Nature Wants Us to Be Fat: The Surprising Science Behind Why We Gain Weight and How We Can Prevent--and Reverse--It
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- Create Date：2022-05-06 11:21:47
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：Richard J. Johnson
- ISBN：1799785025
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Summary
Nature puts a “survival switch” in our bodies to protect us from starvation。 Stuck in the “on” position， it's the hidden source of weight gain， heart disease， and many other common health struggles。 But you can turn it off。
Dr。 Richard Johnson has been on the cutting edge of research into the cause of obesity for more than a decade。 His team's discovery of the fructose-powered survival switch - a metabolic pathway that animals in nature turn on and off as needed， but that our modern diet has permanently fixed in the “on” position， where it becomes a fat switch - revolutionized the way we think about why we gain weight。
In Nature Wants Us to Be Fat， he details the mounting evidence on how this switch is responsible both for excess fat storage and for many of the major diseases endemic to the Western world， including heart disease， cancer， and dementia。 Dr。 Johnson also reveals the surprising link between the survival switch and health conditions such as gout， kidney disease， liver disease， stroke - and even behavioral issues like addiction and ADHD。 And， most important， he shares a science-based plan to help listeners fight back against nature。
Guided by ongoing clinical research - plus fascinating observations from the animal kingdom， evolution， and history - Dr。 Johnson takes you along on an eye-opening investigation into:
What you can do to turn off your survival switch
What we have in common with hibernating bears， sperm whales， and the world's fattest bird
Why it's fructose （not glucose） that drives insulin resistance and metabolic disease
The foods we eat that trigger the body to make its own fructose
The surprising role salt and dehydration play in fat accumulation
Dr。 Johnson not only provides new recommendations for how we can prevent or treat obesity， but also how we can use this information to reduce our risk of developing disease。 Nature wants us to be fat， and when we understand why， we gain the tools we need to lose weight and optimize our health。
Dr。 Richard Johnson has been on the cutting edge of research into the cause of obesity for more than a decade。 His team's discovery of the fructose-powered survival switch - a metabolic pathway that animals in nature turn on and off as needed， but that our modern diet has permanently fixed in the “on” position， where it becomes a fat switch - revolutionized the way we think about why we gain weight。
In Nature Wants Us to Be Fat， he details the mounting evidence on how this switch is responsible both for excess fat storage and for many of the major diseases endemic to the Western world， including heart disease， cancer， and dementia。 Dr。 Johnson also reveals the surprising link between the survival switch and health conditions such as gout， kidney disease， liver disease， stroke - and even behavioral issues like addiction and ADHD。 And， most important， he shares a science-based plan to help listeners fight back against nature。
Guided by ongoing clinical research - plus fascinating observations from the animal kingdom， evolution， and history - Dr。 Johnson takes you along on an eye-opening investigation into:
What you can do to turn off your survival switch
What we have in common with hibernating bears， sperm whales， and the world's fattest bird
Why it's fructose （not glucose） that drives insulin resistance and metabolic disease
The foods we eat that trigger the body to make its own fructose
The surprising role salt and dehydration play in fat accumulation
Dr。 Johnson not only provides new recommendations for how we can prevent or treat obesity， but also how we can use this information to reduce our risk of developing disease。 Nature wants us to be fat， and when we understand why， we gain the tools we need to lose weight and optimize our health。
Reviews
Diana Barnett
，
The doctor does make since。
Lee Slater
，
Interesting book， decently written for most of it， but eyes start to glaze over at an endless stream of experiments on rats。 But the central hypothesis of the book， that there is a 'survival switch' which， in basic terms， makes us ultra-efficient at processing/storing calories （and in particular， sugars， namely fructose） - an advantage in the Savannah but not in the modern world with abundant food - is a relatively well worn argument， as are Johnson's remedies （Med diet or low carb diet， and exe Interesting book， decently written for most of it， but eyes start to glaze over at an endless stream of experiments on rats。 But the central hypothesis of the book， that there is a 'survival switch' which， in basic terms， makes us ultra-efficient at processing/storing calories （and in particular， sugars， namely fructose） - an advantage in the Savannah but not in the modern world with abundant food - is a relatively well worn argument， as are Johnson's remedies （Med diet or low carb diet， and exercise）。 。。。more
Tariq Mahmood
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The case for the fat-switch has been put in the evolutionary context。 The dietary changes and the minimum exercise recommendations， in the end， are a piece of great advice。
Cruz Mateo
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The book is really great。
db
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I heard an interview of this author about this book and learned quite a bit。 This book is the in depth presentation of how to understand weight gain by human bodies as well as weight gain in other species。 Much to learn。
Joonas
，
This is the worst kind of book Because the first 80% are full of interesting ideas and data but the end makes more than a few stupid ass statements。 Now I have to reconsider if the writers ideas are even credible。 Possibly ruining most of the book due to lack of confidence。 What a dilemma。 Thanks for the first 80%。 A lot of stuff I did not know there。 Hopefully most of it is legit。
Todd Peters
，
This is an enjoyable， a recommended read。。。 if you are interested in science / healthcare research or health practitioner like me。 Not as useful for biohackers looking for actions （it offers these in summary near the end）。 The book's title is accurate。I have not read Dr Johnson's other works。 I became interested in him from his second interview on Peter Attia's podcast。 If you aren't sure you're ready to invest time on a book， I recommend that interview first。 His communication skills in speech This is an enjoyable， a recommended read。。。 if you are interested in science / healthcare research or health practitioner like me。 Not as useful for biohackers looking for actions （it offers these in summary near the end）。 The book's title is accurate。I have not read Dr Johnson's other works。 I became interested in him from his second interview on Peter Attia's podcast。 If you aren't sure you're ready to invest time on a book， I recommend that interview first。 His communication skills in speech and writing are superb， in addition to his long list of accomplishments as a researcher and clinician。 。。。more
Deb
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i won the kindle version of this book on a goodreads giveaway。 The science behind this book is that sugar and salt are the killers for both longevity and weight。 Easier said than done， especially if you plan and cook for more than just yourself， and are on a budget。 Fascinating subject。
Mohammad Ashori
，
It's a book about fructose and obesity。 The premise I understood is that if you follow this author's particular suggested diet you'll lose weight。 I was surprised that the author decided to suggest a weight loss strategy in this book。 But perhaps the audience is someone who would search a book on how to lose weight。 I thought the overall message that fructose is now the problem as opposed to fat in the 1970s or carbs in the 1980s and inactivity in the 1990s and back to carbs now - well， it just It's a book about fructose and obesity。 The premise I understood is that if you follow this author's particular suggested diet you'll lose weight。 I was surprised that the author decided to suggest a weight loss strategy in this book。 But perhaps the audience is someone who would search a book on how to lose weight。 I thought the overall message that fructose is now the problem as opposed to fat in the 1970s or carbs in the 1980s and inactivity in the 1990s and back to carbs now - well， it just didn't sell me on a new diet， yet again。 Sugar and salt make you fast is another important note I made for myself when reading this book。 I think it makes sense。 But the author forgot that my skinny ass is also reading this book。 If I didn't consume carbs （sugar？） and salt then I would perhaps disappear altogether。 Based on the metabolic markers I'm aware of I am healthy。 He discussed uric acid as well in-length but the discussion still wasn't convincing enough for me to want to do anything to lower someone's uric acid。 The author lumped fructose from processed food in with all fructose without distinguishing it from fruits。 Well， he tried to but I think there wasn't enough of a focus。 Again， the audience is someone who is suffering obesity and the title is therefore misleading for this book。 I would have thought the editor would have helped break the message down based on the target audience。 All the pieces were there to make this book really good。 I felt that the dieting suggestion should have been left for another book。 I took this other note for myself: "Likely a book written by someone who will be profiting from trying to develop something to block some pathway"。 And halfway into the book the author did mention exactly that - he is developing something in his lab to block some pathway in fructose production or excretion or something fructose related。 It's not that this is bad but there was no discussion as to why。 If this same author went on to suggest a diet in the end of his own book， why develop this pathway blocking molecule？ I felt the book was a bit boring to listen to。 The content was really good - as in the fact were interesting。 But really， another lab dude killing thousands if not millions of mice in a lab to prove that intervention A leads to outcome B？ Really？ I'm not a mouse。 Leave the poor fucking rodents alone。 It's just a way for these researchers to make more money by getting research dollars。 If after all this rodenticide you figured out that HFCS leads to obesity I think you could have done more with your time。 Yes， the point about the fructosamine production isn't lost on me。 The liver uptake and fatty liver discussion - I get that。 But if in the end you're just going to tell me that I shouldn't eat HFCS， we're past that。 Those who aren't able to digest that message have far more difficult circumstances that those of privilege have a hard time understanding。 The message of "cut out soda" won't cut it。 I know， we've tried。 As far as the study designs， if you wanna really be blown away， yes， this dude definitely designed some incredible research experiments。 But this is only so if you are rather research naive and don't realize that you can order any mouse with almost any kind of gene knockout you like。 The discussion about artificial sweeteners was I think something the editor asked the author to include。 It was superficial， not well researched， it didnt' have any depth， and I would go as far as to say that it was contradictory to the message and problem of fructose。 The switch diet is clever and I know the intention of the author is in the right place。 But I think this could have been a little better teased out with the input of someone who understand human psychology and behavioral modification techniques。 Atomic Habits is a good primer on the topic。 It takes buy-in from the patient and as a book author you can't suggest a diet for the masses。 It would have been great to see the author break his audience up into those who could connect with their own stereotype and then make suggestion for them。 It wouldn't have added too much volume and still could have been interesting。 The suggestion to take vitamin C daily - that's the kind of stuff where I felt like the book was just rushed to print。 Here is this brilliant researcher who hasn't fully researched or at least isn't reporting the current evidence on supplemental vitamin C。 I could be wrong， he might be right， everyone should take vitamin C。 But I just didn't feel that he had any argument for it nor did it fit into this book。 If you are going to read this book to figure out if fruit is bad or good for you - maybe you'll get a smidgen of insight。 I didn't and that's why I rented the book from the library。 If you read it to lose weight， it's nothing you haven't heard before。 Start with keto and go to low-fructose and avoid too much salt。 。。。more
Anna
，
👍🏼 a good non-fiction read for those weight conscious and curiousDr。 Johnson has spent a career on research into why people are fat and how to stop being fat。 Despite the certainty in the title， we still don’t have all the answers。 Dr。 Johnson is going to give you his best educated guess and opinions though。 The premise of the book is that we humans， like many animals， have a “survival switch” that nature uses to keep us alive when resources are scarce。 However， unlike most animals， humans （espe 👍🏼 a good non-fiction read for those weight conscious and curiousDr。 Johnson has spent a career on research into why people are fat and how to stop being fat。 Despite the certainty in the title， we still don’t have all the answers。 Dr。 Johnson is going to give you his best educated guess and opinions though。 The premise of the book is that we humans， like many animals， have a “survival switch” that nature uses to keep us alive when resources are scarce。 However， unlike most animals， humans （especially those in the Western world） generally have abundant food resources and don’t really need the survival switch in the “on” position - even though we are really good at turning it on。 This book takes you through the evolution of research and links together observations from nature， laboratory research， and clinical trials to explain this survival switch - why it exists， how it works， and how to turn it off （and lose weight）。This book definitely doesn’t have all of the answers， but can be a good resource for anyone trying to better understand what is going on in their body。 。。。more
SheAintGotNoShoes
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Very informative and gave me a few good ideas to implement to see if my health improves。I knocked off a star because while I like the idea that something is based on science， I do not like reading books that read like textbooks or are too 'science-y'。My eyes glazed over quite a few times with all the science jargon and experiments。 Very informative and gave me a few good ideas to implement to see if my health improves。I knocked off a star because while I like the idea that something is based on science， I do not like reading books that read like textbooks or are too 'science-y'。My eyes glazed over quite a few times with all the science jargon and experiments。 。。。more
Samsara
，
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 So， could it be fructose stimulate uric acid and then hell break loose？ I think this is quite a nice summary on the findings over the line。 And some important facts:1。 Gut is able to convert a little bit fructose into glucose， so that the fructose you take won't even reach your liver。 So， maybe the slow releasing fructose in fruits would be neutralized in guts。 But if you drink a coke， well， god help you。2。 You cut all sugars， and even go keto and think you are all good？ The body could create fr So， could it be fructose stimulate uric acid and then hell break loose？ I think this is quite a nice summary on the findings over the line。 And some important facts:1。 Gut is able to convert a little bit fructose into glucose， so that the fructose you take won't even reach your liver。 So， maybe the slow releasing fructose in fruits would be neutralized in guts。 But if you drink a coke， well， god help you。2。 You cut all sugars， and even go keto and think you are all good？ The body could create fructose using glucose。 Suprise！！ So， you could still deep in water if there are something goes wrong with your diet。3。 Dehydration stimulate body to produce fructose in order to retain water。 So， keep dydrated。4。 It may not be the amount of salt you take， but the salt concentration that matter。 Very salty food increase salt concentration in blood， and the net effect is still stimulating fructose production。 So， it could be a good idea to drink a glass of water before meal， so that you salt concentration in blood never spike。5。 Uric acid could be more dangerous than previously thought。 Keep it low， or else。。。I hope the doctors and scientists nowadays are not spending so much time to convert their findings into profits。 Ya， I notice that Moderna and BioNTech get their inventors filthy rich because of the vacinnes。 I was told that in the Capitalist world， patent is saintly because greed drive the scientist to work hard。。。 But， what about curiosity？ The joy of discovery and learning？ The flow when you are fully concentrated？？？ 。。。more
Lindsey
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Interesting subject， unfortunately it just didn’t hold my attention。 Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC
Lauren
，
This was a really interesting read， dare I say a page turner？ I'd say for the science it was 5-star， for solutions and dietary advice 3。5-4。 Dr Johnson is a prolific author of studies but many are animal studies。 I found the book fizzled when making recommendations such as eat < 50G of sugar and <6000mg of sodium。 It's here you see that Dr Johnson's patients and perhaps who this book is geared toward are just initiating healthy changes。 This was a really interesting read， dare I say a page turner？ I'd say for the science it was 5-star， for solutions and dietary advice 3。5-4。 Dr Johnson is a prolific author of studies but many are animal studies。 I found the book fizzled when making recommendations such as eat < 50G of sugar and <6000mg of sodium。 It's here you see that Dr Johnson's patients and perhaps who this book is geared toward are just initiating healthy changes。 。。。more
Will
，
Studying nutrition had been a passion of mine for years。 Gary Taubes， Jason Fung， and many others have all been circling around the root cause of obesity in modern society， but I'm not convinced that Richard Johnson has really pulled it all together。 The information in this book gets 5 stars， but the quality of the writing is only 2。5 stars。 The author is an exceptional scientist and researcher， not an exceptional writer。 Everyone should read this book， but just go into it with the purpose of ga Studying nutrition had been a passion of mine for years。 Gary Taubes， Jason Fung， and many others have all been circling around the root cause of obesity in modern society， but I'm not convinced that Richard Johnson has really pulled it all together。 The information in this book gets 5 stars， but the quality of the writing is only 2。5 stars。 The author is an exceptional scientist and researcher， not an exceptional writer。 Everyone should read this book， but just go into it with the purpose of gaining knowledge， not being blown away by wonderful prose。It all just makes so much sense。 It explains -why it's harder to stay lean when we get older。 -Why athletes seem like they can eat anything they want。 -Why most traditional calorie restrictions diets are so hard to maintain， and why the weight comes back on。-why keto， low-carb， and paleo diets have had so much success， but might be more restrictive than necessary- Why getting fat makes total sense from an evolutionary perspective- How the whole approach is still totally consistent with thermodynamics， and the equation "Calories in minus calores out equals weight gained" is still true。 Although it's definitely written for the lay person， there's still lots of discussion about enzymes， ATP， mitochondria， and chemical names of sugars and their metabolic byproducts。 。。。more
Joel Kopple
，
I found Richard Johnson’s Nature Wants Us to Be Fat to be a fascinating and insightful book。 I was amazed by Dr。 Johnson’s ability to weave together data from so many disparate disciplines， including geology， archeology， anthropology， molecular biology， biochemistry and metabolism， to form a novel set of observations and insights。 He then fill gaps in knowledge from his own laboratory research。 The entire story that Dr。 Johnson presents is well written and very entertaining as well as highly inf I found Richard Johnson’s Nature Wants Us to Be Fat to be a fascinating and insightful book。 I was amazed by Dr。 Johnson’s ability to weave together data from so many disparate disciplines， including geology， archeology， anthropology， molecular biology， biochemistry and metabolism， to form a novel set of observations and insights。 He then fill gaps in knowledge from his own laboratory research。 The entire story that Dr。 Johnson presents is well written and very entertaining as well as highly informative and very stimulating。 This book is a tour de force。 Joel D。 Kopple， MDProfessor Emeritus of Medicine and Public HealthUCLAThe Lundquist Research Institute at Harbor-UCLA Medical CenterTorrance， CA 。。。more
Christi
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Great information about how to work with our biology instead of against it for better health。
Susan Van
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LCHFGood book except the comments on eating red meat and saturated fat。 For someone who is casein intolerant， allergies to seafood， fish， and nuts， and many fruits and vegetables， but on a very low carb diet meat and liver， do very little to increase the rise on blood glucose。 He does no research into the Carnivorish diet， and blindly sticks to the old knowledge that saturated fat is at the root cause of heart disease。 More research is needed before one can come to his treatment for what he thin LCHFGood book except the comments on eating red meat and saturated fat。 For someone who is casein intolerant， allergies to seafood， fish， and nuts， and many fruits and vegetables， but on a very low carb diet meat and liver， do very little to increase the rise on blood glucose。 He does no research into the Carnivorish diet， and blindly sticks to the old knowledge that saturated fat is at the root cause of heart disease。 More research is needed before one can come to his treatment for what he thinks is the cause of obesity in todays culture。 。。。more
Sarah Buron
，
There’s a lot of information to digest in this book so it took me a few weeks of reading on and off to finish。 What I found most interesting was the author’s thoughts on the “survival switch” and how animals in nature use fructose to trigger that switch to prepare for hibernation or emergency， whereas many humans live in a way where their “survival switch” is permanently on。 Thanks so much to NetGalley for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review！
DORIS
，
NATURE RULES
Alicia Bayer
，
This was a fascinating book， one of my favorite science/health books that I've read in a while。 Johnson talks about how animals in nature use fructose in order to trigger the "survival switch" that tells their bodies to slow their metabolism and put on weight to prepare for hardship， starvation or emergencies。 Bears gorge on berries to prepare for hibernation， hummingbirds eat so much nectar all day that they end each day in a diabetic state in order to survive until morning， and so on。 The prob This was a fascinating book， one of my favorite science/health books that I've read in a while。 Johnson talks about how animals in nature use fructose in order to trigger the "survival switch" that tells their bodies to slow their metabolism and put on weight to prepare for hardship， starvation or emergencies。 Bears gorge on berries to prepare for hibernation， hummingbirds eat so much nectar all day that they end each day in a diabetic state in order to survive until morning， and so on。 The problem is that our modern diets are extremely high in fructose through things like high fructose corn syrup and also that we can easily convert refined carbs into fructose to trigger our survival switch， so we have developed eating styles that keep us with our survival switches permanently switched on。 He also talks about some other things that trigger it， such as being dehydrated and taking in too much salt。One thing I love about the book is that Johnson and his colleagues have been doing numerous scientific studies on this stuff for years。 They have done studies on mice， fruit flies and people in order to study exactly how things like fructose， glucose， levels of uric acid， dehydration， etc。 affect whether we put on weight， enter states of metabolic disorder， and so on。 It's rich with science that is accessible， interesting and thought provoking。The last third of the book is Johnson's specific advice about what to eat and supplements that can help。 He also talks about how we can create new mitochondria through vigorous exercise， how to go back to previous weights， how various diets like keto and paleo compare in terms of the survival switch， and more。 His recommended diets are very doable in my opinion， but I happily follow a clean， plant-heavy keto diet so I may have different opinions about how easy it is to follow diets。 :） His switch diet is easier than a traditional keto diet （there are similarities）， and you don't have to worry about counting calories or any of that with it （as with keto）。I read hundreds of books a year with a special interest in science and health。 I always know I'm reading a good one if I end up rambling all about its ideas to my family members。 My husband and several of my kids have heard all about this one。 :） Well recommended。I read a digital ARC of this book via Net Galley。 。。。more
Zora Benhamou
，
I loved this great explanation of sugar， fructose， uric acid and the evolution of our fat switch。 Dr。 Richard Johnson is a great story teller who breaks down the science into very understandable terms。 I originally read Dr。 Johnson's prior book The Fat Switch and knew that this follow up book with the latest science would be just as good if not better。 Dr。 Johnson not only explains how nature has designed us to store fat and create a survival switch， he also gives great lifestyle tips and hacks I loved this great explanation of sugar， fructose， uric acid and the evolution of our fat switch。 Dr。 Richard Johnson is a great story teller who breaks down the science into very understandable terms。 I originally read Dr。 Johnson's prior book The Fat Switch and knew that this follow up book with the latest science would be just as good if not better。 Dr。 Johnson not only explains how nature has designed us to store fat and create a survival switch， he also gives great lifestyle tips and hacks on how to turn the switch off and keep it off。 I can highly recommend this book and promise you won't be disappointed。 。。。more
Jamie
，
Outstanding book！ In his book Nature Wants Us to Be Fat， Dr。 Richard Johnson explains why we gain weight and what we can do to reverse this weight gain helping us to become healthier。 Based on research， this well written easy-to-understand book is a groundbreaker。 I highly recommend this book for those who care about their health and want to feel better。
Ell
，