Jim Swayze wrote:

>Fat is stored only when sufficient insulin washes over the receptors of
>the "sugar pumps" on our cells.  And this happens only when sufficient
>carbohydrates are consumed to activate the pancreas to release insulin. No
>insulin, no storage of fat.  Regardless of caloric intake.
>
>

I agree with the first sentence and the third, but not the second.  If
the concentration of fatty acids and ketones in your blood goes high
enough, that will also cause insulin to be secreted, causing fat
storage.  And of course protein does so too.  So, a non-diabetic can and
will release enough insulin to store fat, even when eating zero
carbohydrates.  But it takes longer, because energy is wasted in the
conversion of fat to ketones, and the conversion of protein to glucose,
and some of the ketones are excreted anyway.  So it's not that caloric
intake is irrelevant when you don't eat carbs; it's that the metabolic
processes themselves are using up a lot of calories, so that less are
left for you to have to burn in the usual ways.

Todd Moody
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