Sugar - A Chronic Toxin?
Wed Jan 14 2026
This is the second of two repeated podcasts that were aired a while ago, which are being re-released. This one with Dr Robert Lustig was particularly popular with listeners.
Dr Robert Lustig argues sugar is fuelling an epidemic of chronic and metabolic disease, from diabetes and strokes, to cancer and heart disease costing hundreds of thousands of lives. He says in a view that some have seen as controversial that we need to see sugar not just as empty calories, but as a chronic, addictive toxin. In this podcast, Rob reveals just what sugar does to our bodies.
And he claims that while modern medicine has been highly effective in treating acute illness, it has failed in its treatment of chronic conditions, only able to treat the symptoms rather than curing the diseases.
In his words:
“You can’t fix healthcare until you fix health. You can’t fix health until you fix diet. And, you can’t fix diet until you know what the hell is wrong”.
Rob explains what he thinks it is essential to eat to stay healthy and contends that prevention is not just better than cure it is the cure.
Dr Robert Lustig is a Professor emeritus of Pediatrics, at the Division of Endocrinology at the University of California, San Francisco. He has written a number of best selling books about the dangers of sugar, refined carbohydrates and metabolic illness. And his research and clinical practice have focussed on childhood obesity and diabetes.
If you would like to support this podcast you can do so via Patreon at or via PayPal.
The host of the podcast, Liz Tucker is an award winning medical journalist and former BBC producer and director. You can follow Liz on X and read further information about the podcast on her Substack newsletter.
Medical Matters with Liz Tucker has been selected by Feedspot as one of the top 15 UK Medical Podcasts https://blog.feedspot.com/uk_medical_podcasts/
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This is the second of two repeated podcasts that were aired a while ago, which are being re-released. This one with Dr Robert Lustig was particularly popular with listeners. Dr Robert Lustig argues sugar is fuelling an epidemic of chronic and metabolic disease, from diabetes and strokes, to cancer and heart disease costing hundreds of thousands of lives. He says in a view that some have seen as controversial that we need to see sugar not just as empty calories, but as a chronic, addictive toxin. In this podcast, Rob reveals just what sugar does to our bodies. And he claims that while modern medicine has been highly effective in treating acute illness, it has failed in its treatment of chronic conditions, only able to treat the symptoms rather than curing the diseases. In his words: “You can’t fix healthcare until you fix health. You can’t fix health until you fix diet. And, you can’t fix diet until you know what the hell is wrong”. Rob explains what he thinks it is essential to eat to stay healthy and contends that prevention is not just better than cure it is the cure. Dr Robert Lustig is a Professor emeritus of Pediatrics, at the Division of Endocrinology at the University of California, San Francisco. He has written a number of best selling books about the dangers of sugar, refined carbohydrates and metabolic illness. And his research and clinical practice have focussed on childhood obesity and diabetes. If you would like to support this podcast you can do so via Patreon at or via PayPal. The host of the podcast, Liz Tucker is an award winning medical journalist and former BBC producer and director. You can follow Liz on X and read further information about the podcast on her Substack newsletter. Medical Matters with Liz Tucker has been selected by Feedspot as one of the top 15 UK Medical Podcasts https://blog.feedspot.com/uk_medical_podcasts/