Richard Johnson - The Sugar Fix: The High-Fructose Fallout That Is Making You Fat and Sick

The Sugar Fix stakes out new territory in the crowded field of dietary advice. But it is more than just another weight-reduction tutorial; it is a roadmap to better health.... Dr. Rick Johnson and Tim Gower bring to us the benefit of a rich understanding of the science of fructose and its fellow traveler, uric acid. They apply this knowledge skillfully in the design of a new and palatable way to reverse a long-standing obstacle to good health.

Richard J. Glassock, MD, professor emeritus of medicine, David Geffen School of Medicine, UCLA

Provocative, compelling, and a challenge to some of the classic paradigms... Dr. Johnsons case against fructose should stimulate much discussion and debate among scientists and the lay public alike.

James O. Hill, PhD, director of the Center for Human Nutrition, University of Colorado Health Sciences Center

Dr. Rick Johnsons new book provides compelling scientific evidence linking the current epidemic of obesity and diabetes with the progressive rise in fructose consumption over the last century, and particularly over the last 30 to 40 years. More significantly, the book provides a detailed plan for reducing dietary fructose intake, promoting weight loss, and reversing many of the serious health consequences associated with the typical American high-fructose diet.

Michael W. Rich, MD, professor of medicine and director of the Cardiac Rapid Evaluation Unit, Washington University School of Medicine

The Sugar Fix presents a combination of scientific research (the majority of it generated in Dr. Rick Johnsons laboratory), epidemiologic evidence, and historical insights, all linked together in the manner of a masterful closing argument before the jury retires for deliberation.... I have followed Dr. Johnsons travels along the fructose/uric acid pathway for years, and I am very happy to see the results of the journey in this book.

Dr. Bernardo Rodrguez-Iturbe, president-elect of the International Society of Nephrology and international expert on hypertension and kidney disease

Notice

This book is intended as a reference volume only, not as a medical manual. The information given here is designed to help you make informed decisions about your health. It is not intended as a substitute for any treatment that may have been prescribed by your doctor. If you suspect that you have a medical problem, we urge you to seek competent medical help.

Mention of specific companies, organizations, or authorities in this book does not imply endorsement by the publisher, nor does mention of specific companies, organizations, or authorities imply that they endorse this book.

Internet addresses and telephone numbers given in this book were accurate at the time it went to press.

2008 by Richard J. Johnson, MD, with Timothy Gower

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any other information storage and retrieval system, without the written permission of the publisher.

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Interior design by Carol Angstadt

Cover design by Andy Carpenter

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Johnson, Richard J. (Richard Joseph), date

The sugar fix : the high-fructose fallout that is making you fat and sick / Richard J. Johnson with Timothy Gower.

p.cm.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN-13 9781594866654 hardcover

ISBN-10 1594866651 hardcover

ISBN-13 9781605299730 ebook

1. Fructose in human nutrition. 2. ObesityEtiology. 3. Reducing diets.

I. Gower, Timothy. II. Title.

QP702.F7J64 2008

612.396dc222007050749

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PART I CRYSTALS AND CORN SYRUP:
A BRIEF HISTORY OF FRUCTOSE

PART II THE PRICE OF SUGAR:
FRUCTOSE, URIC ACID, AND YOUR HEALTH

PART III SWEET SALVATION:
THE LOW-FRUCTOSE SOLUTION

PART IV MORE THAN A DIET:
THE LOW-FRUCTOSE LIFESTYLE

I would like to give special thanks to writer Timothy Gower, who helped me to explain my research and ideas in lay terms; nutritionist Elizabeth Gollub, PhD, RD, who worked with me to construct the Low-Fructose Diet; and Chris Fennell, the superb chef and co-owner of the Northwest Grille in Gainesville, Florida, who provided many of the low-fructose recipes. I also want to thank Judith Riven, my agent, for helping to take this story from concept to bound book.

I have been fortunate enough to collaborate with many remarkable scientists. My sincere appreciation goes to Bernardo Rodriguez-Iturbe, MD, and Jaime Herrera-Acosta, MD, for our studies on high blood pressure; Marilda Mazzali, MD, Duk-Hee Kang, MD, L. Gabriel Sanchez-Lozada, PhD, and Daniel I. Feig, MD, for our studies on uric acid; and Taka Nakagawa, MD, Yuri Sautin, PhD, Sirirat Reungjui, MD, and Mark Segal, MD, for our work on fructose. I also remain forever indebted to Wei Mu, MD, and Carlos Roncal, BS, who oversee my laboratory and made significant contributions on all aspects of the research.

Finally, I would like to thank my wife and children for their patience and support, and my patientsit has been a privilege and pleasure to treat and care for you.

It had been a long day, but I was in the mood to celebrate. I had learned earlier in the week that an important scientific journal, the Journal of Clinical Investigation (JCI), planned to publish a paper I had written based on my research. For a young scientist, this represented a major step toward gaining a full professorship at the University of Washington, where I worked at the time.

The future suddenly looked bright, so I accepted an invitation to a cocktail party at my bosss home. Soon after arriving at his lovely houseboat on Seattles Lake Union, one of my colleagues, Dr. Yipu Chen, approached me. Yipu, a visiting scientist from Beijing, greeted me with his usual enthusiasm and said, Rick, I believe you are going to be a professor some day. Yes, you will be a professor.

Thanks, I responded, beaming with pride. I assumed that Yipu was about to compliment me on my JCI paper. I didnt want to seem presumptuous, however. So I asked, Why do you think that?

Yipu smiled. Because you are getting fat, Rick, he said, patting my belly. And in China, only the professors get fat.

I recalled this scene when I set out to write this book for several reasons. For starters, I know what its like to struggle with extra weight now and then. After Yipu made his good-natured jibe, I slipped away to the bathroom and looked in the mirror. He was rightI