The Truth About Sweeteners, Seed Oils, and Building Real Strength | Nick Barringer, PhD

**Dr. Gabrielle Lyon** (0:00)
Are sweeteners quietly damaging your DNA? Is ozempic slowly killing your parents? And why are millions of people suddenly terrified of seed oils, food dyes, and even carrots? These aren't fringe theories anymore. These are the viral headlines shaping how we eat, how we think about health, and how we live. And yet, very few people are asking, what does the science actually say? I'll let you in on a little secret. Nutrition is dangerously oversimplified. In this episode, I'm joined by Dr. Nick Barringer, Army Ranger, performance nutrition expert, and one of the most respected minds in overall health, to break down controversial, high-stakes questions dominating today's nutrition landscape.

**Dr. Nick Barringer** (0:49)
It's probably not great for you. Now, in a paper in 2023, the Journal of Toxicology looked at sucralose, and they found it converts to sucralose-6-acetate, which is genotoxic and can damage DNA cells.

**Dr. Gabrielle Lyon** (1:04)
We're not here to follow the hype. We're here to challenge assumptions, unpack the evidence, and figure out what's really at risk when it comes to your health and longevity. If you want clarity in a sea of chaos, this episode can be your filter.
Dr. Nick Barringer, nutritional physiologist, which I love that term. You are a great friend, and I'm going to read a little bit about you, which I think that everyone's going to be quite impressed. I know that I am. You previously served as the director of the US. Military-Baylor University Graduate Program in Nutrition. You also served as an assistant professor at the US. Military Academy at West Point. Really slummin it. You were the first active-duty dietician to graduate from the US. Army Ranger School. Wow. And you served with the 75th Ranger Regiment. Well done. One more thing, not trying to embarrass you at all, but you got your degree in diatetics from the University of Georgia and your doctorate in kinesiology from Texas A&M. You are an incredible speaker and a wealth of knowledge. And what I love about you is not only do you research and publish, but you have very practical experience. So welcome to the show.

**Dr. Nick Barringer** (2:39)
Thank you so much. That's a great introduction. I'm hoping I can live up to it.

**Dr. Gabrielle Lyon** (2:43)
Oh, you will. You already have. I would say you are the only elite military dietician that exists. Is that fair to say? Maybe there's been three others in their entirety.

**Dr. Nick Barringer** (2:54)
I mean, there's definitely now. There has been others and there's others out there and there's great dieticians working at Special Operations. Yes.

**Dr. Gabrielle Lyon** (3:02)
Actually, you know, that's right. The SOCOM has their own team of dieticians. So actually, shout out to you guys.

**Dr. Nick Barringer** (3:09)
Yes, Christy Logan.

**Dr. Gabrielle Lyon** (3:10)
Yes, I know Christy Logan. Christy, we got to get you back on. You haven't been on, but you should be.

**Dr. Nick Barringer** (3:16)
She should be. No, brilliant. So so yeah, a lot of great dieticians working in Special Operations. And I tip my hat to him.

**Dr. Gabrielle Lyon** (3:22)
Yes. I I suppose I should thank you for your service. And I'll do that now. And everyone else should as well. So thank you. Why did I want you on the show? Well, there's a lot of trending information right now. You and I were sitting down before laughing about how we love our Celsius. I remember when I would visit Shane on post and it was like Rippet's.

**Dr. Nick Barringer** (3:46)
Yes.

**Dr. Gabrielle Lyon** (3:47)
Rippet's. Celsius. What else do they have? They have the definitely uncrustables.

**Dr. Nick Barringer** (3:53)
Yeah.

**Dr. Gabrielle Lyon** (3:53)
They have a whole host of items in the military.

**Dr. Nick Barringer** (4:00)
Like the little shopettes.

**Dr. Gabrielle Lyon** (4:01)
Oh yes. The shopettes. But where I really wanted to start was Sucralose, also known as Splenda. And I was looking at this paper. This is an open access paper in Nature. And the title of the paper is The Dietary Sweetener Sucralose is a Negative Modulator of T-Cell Mediated Responses. And I have to say, I love sucralose. And our doctor, Dr. Lisa Hunt, who's also my doctor, is probably cringing at this because it is an artificial sweetener, and it is calorie-free, sugar-free, tastes amazing, and I'm pretty sure that it's damaging my DNA.

**Dr. Nick Barringer** (4:40)
Yes. Sadly, that is the case because I'm with you. I love sucralose. I was telling a story about a friend of mine who was down on it 10 years ago, and I was like, no, no, there's no worries. There's no concerns.

**Dr. Gabrielle Lyon** (4:50)