The Vilification of Sugar: Why Glucose and CO₂ Are Essential for Metabolic Health

For decades, sugar has been blamed for obesity, diabetes, and metabolic disease. But the real culprit isn’t glucose—it’s the avoidance of sugar and the resulting reliance on fat metabolism, especially polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs). 

Why We Don’t Need to Be “Fat Adapted”

The idea of “fat adaptation” suggests burning fat is optimal. But fat oxidation suppresses glucose metabolism—a phenomenon known as the Randle Cycle.  When free fatty acids (FFAs) rise—whether from diet or lipolysis of stored fat—cells burn fat instead of sugar, impairing mitochondrial function and increasing oxidative stress.

This isn’t adaptation. It’s metabolic inefficiency. 

The Hidden Danger of Stored PUFAs

Even if you avoid dietary seed oils, stored PUFAs in fat tissue are released during fasting, low-carb diets, or stress. These fats are highly susceptible to oxidation, producing toxic byproducts like 4-HNE and MDA, which:

• Damage cell membranes

• Impair mitochondrial respiration

• Promote insulin resistance

• Accelerate aging and degeneration

This means chronic lipolysis—common in low-carb, keto, or calorie-restricted diets—can flood the body with oxidized PUFAs, worsening metabolic health.

Cells Are Starving for Glucose—Not Too Much Sugar

In insulin resistance, cells can’t use glucose effectively, not because of excess sugar, but because PUFAs block glucose oxidation. The result? Intracellular glucose deficiency despite high blood sugar. 

Glucose isn’t the problem—it’s the solution.  Cells need glucose for:

• ATP production (32 ATP per glucose vs. 2 in anaerobic glycolysis)

• Thyroid hormone conversion (T4 to T3 requires liver glucose)

• Hormone synthesis (progesterone, cortisol, sex hormones)

• Detoxification and liver function

• CO₂ production, which stabilizes oxygen delivery, reduces lactic acid, and protects proteins 

How to Lose Weight Without Triggering Lipolysis: The Role of Metabolic Safety

You can't lose weight without lipolysis. But true weight loss begins not with restriction, but with metabolic safety. When the body is glucose-efficient and feels resourced, it stops prioritizing survival and can redirect energy into healing, hormone balance, and fat metabolism.

The Downregulation of Glucose Restriction

When glucose is restricted—through fasting, keto, or calorie deficit—the body perceives famine.  In response:

• Metabolism slows (adaptive thermogenesis)

• Thyroid conversion (T4 to T3) decreases

• Cortisol and adrenaline rise, increasing insulin resistance

• Leptin drops, increasing hunger and reducing satiety

This is not a failure of willpower—it’s metabolic downregulation, a protective response to energy scarcity. 

Why Weight Loss Plateaus Happen

Weight loss stalls when the body enters survival mode.  Even if calories are reduced, the body:

• Burns less energy at rest

• Clings to fat stores

• Increases cravings for quick fuel (sugar, starch) 

This plateau is a biological signal: “I am not safe. I must conserve.”

Weight Loss Resistance and Emotional Safety

Beyond diet, chronic stress—especially narcissistic or toxic environments—triggers the same survival response.  The subconscious may use weight as protection:

• Extra fat feels safer in abusive settings

• Weight gain buffers against emotional harm

• The body resists change until the environment feels secure 

How Glucose Helps the Body Feel Safe

Providing regular, adequate glucose signals abundance:

• CO₂ production increases, improving oxygenation and calming the nervous system

• Insulin stabilizes, supporting anabolic repair (not just fat storage)

• Thyroid function improves, enhancing metabolic rate

• Cortisol drops, reducing lipolysis and oxidative stress 

This isn’t about overeating—it’s about consistent fueling to end the famine signal.

The Path to Sustainable Weight Loss

• Eat frequent, glucose-rich meals (fruit, milk, honey, juice, starch)

• Avoid fasting, keto, and prolonged gaps between meals

• Support liver and thyroid function

• Address emotional safety—both internal and external

• Trust that metabolic fitness, not fat adaptation, is the goal 

When the body feels safe, weight normalizes—not by force, but by biological trust.

Cravings Are a Message: Why "Comfort Food" Is Not the Enemy

Cravings aren’t weakness—they’re wisdom. When we crave "comfort food," we’re not failing. We’re responding to a biological need for fuel, safety, and nervous system regulation. 

Your Body Is Asking for Fuel

Imagine being a parent to your child (or your pet), and your child (or pet) is crying to you, telling you it's hungry, crying out for food. Would you deny your child (or pet) the food it's crying for? No, you would feel compassion for that beloved one, and give it food, wouldn't you. But what about your own body? Our own "inner children" are literally embodied, and they cry out to us all the time. One way they communicate their basic needs is through food cravings.

Under stress, the body burns through glucose rapidly. Cravings for sugar, salt, and starch are often metabolic signals that your cells are starving—not from overeating, but from chronic under-fueling.  Restricting sugar forces the body to rely on fat breakdown, releasing stored PUFAs that impair mitochondrial function and increase oxidative stress. 

Ray Peat emphasized that sugar—especially from fruit, honey, and milk—lowers stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline.  When we deny these cravings, we amplify the stress response, telling the body: “We are in danger.” 

Self-Compassion Over Self-Condemnation

Instead of labeling sugar cravings as “addiction,” consider them a survival mechanism.  The subconscious doesn’t care about diet dogma—it cares about safety.  Beating yourself up for craving sugar only deepens shame, which raises cortisol and worsens metabolic dysfunction. 

As one source notes:

"Cravings aren’t the enemy—they’re a signal from your body. Use them as an opportunity to give your body what it actually needs."
— Dr. Megan Marie 

Emotional Safety and Inner Nourishment

Cravings also reflect emotional hunger.  In toxic or narcissistic environments, the subconscious may use food—and weight—as a shield. Eating becomes a way to say: “I need comfort. I need protection. I need to feel safe.” 

But true safety comes not from restriction, but from consistent nourishment.  When the body knows it will be fed, it stops panicking. Glucose signals abundance. It raises CO₂, calms the nervous system, and supports thyroid function. 

The Way Forward

• Honor cravings as messages, not moral failures

• Eat glucose-rich foods regularly to stabilize blood sugar

• Practice self-compassion—healing begins with safety, not shame

• Address emotional safety in relationships and environment

• Have a look at Safe & Nourished: The 6-Week Trauma-Informed Metabolic Reclamation Plan

  and consider if it might be right for you.

You don’t need more willpower.
You need more fuel, safety, and kindness.

CO₂: The Essential Metabolic Signal

Carbon dioxide!? What does carbon dioxide have to do with sugar? Why would we want to increase our carbon dioxide?

Carbon dioxide is not just a byproduct of metabolism—it’s a master regulator of oxygen delivery, pH balance, and mitochondrial function.  Produced efficiently when glucose is oxidized, CO₂:

• Dilates blood vessels, especially in the brain, improving oxygen delivery

• Stabilizes hemoglobin, promoting oxygen release to tissues (Bohr Effect)

• Reduces lactic acid, preventing metabolic acidosis

• Suppresses oxidative stress, protecting cells from damage

• Calms the nervous system, lowering cortisol and promoting relaxation 

Ray Peat emphasized that low CO₂—from hyperventilation, fat oxidation, or poor glucose metabolism—leads to vasoconstriction, poor oxygenation, and increased stress. 

Why CO₂—Not Nitric Oxide—is the True Key to Metabolic Health

In an era where nitric oxide (NO) is hailed as a miracle molecule for circulation and performance, CO₂ is quietly vilified—misunderstood as waste rather than the vital regulator it truly is. 

Nitric Oxide: A Double-Edged Sword

While nitric oxide can dilate blood vessels, it does so at a cost:

• Inhibits mitochondrial respiration, reducing energy production

• Reacts with superoxide to form peroxynitrite, a potent oxidant

• Promotes inflammation and neurodegeneration when chronically elevated

• Disrupts thyroid function and steroid hormone synthesis

As one source notes:

"Nitric oxide is a free radical gas... excess NO, especially from iNOS activation, causes serious damage: oxidative stress, mitochondrial dysfunction, neurodegeneration."
— Hans Amato, The Truth About Nitric Oxide

Unlike CO₂, which supports efficient metabolism, NO often signals stress, infection, or inflammation—not health. 

The Real Vasodilator: CO₂ Over NO

While NO gets credit for vasodilation, CO₂ is the primary physiological trigger, especially in the brain. It works in harmony with oxygen demand—dilating vessels precisely where metabolism is highest.

In contrast, NO-driven dilation often comes from cellular distress, not metabolic efficiency. And while NO can improve blood flow in some contexts, it impairs the very energy production needed to use that oxygen. 

How to Increase CO₂—Safely and Naturally

• Eat glucose-rich foods (fruit, honey, milk) to fuel aerobic metabolism

• Breathe normally, through your nose, not your mouth—avoid chronic hyperventilation or excessive breathwork

• Support thyroid function to enhance glucose oxidation

• Use baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) if needed to boost CO₂ and buffer acidity 

CO₂ isn’t the enemy. It’s the signal of metabolic safety, efficiency, and resilience. 

CO₂: Our Symbiotic Bond with Nature

CO₂ is not pollution—it’s the thread connecting all life. Humans and plants exist in a sacred exchange: we breathe out CO₂, and plants breathe it in, transforming it into oxygen and food through photosynthesis.  This cycle is not accidental—it’s co-evolution in action.

Modern indoor environments—poorly ventilated, high in oxygen, low in CO₂—disrupt this balance. In contrast, natural outdoor settings—especially forests and greenhouses—mirror the ideal metabolic environment: warmer, sunlit, rich in CO₂ and phytoncides, all of which support aerobic metabolism and cellular calm.

Grounding and Nature: Nervous System Regulation at Its Core

Walking barefoot on earth—grounding or earthing—has been shown to:

• Activate the parasympathetic nervous system

• Reduce cortisol, heart rate, and inflammation

• Improve sleep, mood, and pain perception

• Enhance heart rate variability (HRV)

Studies suggest this works via the Earth’s natural negative charge, which stabilizes the body’s bioelectrical environment.

Nature as Medicine for Trauma and Metabolic Health

Spending time in nature:

• Lowers oxidative stress and chronic inflammation

• Improves glucose metabolism and insulin sensitivity

• Supports mitochondrial function through sunlight and phytoncides

• Resets circadian rhythms, improving sleep and hormone balance

For those healing from trauma—especially C-PTSD, scapegoating, or narcissistic abuse—nature provides a safe, non-judgmental space to process emotions, reduce hypervigilance, and reconnect with the body. 

Ray Peat emphasized that sunlight, warmth, and CO₂ are not luxuries—they are metabolic essentials. Nature provides all three, in harmony.

We don’t fight CO₂.
We breathe with the biosphere—and thrive together. 

Savor the Sweetness: Sugar, Nature, and Presence

Stop. Breathe. Smell the roses—literally. Let their scent anchor you in the present. Then, treat yourself to an ice cream cone, savoring each bite without guilt. This isn’t indulgence—it’s metabolic wisdom. 

Ray Peat famously embraced the ice cream cone as a symbol of metabolic safety—highlighting that enjoying simple pleasures like ice cream supports thyroid function, lowers stress, and enhances well-being.  He saw it not as indulgence, but as anti-stress nutrition when made with quality ingredients.

And as Marc David teaches, pleasure is a nutrient. When we eat with joy, digestion improves, hormones balance, and nutrients are better absorbed.  Enjoying food isn’t just satisfying—it’s metabolic healing.

So yes: stop, smell the roses, enjoy your ice cream.
It’s not just sweet.
It’s healing.

Begin Your Reclamation

If you're ready to heal from the inside out, I invite you to my 6-week course:
Safe & Nourished: The 6-Week Trauma-Informed Metabolic Reclamation Plan
— a deep integration of nervous system healing, metabolic support, and soul alignment.

Or, if you’re just beginning, start with my free 7-day mini-course:
Body Wisdom: 7 Days of Nervous System Safety
— gentle practices to help you feel safe in your body again.

Subscribe to my Telegram channel: Consciously Present Channel and join the community chat!

You're not alone.

Scientific References Supporting Key Assertions

1. Glucose Oxidation & Metabolic Efficiency

• Randle Cycle: Fatty acids inhibit glucose oxidation, impairing mitochondrial function.
  Randle et al., "The glucose-fatty acid cycle: its role in insulin sensitivity and the metabolic disturbances of diabetes mellitus" (Lancet, 1963)

• Glucose oxidation produces more ATP and CO₂ than fat, supporting thyroid function and oxygen delivery.
  Ray Peat, "Adaptation, Stress, and Energy" (raypeatexplained.com) 

2. CO₂ as a Metabolic Regulator

• CO₂ dilates blood vessels, improves oxygen release (Bohr effect), and reduces lactic acid.
  Heimlich, H.J. et al., "Carbon dioxide: A therapeutic gas" (American Review of Respiratory Disease, 1977)

• Low CO₂ from hyperventilation causes vasoconstriction and increased stress.
  Haldane, J.S., "The action of carbon dioxide on respiration" (Journal of Physiology, 1905) 

3. PUFA Oxidation & Cellular Damage

• PUFAs are highly oxidizable, producing toxic aldehydes (4-HNE, MDA) that damage membranes and mitochondria.
  Esterbauer, H. et al., "Chemistry and biochemistry of 4-hydroxynonenal, malonaldehyde and related aldehydes" (Free Radical Biology & Medicine, 1991)

• Stored PUFAs released during lipolysis impair insulin signaling and promote inflammation.
  Hans Amato, "PUFA dangers Part 4: Influence on Cellular & Thyroid Function and Diabetes" (men-elite.com) 

4. Hypometabolism, Low Body Temperature & Estrogen Dominance

• Low body temperature suppresses metabolism and increases estrogen synthesis.
  Ray Peat, "Thyroid, Energy, Temperature" (raypeat.com)

• Estrogen disrupts mitochondrial respiration and promotes hypoxia.
  Zhao, J. et al., "The Effects of Estrogens on Neural Circuits That Control Temperature and Metabolism" (Frontiers in Endocrinology, 2022) 

5. Insulin Resistance & Cellular Starvation

• Insulin resistance is not caused by sugar, but by PUFA-induced mitochondrial dysfunction.
  Sears, B. et al., "The role of fatty acids in insulin resistance" (Lipids in Health and Disease, 2013)

• Glucose restriction increases cortisol, lowers T3, and promotes fat storage.
  Keys, A. et al., "The Biology of Human Starvation" (University of Minnesota Press, 1950) 

6. CO₂ vs. Nitric Oxide

• Nitric oxide inhibits mitochondrial respiration and forms peroxynitrite, a potent oxidant.
  Pacher, P. et al., "Nitric oxide and peroxynitrite in health and disease" (Physiological Reviews, 2007)

• CO₂ supports aerobic metabolism; NO often signals inflammation.
  Hans Amato, "The Truth About Nitric Oxide" (men-elite.com)

7. Nature, Grounding & Metabolic Healing

• Grounding reduces cortisol, improves HRV, and reduces inflammation.
  Chevalier, G. et al., "Earthing: Health implications of reconnecting the human body to the Earth's surface electrons" (Journal of Environmental and Public Health, 2012)

Nature exposure improves glucose metabolism and mental health.
Park, B.J. et al., "The physiological effects of Shinrin-yoku (forest bathing)" (Environmental Health and Preventive Medicine, 2010)