admin

The What’s, Why’s and Where’s of Fat

There are three basic kinds of fat, Saturated Fat (SFA), Monounsaturated Fat (MUFA) and Polyunsaturated fat (PUFA). Fats are also called “fatty acids”, hence the term PUFA: PolyUnsaturated Fatty Acid. Fats are a chain of carbon atoms with hydrogen atoms bonded to them. Each carbon in a chain can bond to two hydrogen atoms. This …

The What’s, Why’s and Where’s of Fat Read More »

ROS is Satiation

Satiation is a feeling that is actually triggered in the brain by specific neurons in the hypothalamus. These neurons respond to a number of factors, including circulating levels of blood glucose, free fatty acids (ie energy availability) and hormones such as leptin. In this paper, the authors show that ROS is necessary for satiation. The …

ROS is Satiation Read More »

The Body Fat of Obese Adults is Highly Unsaturated

This paper measured the level of Stearoyl-CoA desaturase in morbidly obese adults compared to adults with a normal BMI. The obese adults produce 2-3 times as much of the enzyme as do lean adults, resulting in fat that is significantly more unsaturated. In addition, the obese adults also had much higher levels of polyunsaturated fats. …

The Body Fat of Obese Adults is Highly Unsaturated Read More »

A Very Gentle Introduction to Oxidation

Humans are electrical creatures. Our basic biology is controlled by the movement of electrons. In a biological system, instead of moving through a wire, the electrons move from one molecule to another. These reactions are called redox reactions, which is short for reduction and oxidation. when an electron moves from one molecule to another, the …

A Very Gentle Introduction to Oxidation Read More »