In this webinar, Dr. Nicole Avena explains how foods high in sugar and fat can trigger addictive behaviors in the brain. She challenges the traditional view that obesity stems solely from personal choices or lack of willpower, arguing instead that the modern food environment—dominated by highly processed, sugar-rich products—activates the brain’s reward system in ways similar to addictive substances like alcohol and drugs. Drawing on recent advances in addiction science, the discussion shows how behaviors like overeating are now recognized as legitimate forms of addiction, with sugar’s neurological impact rivaling that of more conventional vices.
The webinar also explores how societal changes have drastically altered eating habits. While early humans experienced natural cycles of scarcity and effort-based consumption, today’s constant access to ultra-palatable, carbohydrate-dense foods encourages passive, compulsive eating. Misleading labels and hidden sugars in supposedly healthy foods only exacerbate the problem. Dr. Avena advocates for comprehensive public health strategies—such as sugar regulation, transparent labeling, and restrictions on advertising to children—and emphasizes the importance of community, purpose, and connection as buffers against addiction.
Ultimately, she argues that curbing obesity and chronic disease requires treating sugar not as a harmless ingredient, but as a powerful, addictive substance.
This BSI Medical Society Webinar was streamed on May 7th, 2025.
A 10-minute summary of the webinar is available here free, for anyone, while the full webinar is available for Medical Society Members and MetFix affiliates in their dashboard.
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Metabolic health, medical education, and the case for bringing clinicians and coaches together
At the 2026 Unbreakable Health Retreat in Miami, Emily Kaplan hosted a panel with Bob Kaplan, Professor Thomas Seyfried, and Dr. Derek Lee on what it means to treat cancer as a metabolic disease. They discussed the glucose-ketone index (GKI), nutritional ketosis, and strategies aimed at restricting the fuels cancer cells depend on while considering how metabolic therapy can fit alongside standard cancer treatment.
The conversation also addressed the practical realities patients face when trying to pursue a metabolic approach within the conventional oncology system, including questions about nutrition, repurposed drugs, inherited cancer risk, and how to evaluate different treatment options. Seyfried and Lee connected these clinical questions back to mitochondrial dysfunction, fermentation, and the metabolic vulnerabilities that may offer additional targets for cancer treatment.
An abbreviated version of this discussion is available here, for free.
At the 2026 Unbreakable Health Retreat in Miami, Professor Thomas Seyfried presented the case that cancer is fundamentally a mitochondrial metabolic disease rather than primarily a genetic one. He contrasts the dominant somatic mutation theory with a metabolic model in which impaired mitochondrial respiration drives a shift toward fermentation, dysregulated cell growth, and the mutations commonly associated with cancer.
Citing the work of Otto Warburg and research from his lab at Boston College, Seyfried explains how cancer cells rely heavily on fermentable fuels—particularly glucose and glutamine—and why mitochondrial dysfunction sits upstream of many of the genetic abnormalities seen in tumors. He also discusses reactive oxygen species, altered cellular signaling, and the role of mitochondria in regulating cell growth and behavior.
The presentation then turns to the therapeutic implications of this model. Seyfried explains strategies aimed at placing tumor cells under metabolic stress by restricting the fuels they depend on, including ketogenic metabolic therapy and approaches targeting glucose and glutamine. For Seyfried, the therapeutic target follows directly from the biology: restrict the fuels cancer cells depend on, exploit their metabolic weaknesses, and treat mitochondrial dysfunction as the central feature of the disease.
An abbreviated version of this discussion is available here, for free.
MetFix and BSI Members can view the full 54-minute video.
