7. Starving Sugar Monkeys

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    Happy Tuesday!

    A lot of you wrote to me saying that you really enjoyed my letter Relationship White Belts. In my own quest to level up, I read a book by clinical researcher Sue Johnson called Hold Me Tight on the science and practice of building strong, lasting relationships. I just finished putting together my book summary and notes so if you'd like to learn more you can check them out here. On to the newsletter!

    A few years ago, a group of clinical researchers led by Richard Johnson at Northern Illinois University and Peter Andrews at the Natural History Museum in London, made a startling discovery.

    Advances in fossil genomics combined with recent metabolic research put the spotlight on a previously overlooked gene. A single gene that contributes to some of America's most widespread health problems.

    A gene that, whether you realized it or not, impacts you every day.

    It all began about 26 million years ago with a genus of large apes known as the Proconsul. They walked on all fours and lived in the trees just like their monkey ancestors. Unlike their ancestors, however, they had developed big brains and big bodies with no tail.

    These apes lived in East Africa which, at the time, was full of deciduous woodlands and tropical rain forests. The apes thrived in these lush ecosystems and feasted on the fruit trees that grew there.

    During that same period, however, the global climate was cooling. As temperatures fell, the polar ice caps expanded and sea levels dropped as a result. By 21 million years ago, Africa had become connected to Eurasia by a series of land bridges, exposed by the receding oceans.

    These large, fruit eating apes began to migrate north, across the land bridges and into southern Europe where they enjoyed a rich diet of sweet fruits similar to the modern day fig. The climate resembled northern India today, with heavy rain in the summer and cool, dry, but frost free winters. By 16 million years ago the apes had flourished and spread throughout the continent.

    Unfortunately, the temperatures continued to drop.

    Starting 12-9 million years ago, unable to stand the harsher cold, the fig trees started to die. Fossilized ape teeth from the period began to show striations, an indicator of starvation. With their primary food source in decline, the apes started to die as well.

    By 7 million years ago all of the apes had died out ... at least that's what we thought.

    Fossil records, enhanced by more recent genetic analysis, suggest that in fact a smaller group of these fig eating apes had actually survived by migrating south, back to East Africa.

    But how had this particular group of apes survived long enough to make it back to the warmer climates of the south? What made them special?

    They had a very unique genetic mutation. The same mutation recently discovered by Johnson and Andrews.

    The gene in question is responsible for the creation of an enzyme which metabolizes uric acid. Uric acid, it turns out, is a critical link in a chain of metabolic reactions which cause high blood pressure, insulin resistance, and elevated body fat.

    The apes which survived had a mutation in the gene that made the enzyme less effective. In other words, the apes were more prone to high blood pressure, insulin resistance, and elevated body fat.

    If you were a starving ape, this gene mutation could literally save your life. How? Insulin resistance keeps more glucose in the blood and higher blood pressure ensures that this glucose is able to reach the brain. In a period of starvation, the brain is top priority. Elevated body fat is helpful, obviously, because it means you have more stored energy to last through a famine.

    Fast forward 7 million years later and the gene mutation is still present in the apes of today.

    It's also present in you.

    Your body maintains the biological memory this ancient trauma and it will respond the exact same way if given the correct stimuli.

    So what's the trigger?

    Sugar.

    Specifically, fructose. Fructose is a kind of carbohydrate which when bound to glucose becomes table sugar. Fructose is naturally occurring in sugar cane, honey and fruit ... just like the fig fruits that our ancient apelike ancestors used to eat on their migration back to Africa.

    The problem is that the average American today is not starving. Instead we're overloaded with fructose. Liquid sweeteners in the form of high fructose corn syrup and sugar additives are everywhere.

    To make matters more complicated, fructose also decreases the body's sensitivity to a hormone called Leptin which is secreted by fat cells and helps your brain control hunger.

    The discovery by Johnson and Andrews matters because it adds further support to the argument that not all carbs are equal. It also opens the door to clinical interventions which might help to break down uric acid, despite our mutation.

    Most of us know that sugar isn't good for us but now we have a much clearer picture of why.

    It was the damn monkeys.

    Cheers,

    Nick

    P.S. If you enjoyed this respond here and let me know what your favorite form of starvation inducing sugar is. I like peanut butter with any kind of dark chocolate :)

    © Nick Nathan, 2022