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  • Metabolical

  • The Lure and the Lies of Processed Food, Nutrition, and Modern Medicine
  • Written by: Robert H. Lustig
  • Narrated by: Charles Constant
  • Length: 12 hrs and 3 mins
  • 4.8 out of 5 stars (97 ratings)

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Metabolical

Written by: Robert H. Lustig
Narrated by: Charles Constant
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Publisher's Summary

The New York Times best-selling author of Fat Chance explains the eight pathologies that underlie all chronic disease, documents how processed food has impacted them to ruin our health, economy, and environment over the past 50 years, and proposes an urgent manifesto and strategy to cure both us and the planet.

Dr. Robert Lustig, a pediatric neuroendocrinologist who has long been on the cutting edge of medicine and science, challenges our current healthcare paradigm which has gone off the rails under the influence of Big Food, Big Pharma, and Big Government.

You can’t solve a problem if you don’t know what the problem is. One of Lustig’s singular gifts as a communicator is his ability to “connect the dots” for the general listener, in order to unpack the scientific data and concepts behind his arguments, as he tells the “real story of food” and “the story of real food”. 

Metabolical weaves the interconnected strands of nutrition, health/disease, medicine, environment, and society into a completely new fabric by proving on a scientific basis a series of iconoclastic revelations, among them: 

  • Medicine for chronic disease treats symptoms, not the disease itself
  • You can diagnose your own biochemical profile 
  • Chronic diseases are not "druggable," but they are "foodable" 
  • Processed food isn’t just toxic, it’s addictive
  • The war between vegan and keto is a false war - the combatants are on the same side
  • Big Food, Big Pharma, and Big Government are on the other side

Making the case that food is the only lever we have to effect biochemical change to improve our health, Lustig explains what to eat based on two novel criteria: protect the liver, and feed the gut. He insists that if we do not fix our food and change the way we eat, we will continue to court chronic disease, bankrupt healthcare, and threaten the planet. But there is hope: this book explains what’s needed to fix all three.

Supplemental enhancement PDF accompanies the audiobook.

©2021 Robert H. Lustig (P)2021 HarperCollins Publishers

What listeners say about Metabolical

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Excellent Book full of life changing insights

The book is great, I've already started implementing some of the great advice given and reaping the rewards with weight loss already!

Why only 3 stars? The book explores politics and government given they have dominated the food industry, The author usually always references his sources and provides great justification for any statements made. However, he obviously isn't a Trump fan, and fails to hold himself to this standard when discussing Trump, in fact, his numerous jabs at him just seem out of place and childish compared to the rest of the book.

Regardless, I would highly recommend this book to anyone.

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lots to learn

To political was hoping for more things I can do to improve my health. well narrator.

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Adding this one to my top five book recommendations

So much information and actionable advise. Everyone should have this as required reading to support a long and healthy life and reduce burdens on our health care systems.

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  • Ali
  • 2023-07-03

eye-opening

Very informative!
I wish my parents had this information when we were growing up.

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It’s a masterpiece

Dr. Lustig does it again. The one man army taking on big food and letting you know the insides and out of the food industry from the general/doctor on the front lines in the war against disease and processed food.

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Everyone should read this

I read lots of nutritional books but there was lots of new information for me, information that has had a huge impact. It’s authoritative. He has the expertise to be writing on this topic. Well worth the time and definitely a life changer.

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excellent book for health and food

I love this book, which provides fundamental insights about health, underlying causes and importance of food selection.

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  • Mac
  • 2022-05-03

Knowledge is Power

If I only retained 1% of all the information that was in this audiobook - it’s still more than enough to begin making better decisions regarding individual health and nutrition.
Thank You Robert Lustig for your hard work in researching and writing this book.
An Educational listen.

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The Truth is in the "pudding"!

the Narrator was real, believable and Honest. Scary truth about the food / pharma industries.

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Absolute must read

Phenomenal book that addresses critical issues for everyone’s health- a book everyone who eats any food at all should read!!

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  • jonathan blake
  • 2021-06-06

painfully political

this guy complains about the government throughout the book and then comes to the conclusion that only the government can help us. clearly he's a Democrat.

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78 people found this helpful

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  • Flora
  • 2021-05-05

A very important book to read/listen to!

If, but only IF you care about your wellbeing and the wellbeing of those you love, you'll not only listen to (or read) this book... you'll actually pay attention to what its author is telling you and you'll eat ONLY good, whole foods. By protecting your liver and feeding your gut, as the author reminds us, you'll be on your way to better mind & body & spiritual health. It's true! I'm a former obese person... a junk food junkie... a fast food feeder... a soda drinkaholic... who suffered huge physiological problems that nearly took my life. How hard is it to ditch the poisons and heal oneself? Not as hard as trying to recover from some really scary health issues.

Get this book!

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  • Amy M.
  • 2021-11-11

Not helpful if you’re looking for actual advice

Very scientific. Very interesting but I bought this book looking for real steps I can take every day. The author repeats the mantra “feed the gut, protect the liver” but never actually explains which foods do that the best. He does a good job of convincing you to never eat sugar or any packaged foods but in reality that’s unrealistic. Waste of time. I don’t need the science behind hating processed foods, I already get that. I was looking for which foods specifically are good at “feeding the gut, protecting the liver” He repeats “it’s not what’s in the food, it’s what’s been done to the food” but never tells the reader how to find better foods. Overall, I don’t recommend. You don’t need 14 hours of audiobook to know that junk food is bad for you.

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  • MStewart
  • 2022-01-24

Same old info!

Same old info regurgitated as almost every other book on this issue, except with a left wing twist! If you want a really informative book on this issue listen to “Wheat Brain”.

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  • R. Surprenant
  • 2021-05-08

Fabulous!

But am I the only one who is disappointed that it wasn’t narrated by Dr. Lustig? I love his voice and delivery——-and missed it in this audiobook.

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  • Cathilea Robinett
  • 2021-07-16

Best book on health

I have read over 50 books in this genre and this is by far one of the best books I have listened to. Robert Lustig is my new hero. The science is impeccable. And he takes on the true food villains of our time. Please read this for your own health and further education.

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  • Verne
  • 2021-08-02

not sure how I feel

struggled with the first three chapters
was not interested in the American politics at the end .

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  • jaga
  • 2021-10-14

READ THIS BOOK!

If you want to understand what you’re putting in your body, READ THIS BOOK!

Why?

Author Robert Lustig introduces and explains a multitude of key aspects of nutritional science and processed food.

A few key, high level points that Lustig emphasises throughout his book:

-”It’s not what’s in the food, it’s what’s been done to the food”.
-”protect the liver, feed the gut”.

Some examples of the specific areas Lustig discuss in the book:

-The 8 pathologies that processed food contributes to.
-The full story about what goes into, and what’s misleading about, food labeling.
-The added and hidden sugar in 70+% of all products in the supermarket.
-Why fast food tastes so good, why it’s addictive, and the health implications of consuming it.
-The economics of the processed food business.
-The environmental impact of the processed food business,
-Lustig goes through the anatomy of human cells and their entire metabolic process.
-A full explanation of when and how insulin is produced, when the body produces too much or too little insulin.
-The importance of having soluble and insoluble fiber for the gut.
-Lots of other stuff, like what is done to wheat, use of corn feed, CAFOs, removal of fat from milk.

In addition, Lustig goes through the standard diagnostic blood panels that most physicians will conduct as part of a routine checkup, with particular focus on the lipids and glucose tests. He explains why LDL is actually a combination of different types of cholesterol, not all of which is bad. Thus, the LDL and total cholesterol figures are not the measure to focus on. There are similar issues with the standard glucose test. Lustig also identifies the non standard diagnostic tests which can assist with uncovering certain chronic diseases, such as diabetes, heart disease and cancer.

In the last chapter Lustig provides a bunch of potential solutions to the problems of connecting people with real food. These are quite creative but seemingly workable and worth trying.

There is an added PDF which provides even more information, including diagrams and charts.

There is a tremendous amount of information in this book, but I cannot recommend it highly enough for those interested in understanding the impact of processed food and related topics.

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  • rugrat44
  • 2022-01-25

Stick to the knitting.

There is a tremendous amount of good information, but I was turned off eventually when the author gets political. I didn’t buy the book to hear his political views.

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  • Ruby Spinner
  • 2021-05-08

Truth Spoken, How will you respond?

I enjoy being told the truth. That truth is a bitter medicine, but, if taken (without sugar!) it can effect a system-wide cure. The question is not, do you think the food industry is making a profit from your ill health, nor is the question, how is the government responsible? Neither is knowledge will help you, or anyone else.

What will you do about it? That is the question you must ask. Do not ask, What is normal? Normal and healthy aren't the same. Better, ask, "How do I know this is healthy?" Test parameters have changed, but humanity has not. Of course, Dr. Lustig gives an entire section on how to steer yourself right (as in, right around the perimeter of the grocery store).

My favorite question is, "What 10yr old will pick carrots when French Fries are available?" The answer is, "I would have!" But, of course, I'm not normal. The SNAP and WIC programs, intended to give women and children better nutrition actually intentionally fail. Cheap food is highly profitable because the process to package it strips any nutrition to make it shelf stable.

Also, I'm still stunned at the horror inflicted upon humans by religious zealots, and the grim Spector of breakfast cereal. It started when the idea of eschewing meat might have had some value, especially if if was slaughtered and exposed to germs, and of course, without refrigeration, meat could quickly spoil. But, under guise of moral correctness, social responsibility, and with intentionally misinterpreted Scripture, more harm has been done in the last 150 years for eugenics than John Harvey Kellogg, of the famed corn flake, his protege, Lena Cooper, first dietician to the US Army during the Great War, and many others (like Nathan Pritikin) could have imagined.

I especially like the idea of a sin tax on sugary products, and, the idea of just making it unavailable. If there isn't a fast food restaurant, you might just have to pack your lunch. Then, it isn't unreasonable to use that tax money to subsidize healthy food, like vegetables, and grain to feed our meat. Healthy cows make healthy meat. All that fat, the marble, it's a sick animal, suffering from metabolic syndrome. And we just thought the government had laws against selling sick animals as food.

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  • Fatima K
  • 2022-01-28

life changing book

amazing! a manual for getting back to health and unserstanding how our metabolism work!

with a background on how is the industry of food and pharma not helping us be healthier

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