Way back in the olden days (the 1970s), housewives around the United States tried to burn off body fat by following some version of the Grapefruit Diet. (also known as the Hollywood Diet & the Mayo Clinic Diet)
Dismissed as a fad, the theory behind the Grapefruit Diet was that if you ate half a grapefruit or drank a glass of grapefruit juice with each meal (while reducing your caloric intake down to 800 calories/day), you would lose weight.
And while the 1970s version of the Grapefruit Diet did wonders for grapefruit farmers, it wasn’t very successful at delivering long term weight loss.
Fast forward to 2010….. and this latest nugget of scientific research which shows us that those snake oil salesmen from the 1970s may have been on to something.
Naringenin, an antioxidant flavonoid derived from the bitter flavor of grapefruits and other citrus fruits, may cause the liver to break down fat while increasing insulin sensitivity.
The Theory
- Normally, after a “normal” meal (consisting of carbs, fats & proteins), your blood is flooded with sugar.
- This boost in blood sugar results in the activation of your Liver X Receptor Alpha – LXRα.
- Which results in the production of fatty acids by your liver for long term storage – ie belly fat, saddle bags, love handles, etc….
Not good.
And, up until this latest research into Naringenin, the only way to prevent this from happening was by reducing your intake of carbohydrates – via fasting or eating low carb (ie Atkins).
But, with Naringenin, you would be able to eat carbs while still receiving the health benefits of eating low carb:
- Fatty acids being released from your fat cells….
- resulting in the PPARα receptor being activated in your liver…
- leading to your body fat cells being broken down into ketones and used for energy, while also…
- causing a reduction in vLDL (‘bad cholesterol’) production
And that’s not all.
Another benefit of Naringenin is that your PPARγ receptor is activated – resulting in an increase in sensitivity to insulin.
Taken together, all of this good stuff adds up to:
- No more Type 2 Diabetes
- No more high cholesterol
- No more love handles
.
Naringenin – remember the name
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Most days, I enjoy sifting through the latest research into weight loss, health, fitness, etc…
But not today.
Today I read a study that dooms Mr. Balloon Belly here to a lifetime of popping diet pills and undergoing gastric bypass surgery.
The Research
In this study, researchers used an MRI machine to determine each participant’s level of belly and liver fat along with a blood test to determine insulin sensitivity.
Then, they put all 243 of the test subjects on a nine month lifestyle intervention program which reduced fat intake to a maximum of 30 percent of total calories (including less than 10 percent in the form of saturated fat) and had them engage in moderate physical activity such as walking for at least three hours a week.
Eat less (fat) & move more….classic.
The Results
The patients who started with the most belly fat & were the most insulin insensitive and who were most at risk of developing Type 2 Diabetes did the worst on this lifestyle intervention program.
“The participants who improved their health status as a result of diet and exercise started out with lower baseline levels of abdominal and liver fat.”
Their Conclusion
The researchers concluded that patients with a high level of belly fat & a high level of insulin insensitivity were unlikely to ever be successful at improving their situation with lifestyle modification.
Ever.
Ergo…to lose weight, they would need the help of pharmaceuticals and/or weight loss surgery.
My Conclusion
The lifestyle modification plan used in this experiment is crap.
If you want to improve insulin sensitivity, you don’t modify fat intake…you modify carbohydrate intake.
- Carbs = sugar
- Too much sugar = insulin insensitivity
- Insulin insensitivity = belly & liver fat
- Insulin insensitivity = type 2 diabetes
So, before the medical community tells Mr. Balloon Belly that he is doomed to a life of gastric bypass and anal leakage, perhaps they should retire their old school food pyramids and learn something from us non-experts.
Thus endeth the rant…thanks for listening.
.
Reference
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| Baseline Levels, Carbohydrate Intake, Diet Pills, Dooms, Health Fitness, Health Status, Insulin Insensitivity, Insulin Sensitivity, Intervention Program, Least Three Hours, Lifestyle Intervention, Lifestyle Modification, Medical Community, Moderate Physical Activity, Mri Machine, School Food, Sifting Through, Study Researchers, Test Subjects, Type 2 Diabetes, Weight Loss Surgery
According to researchers, low carb diets are better than low fat diets for:
- Lowering diastolic blood pressure
- Lowering triglycerides
- Lowering very-low density lipoprotein cholesterol
- Increasing high-density lipoprotein cholesterol
Isn’t that strange.
A low-carb diet consisting of (20 g/d for 3 months) in the form of low–glycemic index vegetables with unrestricted consumption of fat and protein turns out to be healthier than the universally accepted low-fat diet consisting of limited energy intake (1200 to 1800 kcal/d; ≤30% calories from fat).
Strange.
Vegetables & meat are healthier than grains.
Weird.
Who would have guessed that???
BTW, this study was funded by the National Institutes of Health – no Atkins money in sight.
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Low Carb beats Low Fat once again. is a post from: Health and Fitness articles
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| Atkins Diet, Cardiovascular Health, Celebrity Sex, Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol, Drew Carey, Energy Intake, Health And Fitness, Health And Fitness Articles, Health Threat, High Density Lipoprotein, Low Carb Diet, Low Carb Diets, Low Density Lipoprotein, Low Fat Diet, Low Fat Diets, Low Glycemic Index, National Institutes Of Health, paleo, Sex Symbol, Vegans
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Way back in the olden days (the 1970s), housewives around the United States tried to burn off body fat by following some version of the Grapefruit Diet. (also known as the Hollywood Diet & the Mayo Clinic Diet)
Themocracy