Longevity Conferences 2023
January 19, 2023
Curated list of Longevity Conferences, where you can explore the latest research and developments in the field of aging and longevity.
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Sugar and Dementia: A Deep Dive (Webinar with Dr. Richard Johnson follow-up + recording)
We are delighted to announce a successful webinar in collaboration with Dr. Richard J. Johnson, a globally renowned expert in research on sugar and its role in health and longevity.
We are delighted to announce a successful webinar in collaboration with Dr. Richard J. Johnson, a globally renowned expert in research on sugar and its role in health and longevity. In the webinar, he discussed how fructose intake could initiate a survival switch, explained the connection between sugar and dementia, and described food types that can lead to neuron loss. We bring you the most interesting points from the webinar in this article. Read on to learn more. Dr. Richard J. Johnsonis a practicing physician and leading clinical scientist in the field of the connection between sugar and health. He is a Professor of Medicine at the University of Colorado in Denver. The webinar was hosted by HealthyLongevity.guide Content Manager Agnieszka Szmitkowska, Ph.D.
Animals regulate their weight
At the beginning of the webinar, Dr. Johnson highlighted that increased sugar intake had been associated with obesity and insulin resistance. Using rats as an example, he mentioned that most animals regulate their weight to have a little excess fat for emergencies. Then, Dr. Johnson explained how some animals, like bears, develop metabolic syndrome while preparing for hibernation. He explained the features that these animals develop, including:
- Increased food and water intake (foraging, hunger)
- Reduced resting metabolism
- Elevated serum, liver, and tissue fat
- Insulin resistance
- Mild inflammation
What is the role of fructose?
Later, Dr. Johnson highlighted that some animals increase their fruit intake to boost their fat stores and mentioned that the primary nutrient in fruits is fructose. Fructose plays a role as a survival switch and improves the body's ability to fight infection, reduces oxygen and energy needs, and conserves body functions, among others. Dr. Richard pointed out the pathway involved in survival switch activation through the activity of ketohexokinase. He clarified that the polyol pathway could also produce fructose inside the body.
Is there a connection between the survival switch and Alzheimer’s?
Dr. Johnson provided an overview of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and explained the possible connection between the survival pathway and conditions like dementia. He highlighted the overactivation of the survival switch as a potential driver for dementia. He further pointed out that this is possibly attributed to the similarities between the risk factors responsible for AD and switch activation.
Fructose might cause dementia
He then discussed how fructose could cause dementia and revealed that it all starts with the foraging response. Fructose causes hunger and desire for food and reduces willpower and recent memory. Dr. Richard then highlighted uric acid as a driver for foraging responses and AD and delved deeper into the impact of fructose on the brain, AD, and dementia.
These foods might lead to neuron loss
Towards the end of the presentation, Dr. Richard mentioned foods that activate the survival switch, which controls obesity that is driven by fructose. Examples of these foods include:
- Sugar
- High-fructose corn syrup
- High glycemic carbohydrates (bread, rice, and potatoes)
- Salty foods (french fries and potato chips)
- Processed meats
Finally, he mentioned that evidence suggests that high intake of the abovementioned foods may increase brain fructose levels, initiating a foraging response, followed by persistent “hyperactive foraging”, then neuron loss and death.
To know more, watch the full webinar
Be sure to check the recording of this webinar by visiting the HealthyLongevity.guide, where you can find much more information you can utilize to improve the longevity of your clients.
Don’t miss this book by Dr. Richard Johnson
In the marketplace section, you can find Dr. Johnson's publication ‘Nature Wants Us to Be Fat: The Surprising Science Behind Why We Gain Weight and How We Can Prevent—and Reverse—It’.
What’s next?
Stay tuned for our next webinar with Natasa Billeci on November 10, 9 AM PT. The upcoming webinar will cover the topic of “Reproductive Longevity: The Key to Women's Healthspan”.
Some useful sources
- https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/547833.Richard_J_Johnson
- https://academic.oup.com/biomedgerontology/article/65A/8/809/572081
- https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnagi.2020.560865/full
- https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352396416301438
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OUR partnering associations
We are delighted to announce a successful webinar in collaboration with Dr. Richard J. Johnson, a globally renowned expert in research on sugar and its role in health and longevity. In the webinar, he discussed how fructose intake could initiate a survival switch, explained the connection between sugar and dementia, and described food types that can lead to neuron loss. We bring you the most interesting points from the webinar in this article. Read on to learn more. Dr. Richard J. Johnsonis a practicing physician and leading clinical scientist in the field of the connection between sugar and health. He is a Professor of Medicine at the University of Colorado in Denver. The webinar was hosted by HealthyLongevity.guide Content Manager Agnieszka Szmitkowska, Ph.D.
Animals regulate their weight
At the beginning of the webinar, Dr. Johnson highlighted that increased sugar intake had been associated with obesity and insulin resistance. Using rats as an example, he mentioned that most animals regulate their weight to have a little excess fat for emergencies. Then, Dr. Johnson explained how some animals, like bears, develop metabolic syndrome while preparing for hibernation. He explained the features that these animals develop, including:
- Increased food and water intake (foraging, hunger)
- Reduced resting metabolism
- Elevated serum, liver, and tissue fat
- Insulin resistance
- Mild inflammation
What is the role of fructose?
Later, Dr. Johnson highlighted that some animals increase their fruit intake to boost their fat stores and mentioned that the primary nutrient in fruits is fructose. Fructose plays a role as a survival switch and improves the body's ability to fight infection, reduces oxygen and energy needs, and conserves body functions, among others. Dr. Richard pointed out the pathway involved in survival switch activation through the activity of ketohexokinase. He clarified that the polyol pathway could also produce fructose inside the body.
Is there a connection between the survival switch and Alzheimer’s?
Dr. Johnson provided an overview of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and explained the possible connection between the survival pathway and conditions like dementia. He highlighted the overactivation of the survival switch as a potential driver for dementia. He further pointed out that this is possibly attributed to the similarities between the risk factors responsible for AD and switch activation.
Fructose might cause dementia
He then discussed how fructose could cause dementia and revealed that it all starts with the foraging response. Fructose causes hunger and desire for food and reduces willpower and recent memory. Dr. Richard then highlighted uric acid as a driver for foraging responses and AD and delved deeper into the impact of fructose on the brain, AD, and dementia.
These foods might lead to neuron loss
Towards the end of the presentation, Dr. Richard mentioned foods that activate the survival switch, which controls obesity that is driven by fructose. Examples of these foods include:
- Sugar
- High-fructose corn syrup
- High glycemic carbohydrates (bread, rice, and potatoes)
- Salty foods (french fries and potato chips)
- Processed meats
Finally, he mentioned that evidence suggests that high intake of the abovementioned foods may increase brain fructose levels, initiating a foraging response, followed by persistent “hyperactive foraging”, then neuron loss and death.
To know more, watch the full webinar
Be sure to check the recording of this webinar by visiting the HealthyLongevity.guide, where you can find much more information you can utilize to improve the longevity of your clients.
Don’t miss this book by Dr. Richard Johnson
In the marketplace section, you can find Dr. Johnson's publication ‘Nature Wants Us to Be Fat: The Surprising Science Behind Why We Gain Weight and How We Can Prevent—and Reverse—It’.
What’s next?
Stay tuned for our next webinar with Natasa Billeci on November 10, 9 AM PT. The upcoming webinar will cover the topic of “Reproductive Longevity: The Key to Women's Healthspan”.
Some useful sources
- https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/547833.Richard_J_Johnson
- https://academic.oup.com/biomedgerontology/article/65A/8/809/572081
- https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnagi.2020.560865/full
- https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352396416301438
Article reviewed by
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Dr. Ana Baroni MD. Ph.D.
Scientific & Medical Advisor
Quality Garant
Ana has over 20 years of consultancy experience in longevity, regenerative and precision medicine. She has a multifaceted understanding of genomics, molecular biology, clinical biochemistry, nutrition, aging markers, hormones and physical training. This background allows her to bridge the gap between longevity basic sciences and evidence-based real interventions, putting them into the clinic, to enhance the healthy aging of people. She is co-founder of Origen.life, and Longevityzone. Board member at Breath of Health, BioOx and American Board of Clinical Nutrition. She is Director of International Medical Education of the American College of Integrative Medicine, Professor in IL3 Master of Longevity at Barcelona University and Professor of Nutrigenomics in Nutrition Grade in UNIR University.
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