Insulin
METABOLIC ENDOTOXEMIA INITIATES OBESITY AND INSULIN RESISTANCE – (01-26-08)
Metabolic Endotoxemia Initiates Obesity and Insulin Resistance
Got out your dry erase marker and board for this one? A perfect example of just how convoluted physiology is and why dividing human health into specialties just doesn’t work. Here’s the deal… Regular readers of Updates know how much importance I place on mitochondrial function and dysfunction as it relates to chronic diseases. So the idea that mitochondrial dysfunction will lead to obesity and insulin resistance is no surprise whatsoever.
We know from animal studies that high fat diets increase the levels of LPS (lipopolysaccharides–products coming off the cell wells of bacteria, typically from the gut). Higher levels of LPS (called Endotoxemia) leads to interference with mitochondrial function. So, other then high fat diets, how else to we get higher levels of LPS? How about destruction of normal flora with antibiotics leading to overgrowth of bad bacteria in the gut? Couple that with a high fat diet and you’ve got the circle complete. Just a tad more complicated than an Arkansas family tree.
