Why do we get fat

Chapter 31 The Truth Emerges: The Essence of Healthy Weight Loss (3)
Groups: body weight, LDL, triglycerides, HDL, blood pressure (diastolic)
阿特金斯：-5千克、0.8、-29.3、4.9、-4.4
传统：-2.5千克、0.6、-14.6、-2.8、-2.2
欧尼许：-2.4千克、-3.8、-14.9、0、-0.7
区域：-1.5千克、0、-4.2、+2.2、-2.1
Here's what the Stanford researchers had to say about the results:

The results suggest that the relatively high intake of total fat in a low-carbohydrate diet would adversely affect lipid levels and cardiovascular disease risk.However, this idea has not been confirmed by the recent weight loss experiment.Our experimental comparison found no significant difference in the performance of these weight loss methods in terms of triglycerides, high-density lipoprotein, blood pressure and insulin resistance levels.

At the heart of the experiment was Christopher Gardner, director of the Nutrition Institute at the Stanford Prevention Research Center.Gardner presented the results of the experiment in a lecture, a video of which is available online: "The Battle of Weight Loss Diets: Is Anyone Winning at Losing?" )
At the beginning of his speech, he admitted that he has been a vegetarian for 25 years.He explained that he led the study out of concern that a diet rich in meat and fat, similar to the Atkins diet, might be dangerous to health."It's a bitter pill to swallow," he said of the success of the low-carb, fat-rich Atkins diet.

The Truth About So-Called "Bad Cholesterol"
We first heard about LDL, presumably because we heard doctors complain about its "crimes."Doctors and health journalists promote LDL as the "bad cholesterol."The reason is that according to some heart disease experiments, they found that cholesterol can cause the formation of plaque on the artery wall.Although low-density lipoprotein is not really cholesterol, but a particle containing cholesterol, it carries cholesterol and fat back and forth in the blood vessels. The name "bad cholesterol" comes from the fact that researchers at the time believed that it was not the cholesterol carried by low-density lipoproteins that caused heart disease, but the low-density lipoprotein particles themselves and other similar particles. Cholesterol seemed to be an innocent bystander .

To complicate matters further, not all LDL particles are equally harmful and lead to atherosclerosis.In the blood circulation of the human body, some LDLs are large and active, some are small and dense, and others are in an intermediate state.Small, dense LDL particles have been shown to indeed be atherogenic, and it is the LDL we seek to avoid increasing.They build up on the walls of our arteries, forming plaque.Others, such as large, active LDL particles, are usually harmless.

This is very important.Because a diet rich in carbohydrates will not only reduce the content of high-density lipoproteins and increase the content of triglycerides, but also make low-density lipoproteins tend to be small and dense.All three can increase our risk of heart disease.When we eat a high-fat, high-protein diet and avoid sugar, the opposite happens: HDL levels rise, triglyceride levels fall, and circulating LDL tends to become large and active .All three changes reduce our risk of heart attack.

Scientific studies in the 1970's looked at this issue and said that saturated fatty acids would have a bad effect on LDL cholesterol, which would increase our risk of heart disease.However, new research conducted in 2010 overturned this conclusion, and the new discovery justified the name of saturated fatty acids - saturated fatty acids actually have a beneficial effect on LDL cholesterol.

But our health officials are reluctant to publicly discuss research changes in this area of ​​science, because it is very different from the health standards that authorities have advocated for us to implement in the past 50 years.However, like the "A TO Z" studies that test the effectiveness of different weight loss methods, the progress of research will always reveal the truth:
In the recent comparative experiments of low-carbohydrate and low-fat diets for weight loss, many important phenomena were found, one of which is: the low-density lipoprotein cholesterol concentration of the low-carbohydrate diet method is higher, and the triglyceride concentration is lower.A low-carb diet lowers the body's triglyceride levels, leading to an increase in the size of LDL particles, which in turn reduces the risk of atherosclerosis.The experimental group on the low-carb diet (the Atkins diet used in the experiment) had a 2% increase in average LDL cholesterol levels and a 30% decrease in average triglyceride levels after two months.

These experimental results are indeed a bitter pill for mainstream academia to swallow.But what the experiments tell us is indisputable: the same sugar-restricted diets we have to eat to lose weight are also excellent diets for preventing heart disease.

The truth about so-called metabolic syndrome

The risk factors for heart disease are collectively known as the metabolic syndrome, which actually represents an intermediate stage of developing heart disease.Currently, according to official estimates, more than 25% of American adults suffer from metabolic syndrome higher prevalence among residents).Symptoms of metabolic syndrome include obesity and diabetes, both of which we are currently in the midst of a contagion.

You get fatter, your waistline increases, and gradually you become insulin resistant and lose control of your blood sugar; subsequently, you are more likely to develop high blood pressure, atherosclerosis, heart disease, and stroke.All of these symptoms are associated with what medical experts say is dyslipidemia, such as low HDL, high triglycerides, and high small, dense LDL.All of these problems are caused by insulin resistance, which is triggered by the sugars in our diet (especially sucrose and fructose syrup).

Since the late 20s, the study of metabolic syndrome has continued to develop.At that time, researchers first linked sugar intake to higher triglyceride levels; then, they linked high triglycerides to cardiovascular disease.In fact, Metabolic Syndrome was largely ignored for decades as cardiologists and nutritionists focused too much on saturated fatty acids and cholesterol.They didn't see the need for a different way of thinking to explain why we get cardiovascular disease.The driving force to begin to pay attention to metabolic syndrome came from Stanford University doctor Gerald Reaven (Gerald Reaven), whose research found that excessive insulin secretion and insulin resistance of cells are the root causes of the whole set of metabolic secretion disorders.

It wasn't until the mid-20s that authorities began to take notice of Raven's work.But accepting it is a little tricky: Because Raven's findings imply that diets that lead to obesity, cardiovascular disease and diabetes are not high in fat but high in sugar. In 80, Raven delivered a speech at the Diabetes Conference of the National Institutes of Health in the United States: "Anyone who eats too much sugar must bear the physical burden of secreting more insulin." Evidence of a strong association with vascular disease.An administrator at the National Institutes of Health commented on the results of Raven's study: "Sometimes, we really hope that this result does not hold. Because no one knows what to do with it."

Today, research on metabolic syndrome has made great progress, making important contributions to our understanding of obesity, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and more.Metabolic syndrome tells us that cardiovascular disease and diabetes are not caused by abnormal biochemical indicators such as low high-density lipoprotein or high triglyceride, but the root cause is insulin resistance and high blood sugar levels. caused by damage to cells.

Insulin's action on fat cells causes us to accumulate fat, and the fat cells that grow in size then release substances called "inflammatory factors" that can have adverse effects throughout the body.It causes the liver to convert sugar into stored fat, which (triglycerides) ends up in the bloodstream as small, dense LDL particles.It causes the kidneys to reabsorb sodium (the same effect as eating too much salt), which raises blood pressure, as well as excessive buildup of uric acid in the circulation.Excessive insulin secretion can also harden the arterial walls, triggering the accumulation of triglycerides and cholesterol, leading to the formation of atherosclerotic plaques.

When diagnosing metabolic syndrome, doctors first look for excessive waist circumference, because metabolic syndrome is strongly associated with obesity.However, when a doctor finds out that someone has metabolic syndrome, it is equivalent to telling him that the body is resistant to insulin, but telling the patient that it must be caused by eating too much and moving too little.Why?Just because doctors believe that eating more and exercising less will make people fat.Then, they give advice on diets like low-fat diets for weight loss, and advice on eating less and exercising more.No way, doctors believe that these measures are necessary to lose weight.

Now, we know the truth, sugar makes us fat.A large number of clinical trials have proved that the low-sugar diet can improve every metabolic abnormality and hormone abnormality of metabolic syndrome, whether it is high-density lipoprotein, triglyceride or small and dense low-density lipoprotein.Apparently, the same sugars that make us fat also cause metabolic syndrome.The best and possibly the only way to fight obesity is to avoid foods rich in sugar, especially those that are easily digestible table sugars.

In addition, there are more far-reaching studies on metabolic syndrome.Studies have found that Alzheimer's disease and most cancers (including breast and colorectal cancer) are often associated with metabolic syndrome, obesity and diabetes.The fatter we are, the more likely we are to develop cancer and, as we age, develop so-called dementia.

"There is a cascade of type [-] diabetes and cardiovascular risk factors for Alzheimer's disease, including high blood sugar, obesity, high blood pressure, elevated triglycerides, and insulin resistance. All of these factors increase the risk of developing Alzheimer's disease."

Researchers have begun to correlate insulin and high blood sugar with the brain-deteriorating symptoms of Alzheimer's disease, with some researchers even dubbing Alzheimer's disease "type [-] diabetes."Research on how hyperglycemia, insulin, related hormones, and insulin-like growth factors stimulate tumor growth and trigger tumor metastasis is also ongoing.

The link between cancer and metabolic syndrome is widely accepted. In 2007, the World Cancer Research Fund and the American Institute for Cancer Research jointly published a 500-page guidebook titled Food, Nutrition, Exercise, and Cancer Prevention.The report, co-authored by 24 experts, discusses the link between diet and cancer.It found that diets that "get fatter" are strongly associated with "cancers of the colon, rectum, esophagus, pancreas, kidney and breast, and possibly gallbladder."

The report also provides suggestions to help us stay away from cancer.The first suggestion is to stay as lean as possible and avoid gaining weight.As an adult, keep your waistline from growing.The second suggestion is to make exercise a part of your daily life. Exercise can prevent weight gain and avoid obesity. Doing so can also prevent cancer.A third recommendation, limiting intake of energy-dense foods and avoiding sugar-sweetened beverages, can also be effective in controlling weight gain.

In other words, avoid obesity and stay away from cancer.

We extend from obesity to heart disease, type [-] diabetes, metabolic syndrome, cancer, and Alzheimer's disease, not to mention many obesity-related diseases such as fatty liver, asthma, and gout.We see clearly that what makes us fat also makes us sick.

(End of this chapter)