Isn't body fat "the lower the better"? Doctors reveal new concept: avoid "body oil" and eat good fats
People who are trying to lose weight often get confused when they hear the word “fat”, but in fact, if they do not regularly consume good sources of fat, will it have harmful effects on the body? Dr. Li Si-hsien from the Department of Family Medicine wrote in “Dr. Sisi, Your Good Friend in Health” that consuming an appropriate amount of good fat is crucial for body metabolism. Body fat is not “the lower the better” as people think. .
Does eating fat help the body metabolize? Medical: Good sources of oil help achieve “fat buffering”
Dr. Li Sixian said that just as the body’s muscle tissue has a buffering effect on blood sugar after meals, fat also plays the role of delaying the “runaway” of fatty acids after meals, which can help speed up the removal of triglycerides in the blood. The above path can be called “Fatty Acid Trapping”. It is like circulating fatty acids suddenly falling into a trap. In fact, it is a process in which triglycerides are broken down by “lipoprotein lipase” and taken up by fat cells. .
If the human body does not have a “fat buffer”, the concentration of triglycerides after a meal will increase to more than 10 times that at rest. But the reason why this situation does not occur is because the human body has a buffering mechanism. Just like blood sugar concentration, blood sugar does not soar above 1,000 after eating a piece of cake, because the liver and muscles are working hard to stabilize blood sugar, and the body’s fat cells are also buffering the ingested fat after satiety.
Dr. Li Sixian emphasized that once the “fat buffering” mechanism is damaged, other cells and organs will be easily exposed to a high concentration of lipid environment. The accumulation of these high triglycerides will easily cause “insulin resistance”, and the organs affected include the liver. , skeletal muscle, pancreas, etc. In the long run, it may lead to insulin resistance, increased blood sugar, and ultimately insufficient insulin secretion.
Those trying to lose weight shouldn’t be afraid of consuming “good fats”! Can small fat cells achieve better lipid defense buffering?
Dr. Li Sixian pointed out that the “fat buffering” mechanism is damaged and cannot cope with the impact of high fatty acids after meals. It may be more common in people with obesity and lipodystrophy. This situation may occur clinically in " “overweight” and “underweight” groups. In addition, the size of fat cells is also related to the “fat buffering mechanism”. The smaller the fat, the greater the buffering effect; conversely, if the fat cells are larger, it means that there is not much space to “expand” the fat.
Dr. Li Sixian gave an example. Thiazolidinedione (TZD), a drug commonly used in diabetes, causes fat cells to divide, increases the number of fats, and increases the fat buffering effect. Therefore, one problem that patients who take TZD drugs often encounter is “weight gain”, but this weight gain does not increase their own insulin resistance like using insulin to control blood sugar.
Finally, Dr. Li Sixian explained that having healthy fat cells is crucial for healthy metabolism, so people should not be afraid of consuming “good fats.” For example, the cell membrane of fat cells is also composed of oil. You should try to reduce low-quality refined vegetable oils and trans fats in your daily life, and consume more good oils such as olive oil, tea oil, coconut oil, and perilla oil, so that you can have " Flexible fat cells.
Source: “Fat Buffering” - Dr. Sisi, your good friend in health
Further reading:
