Why does eating sugar sometimes leave you more exhausted than before you ate it? Metabolic health researcher Chris Mearns sits down to explain the science behind fructose, cellular energy, and the compound that changed his own relationship with cravings.

Chris Mearns is a metabolic health researcher and founder of LIV3 Health, focused on how fructose metabolism affects cellular energy production. He explains how the enzyme fructokinase converts dietary fructose into uric acid, degrading ATP and shifting cells into a defensive, energy-conserving state linked to fatigue, fat storage, and chronic cravings. The conversation covers how this same mechanism connects to gout, a disease historically limited to those with access to sugar and alcohol, and why calorie restriction or GLP-1 medications often fail to address the underlying signal. Chris also discusses luteolin, a flavonoid identified as a fructokinase inhibitor, the personal experiment that led him to develop it into a supplement called Sugar Shield, and emerging research linking fructokinase inhibition to cognitive decline prevention.

The conversation also covers why fruit affects the body differently than refined sugar, and what a realistic timeline looks like once the underlying signal is actually addressed.

It's a practical look at why willpower alone rarely fixes chronic cravings, and what the research says might work instead.

✨ Get Sugar Shield (use code DRJOY for 15% off your first purchase): https://liv3health.com/joykong

Chris talks about:

02:29 Why every disease shares one root cause

05:44 Mitochondria: your body's real engine

08:12 Reframing fructose as a signaling molecule

10:32 How fructokinase turns ATP into uric acid

13:03 Bears, torpor, and ancient fructose survival

19:12 The organs fructose hits hardest

20:03 Fructose, uric acid, and gout

23:54 Why GLP-1s don't fix the engine

26:17 Pharma's race for fructokinase inhibitors

34:56 Lutein: a natural fructokinase inhibitor

43:23 Fructose and the Alzheimer's connection

46:01 First steps to reset your metabolism

Additional Resources

✨ Visit LIV3 Health: https://liv3health.com

✨ Follow LIV3 Health on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tryliv3/

✨ Follow Chris Mearns on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chris_liv3/

✨ Subscribe to Chris Mearns' YouTube channel, The Fructose Model: https://www.youtube.com/@thefructosemodel

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Dr. Joy Kong is a regenerative medicine and anti-aging expert. Her podcast is part of her mission to reduce suffering and elevate happiness. Join us every week for the latest holistic health insights that will help you live a long and pain-free life.