Why We Get Fat

The title pretty much sums it up. The books explains the physiology of why we get fat. The answer: insulin. So what about diet. He shows that only carbohydrates, specifically flour, sugar, starches, can raise insulin; therefore, no carbs, no fat on the belly.

Here's how it works out with the hormones.

Hormone sensitive lipase (HSL) lives inside your cells and is able to break apart fat to use as fuel.

Lipo-protein lipase (LPL) lives on the outside of a cell and will bring fat in from the blood stream to use as fuel or for storage.

Insulin runs around in the blood stream shutting down HSL.

Thus whenever there's insulin around, HSL will not release fat to burn as fuel. Your fat stores become a one-way system, fat checks in, but it doesn't check out.

What triggers insulin? Sugars and starches. Which foods have the most: flour (even whole-wheat), fruits (fructose), milk (lactose), and starchy foods like rice, corn, and potatoes.

The book is also featured in the documentary Fat Head.

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