In this interview, Mitch Belkin (University of Maryland School of Medicine) and Daniel Belkin (Albert Einstein College of Medicine) speak with Rick Johnson, MD, about fructose and its relationship to fat storage. They discuss uric acid as a cause of kidney inflammation and essential hypertension, how glucose intake can trigger endogenous fructose production, and the relationship between salt and obesity. Finally, they touch on the evolutionary history of uric acid metabolism and the potential role for fructokinase inhibitors in treating metabolic disease.
Johnson is a professor of nephrology at the University of Colorado School of Medicine. He is one of the world’s leading experts on fructose. His research focuses on the role of fructose and uric acid in obesity, diabetes, hypertension, and kidney disease. He has over 700 publications, in journals including JAMA and the New England Journal of Medicine. He is also the author of two books for a general audience, The Fat Switch and The Sugar Fix.
"The External Medicine Podcast" explores nontraditional ideas and innovation through longform interviews. Co-hosts Mitch Belkin and Daniel Belkin are medical students and brothers with diverse interests. Mitch, a former Fulbright scholar, and Daniel, a former filmmaker, examine new ideas and innovation on the outskirts of medicine.
Available on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, and Spotify.
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