Controlling Sugar Cravings & Metabolism with Science-Based Tools

**Andrew D. Huberman** (0:00)
Welcome to the Huberman Lab podcast, where we discuss science and science-based tools for everyday life.
I'm Andrew Huberman, and I'm a professor of neurobiology and ophthalmology at Stanford School of Medicine. Today, we are going to discuss sugar, in particular, how our nervous system regulates our sugar intake and our seeking of sugar. We're also going to discuss how sugar regulates our nervous system. And as you'll soon learn, sugar really impacts our brain and body by two main mechanisms. One of those mechanisms is based on the sweet taste of sugar, which itself is rewarding. Even if you're not much of a sweet tooth, I confess I'm not, most people enjoy sweet tastes more than bitter tastes. And the sweet taste of sugar and its various forms is strongly reinforcing, meaning it triggers the activation of neurons, nerve cells in the brain and body that make us want to consume more of that sweet substance. Incidentally, sweet tastes also make us want to eat more of other substances as well. You may be familiar with that phenomenon. Now, sugar also triggers mechanisms in the brain and body based on its nutritive content independent of its sweetness. What that means is that the actual caloric content and the way that sugar interacts with your nervous system at a subconscious level without your awareness also impacts your craving and seeking of sugar and other foods. Today, we are going to discuss what happens when you ingest sugar in terms of your body's reaction and your brain's reaction. We're also going to talk about what happens when you don't ingest enough sugar. Because as it turns out, sugar is such a powerful fuel for the brain that under conditions where people don't ingest enough sugar or where their so-called blood glucose, which is basically blood sugar of a particular form gets too low, their neurons don't function as well. That said, there are conditions of very low blood sugar in which neurons can function even better. So today we're going to talk about the ins and outs, the ups and downs of sugar as it relates to your nervous system. And by the end of this episode, I'm confident that you have a much clearer picture as to how much sugar you should be ingesting, whether or not you should avoid sugars that you're currently eating. And you will certainly understand much, much more about the energy and fuel sources that your brain relies on, which I'm certain will allow you to make better informed choices about the foods you eat and avoid toward mental health, physical health and performance. Before we begin, I'd like to emphasize that this podcast is separate from my teaching and research roles at Stanford. It is however, part of my desire and effort to bring zero cost to consumer information about science and science related tools to the general public. In keeping with that theme, I'd like to thank the sponsors of today's podcast. Our first sponsor is Athletic Greens. Athletic Greens is an all-in-one vitamin mineral probiotic drink. I've been taking Athletic Greens since 2012, so I'm delighted that they're sponsoring the podcast. The reason I started taking Athletic Greens and the reason I still take Athletic Greens once or twice a day is that it helps me cover all of my basic nutritional needs. It makes up for any deficiencies that I might have. In addition, it has probiotics, which are vital for microbiome health. I've done a couple of episodes now on the so-called gut microbiome and the ways in which the microbiome interacts with your immune system, with your brain to regulate mood, and essentially with every biological system relevant to health throughout your brain and body. With Athletic Greens, I get the vitamins I need, the minerals I need, and the probiotics to support my microbiome. If you'd like to try Athletic Greens, you can go to athleticgreens.com/huberman and claim a special offer. They'll give you five free travel packs plus a year's supply of vitamin D3 K2. There are a ton of data now showing that vitamin D3 is essential for various aspects of our brain and body health. Even if we're getting a lot of sunshine, many of us are still deficient in vitamin D3. And K2 is also important because it regulates things like cardiovascular function, calcium in the body and so on. Again, go to athleticgreens.com/huberman to claim the special offer of the five free travel packs and the year supply of vitamin D3 K2. Today's episode is also brought to us by Element. Element is an electrolyte drink that has everything you need and nothing you don't. That means the exact ratios of electrolytes are in Element and those are sodium, magnesium and potassium, but it has no sugar. I've talked many times before on this podcast about the key role of hydration and electrolytes for nerve cell function, neuron function, as well as the function of all the cells and all the tissues and organ systems of the body. If we have sodium, magnesium and potassium present in the proper ratios, all of those cells function properly and all our bodily systems can be optimized. If the electrolytes are not present and if hydration is low, we simply can't think as well as we would otherwise. Our mood is off, hormone systems go off, our ability to get into physical action, to engage in endurance and strength and all sorts of other things is diminished. So with element, you can make sure that you're staying on top of your hydration and that you're getting the proper ratios of electrolytes. If you'd like to try element, you can go to drink element, that's lmnt.com/huberman, and you'll get a free element sample pack with your purchase. They're all delicious. So again, if you want to try element, you can go to element, lmnt.com/huberman.