Fat prevents diabetes – Daily Mail
Scientific studies are like buses in New York. If you don’t like where this one is going, wait a minute and there will be one in the opposite direction. Today’s study shows that a fat gene can protect against diabetes, according to researchers from Harvard Medical School.
From the Express:
Lead investigator Dr Mark Herman, said: “The general concept of fat as all bad is not true.
“Obesity is commonly associated with metabolic dysfunction that puts people at higher risk for diabetes, stroke and heart disease, but there is a large percentage of obese people who are metabolically healthy.
“We started with a mouse model that disassociates obesity from its adverse effects.”
Dr Herman’s team tweaked a “glucose transporter” gene in obese mice that serves as a gateway for sugar. Usually, its activity in fat cells drops with obesity.
The scientists found that when they increased glucose transporter levels in obese mice – allowing more sugar into their fat cells – they were protected against diabetes. Conversely, normal weight mice missing the glucose transporter gene developed diabetes symptoms.
The research showed sugar in fat cells triggered a response from the ChREBP gene that regulated insulin sensitivity throughout the body.
The findings appear in the online edition of the journal Nature.
So now everyone should just eat pork rinds and cheese doodles until they look like beached whales, right?
What this study reinforces is my gut feeling that we know so little and act so proud. Patriotism may be the final refuge for the scoundrel, but only after he has abused science. Maybe this study will, however, get smarmy thin people to quit acting as if fat people had the plague.
Hat tip: Lucianne.
How about a Thomas Dolby fix?
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Article source: http://blogs.dailymail.com/donsurber/archives/53681
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Categories: Fat Loss Diary Tags: Dr Herman, Dr Mark Herman, Express Lead, Thomas Dolby