visual neuronal cell orientation floored me. I think it was Saploski who lectured some Stan....grads about the Jenifer Aniston neuron [these lectures are on utube], but what i always `thought` was happening is the glucose is changing the index of refraction for the vitreous,, for me personally i can see blurry when angry tired etc... and clearly NOT corneal.. and i presume your accuity is akin to fighter pilot.

Could this somehow relate more to the iron cells transported via hemoglobin [in addition to glucose?]. i am pretty sure it is that chemistry that is a root correlation to macular degeneration [both]

In any case thank you for your interest in TEaching science. Yerba Mate who knew ??

I find that eating tomatoes can instantly blunt my appetite and the effects of sugar, especially when eating sweet foods. In particular, if I follow up sweet foods immediately with tomatoes, the effects are overridden. Not always, but almost. I should add cucumbers as well.

I used to eat mango skin as well, until I learned you can develop an allergy to them if you do.

The three hardwired pathways, are they: Taste, nutritive components and dopamine response (inc neuropod signals)? Thanks

The want to eat sweet things is probably an evolutionary thing. There is nothing in nature that is both sweet and poisonous.