Leptin, the Hunger Hormone

"The journey through obesity and chronic metabolic disease begins and ends with the hormone insulin, the energy storage hormone [...]. There is no fat accumulation without insulin. Insulin shunts sugar to fat. It makes your fat cells grow. The more insulin, the more fat, period." (my emphasis)

                                                  - Dr Robert H. Lustig, Fat Chance

Weight Loss Camp

What I Eat - Peter Menzel, Faith D'Aluisio

Yesterday, I was reading this book with my children, and I was saddened by the ordeal teenagers have to go through in order to lose weight.

Diet Trends

"It is incredible that in the twentieth-century America a conscientious physician should have his hard-won professional reputation placed on the line for daring to suggest that an obesity victim might have some relief by cutting out sugars and starches."
                                                                        - Robert Atkins

Does Diet Coke make us Fat?

I have already written about the fattening properties of sugar. When we consume a sugary drink, our
blood glucose goes up, this induces insulin secretion from the pancreas, the insulin in turn will take the calories (glucose and fatty acid) from our bloodstream and store them in our fat tissues. The calories are not available anymore to fuel our daily activities, they are blocked by insulin. As a result, without adequate energy, we feel tired and hungry. We sit down in front of the TV and eat.

Children and Low Fat - Health Hazards

This is what I've found recently on the net: Kids still hungry after school lunch (you can also read here). With the new guidelines in America, kids get more fruits and vegetables in their school lunch and - this year - less meat. And they are hungry! After a big salad, fruits and a bit of meat, everybody is hungry. These kids, when they go home, they crave "something", which is usually a high-carbohydrate and/or sugar snack in the form of a cereal bar, or more "unhealthy" versions, like a mars bar or potato chips (more carbs and sugar).

Paleo Food

One of my friends hinted me that I already wrote about a lot of science... what about paleo food? I went through a lot of trial and error (for nearly 10 years) before figuring out the food which is best for me. Now, the diet I follow every day (not 100% strict paleo, maybe only 90%), is what keeps me away from allergy symptoms... and the doctor away from me.

Hunger - The Role of Insulin

The classic approach to weight loss is to eat less, so researchers put obese patients on a calorie-restricted diet. If they loose weight, it means that obesity is caused by overeating. The problem is that results are not really compelling. The subjects usually loose weight, but the diet results in negative physiological effects as well, such as: