Dr. Richard Johnson

And when we were talking on the phone, he says, well, what do you think about sugar as a driver of uric acid? I said, well, it's definitely is a driver. It's the fructose component. And then, you know, and, you know, after I had my conversation with him, I went home and I thought, you know, we should give fructose to animals and see if they develop high blood pressure.

And when we were talking on the phone, he says, well, what do you think about sugar as a driver of uric acid? I said, well, it's definitely is a driver. It's the fructose component. And then, you know, and, you know, after I had my conversation with him, I went home and I thought, you know, we should give fructose to animals and see if they develop high blood pressure.

And if we lower the uric acid, can we lower the blood pressure? Because at this point I was focused on blood pressure. And so what happened was, you know, some people in my lab, Taka Nakagawa, we gave fructose to animals and they became hypertensive. And so fructose is that component of sugar. So table sugar or sucrose is half fructose and half glucose.

And if we lower the uric acid, can we lower the blood pressure? Because at this point I was focused on blood pressure. And so what happened was, you know, some people in my lab, Taka Nakagawa, we gave fructose to animals and they became hypertensive. And so fructose is that component of sugar. So table sugar or sucrose is half fructose and half glucose.

And if we lower the uric acid, can we lower the blood pressure? Because at this point I was focused on blood pressure. And so what happened was, you know, some people in my lab, Taka Nakagawa, we gave fructose to animals and they became hypertensive. And so fructose is that component of sugar. So table sugar or sucrose is half fructose and half glucose.

And there's another sweetener, high fructose corn syrup. It's also about half and half fructose and glucose, but fructose is the only sugar that raises uric acid. And so we gave fructose to animals and they became hypertensive.

And there's another sweetener, high fructose corn syrup. It's also about half and half fructose and glucose, but fructose is the only sugar that raises uric acid. And so we gave fructose to animals and they became hypertensive.

And there's another sweetener, high fructose corn syrup. It's also about half and half fructose and glucose, but fructose is the only sugar that raises uric acid. And so we gave fructose to animals and they became hypertensive.

Blood pressure went up just like this. And we gave the drug to lower the uric acid and the blood pressure came down. But there was a big surprise because the animals got fructose also started getting fat. And they started developing insulin resistance. And their fats went up in their blood. The fat went up in their liver.

Blood pressure went up just like this. And we gave the drug to lower the uric acid and the blood pressure came down. But there was a big surprise because the animals got fructose also started getting fat. And they started developing insulin resistance. And their fats went up in their blood. The fat went up in their liver.

Blood pressure went up just like this. And we gave the drug to lower the uric acid and the blood pressure came down. But there was a big surprise because the animals got fructose also started getting fat. And they started developing insulin resistance. And their fats went up in their blood. The fat went up in their liver.

I mean, they were developing obesity and metabolic syndrome right in front of us. And when we lowered the uric acid, we actually could reduce all of those. And I go, oh, it can't be. It can't be just lowering the blood pressure and but also lowering all these other things. And then we started realizing this was that fructose was first off, it was a very potent driver of obesity.

I mean, they were developing obesity and metabolic syndrome right in front of us. And when we lowered the uric acid, we actually could reduce all of those. And I go, oh, it can't be. It can't be just lowering the blood pressure and but also lowering all these other things. And then we started realizing this was that fructose was first off, it was a very potent driver of obesity.

I mean, they were developing obesity and metabolic syndrome right in front of us. And when we lowered the uric acid, we actually could reduce all of those. And I go, oh, it can't be. It can't be just lowering the blood pressure and but also lowering all these other things. And then we started realizing this was that fructose was first off, it was a very potent driver of obesity.

But the other thing is we could lessen it by lowering uric acid. And the cool part is uric acid is not in the caloric pathway. You know, so there's calories. You know, everyone says it's calories. Calories are the big driver of obesity. But uric acid was being produced independently of the calories. And when we block that part, we actually were blocking the obesity.

But the other thing is we could lessen it by lowering uric acid. And the cool part is uric acid is not in the caloric pathway. You know, so there's calories. You know, everyone says it's calories. Calories are the big driver of obesity. But uric acid was being produced independently of the calories. And when we block that part, we actually were blocking the obesity.

But the other thing is we could lessen it by lowering uric acid. And the cool part is uric acid is not in the caloric pathway. You know, so there's calories. You know, everyone says it's calories. Calories are the big driver of obesity. But uric acid was being produced independently of the calories. And when we block that part, we actually were blocking the obesity.

So what we figured out, it's not so much the insulin resistance causes inflammation, it's that fructose is driving a series of events to help the animal survive acutely. It's stimulating inflammation to help fight off infection. It's raising blood pressure to maintain circulation in a state where it thinks that it's maybe starving.

So what we figured out, it's not so much the insulin resistance causes inflammation, it's that fructose is driving a series of events to help the animal survive acutely. It's stimulating inflammation to help fight off infection. It's raising blood pressure to maintain circulation in a state where it thinks that it's maybe starving.

So what we figured out, it's not so much the insulin resistance causes inflammation, it's that fructose is driving a series of events to help the animal survive acutely. It's stimulating inflammation to help fight off infection. It's raising blood pressure to maintain circulation in a state where it thinks that it's maybe starving.