These articles are always interesting to read. The BLUF on this one - they've discovered a discrete molecule that correlates with those who are obese and sick. Blocking the production of that molecule via gene therapy shows positive results in mice.
http://www.realclearscience.com/articles/2014/07/05/how_some_people_can_be_obese_and_healthy_108731.html
That's all good and I hope they keep figuring out how to manipulate genes to make us less sick from eating the food we eat. But the real secret is - don't overcarb yourself. You can eat enough carbs and fat to make your body think that carrying a lot of fat is a good thing - raising the "set point". However, if while at that set point, you don't overdo the carbs, fructose, alcohol, caffeine and medications - in other words, you don't sabotage liver function - you can hum along fairly well with healthy blood sugar levels and be "healthy". In this case, healthy just means you don't have out of control blood sugar. You may still feel like crap and have many of the other manifestations that come along with eating crappy mass produced food, but you don't share the risks for chronic and terminal illnesses that full blown diabetics have.
There are many things that raise the set point, including age, changing hormones (especially in ladies), genetics and dietary factors - even whether or not one practices fasting. For those of us who want to have better body composition and health, and to help others with those goals, eating the best quality food, getting better sleep, and wrestling with the nasty and ever present sugar beast of the industrial food giants will gain us more than waiting for a lab guy to figure out how to shut off our genes.
You, like me, are likely shaking off the effects of a holiday weekend - too much booze and sugar, too little sleep and not good sleep quality. Then you can add the stress of catching up at work after the long weekend. It's not a great formula for health and happiness.
What to do? Eat high quality food, keep carbs to under 150g/day (much less if you know that helps you), back off on the coffee and booze, take a nap (45 minutes or less), make time for at least a walk (and better yet, a CrossFit WOD), and enjoy some time in the sunshine every day you can.
http://www.realclearscience.com/articles/2014/07/05/how_some_people_can_be_obese_and_healthy_108731.html
That's all good and I hope they keep figuring out how to manipulate genes to make us less sick from eating the food we eat. But the real secret is - don't overcarb yourself. You can eat enough carbs and fat to make your body think that carrying a lot of fat is a good thing - raising the "set point". However, if while at that set point, you don't overdo the carbs, fructose, alcohol, caffeine and medications - in other words, you don't sabotage liver function - you can hum along fairly well with healthy blood sugar levels and be "healthy". In this case, healthy just means you don't have out of control blood sugar. You may still feel like crap and have many of the other manifestations that come along with eating crappy mass produced food, but you don't share the risks for chronic and terminal illnesses that full blown diabetics have.
There are many things that raise the set point, including age, changing hormones (especially in ladies), genetics and dietary factors - even whether or not one practices fasting. For those of us who want to have better body composition and health, and to help others with those goals, eating the best quality food, getting better sleep, and wrestling with the nasty and ever present sugar beast of the industrial food giants will gain us more than waiting for a lab guy to figure out how to shut off our genes.
You, like me, are likely shaking off the effects of a holiday weekend - too much booze and sugar, too little sleep and not good sleep quality. Then you can add the stress of catching up at work after the long weekend. It's not a great formula for health and happiness.
What to do? Eat high quality food, keep carbs to under 150g/day (much less if you know that helps you), back off on the coffee and booze, take a nap (45 minutes or less), make time for at least a walk (and better yet, a CrossFit WOD), and enjoy some time in the sunshine every day you can.
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