New genetic study: Obesity may be caused by high insulin

January 4 2018 by in Dr. David Ludwig, Insulin, New study, Professor Tim Noakes, Weight loss

Is eating big portions of food and laying on the couch for too long the culprit in the obesity epidemic? Eating too much, and moving to little? That’s the message we’ve been fed for decades, during the obesity epidemic, so saying that it has not worked out great is quite an understatement.

Now a new genetic study conducted by Harvard-based Dr. David Ludwig and colleagues provides new support for an alternative explanation, with the fat-storing hormone insulin as the main controlling factor in obesity.

In the study they found that genes leading to higher insulin secretion are very strongly linked to higher body weight. This provides relatively strong support for the theory that the higher insulin (primarily released when eating carbs) actually causes obesity. This as we know that the genes come first, before any lifestyle factors during life.

Dr. David Ludwig and Professor Tim Noakes both supply interesting comments on the study:

Do you want to make your fat-storing insulin plummet? There’s probably no better way than going on a strict low-carb or keto diet. Use our resources below, or just sign up for our free 2-week keto challenge…

How to lose weight

Keto for beginners

Insulin

Part 8 of Dr. Jason Fung's diabetes course
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The pathways of insulin resistance
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Insulin toxicity — Dr. Jason Fung's diabetes course
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Dr. Fung looks at the evidence on what high levels of insulin can do to one’s health and what can be done to lower insulin naturally.
Insulin resistance and sexual health — Dr. Priyanka Wali
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Is there a connection between insulin resistance and sexual health? In this presentation, Dr. Priyanka Wali presents several studies that have been made on the subject.
Is obesity caused by too much insulin?
25:27
Is obesity mainly caused by the fat storing hormone insulin? Dr. Ted Naiman answers this question.
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Is weight loss controlled by calories in and calories out? Or is our body weight carefully regulated by hormones?
The carbohydrate-insulin model of obesity — Dr. David Ludwig
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In this presentation from the Low Carb Denver 2019 conference, Dr. David Ludwig walks us through the latest discoveries on how weight gain and weight loss actually work in practice.
Part 7 of Dr. Jason Fung's diabetes course
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Dr. Fung gives us a comprehensive review of what causes fatty liver disease, how it affects insulin resistance and, what we can do to reduce fatty liver.
Hyperinsulinemia - what insulin does in your body
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Controlling the insulin in your body can help you control both your weight and important aspects of your health. Dr. Naiman explains how.
What causes insulin resistance?
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No less than 70% of people die from chronic disease, connected to insulin resistance. Dr. Naiman explains what causes it.
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Why do we get fat – and what can we do about it? Gary Taubes at Low Carb USA 2016.
The key to obesity
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How insulin toxicity causes obesity and type 2 diabetes – and how to reverse it. Dr Jason Fung at the LCHF Convention 2015.
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Do you really need to worry about protein on a ketogenic diet? Dr. Ben Bikman shares a new way of thinking about this.
Diet Doctor Podcast #28 – Amy Berger
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Amy Berger has a no nonsense, practical approach that helps people see how they can get the benefits from keto without all the struggles.
Diet Doctor Podcast #29 – Dr. Spencer Nadolsky
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Dr. Spencer Nadolsky is a bit of an anomaly as he openly wants to explore low carb nutrition, low fat nutrition, multiple forms of exercise, and use it all to help his individual patients.
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How do you measure your insulin-response pattern?

Weight loss

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Valerie wanted to lose weight by cutting calories, giving up things she really loved, like cheese. But this did not help her with her weight.
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Dr. Fung's fasting course part 2: How do you maximize fat burning? What should you eat – or not eat?
Living low carb with Yvonne Lane
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Yvonne used to see all those pictures of people who'd lost so much weight, but sometimes didn't really believe they were real.
Living low carb with John Holding
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John used to suffer from a myriad of aches and pains which he simply dismissed as “normal”. Known as the big guy at work, he was constantly hungry and grabbing for snacks.
Diet Doctor Podcast #33 – Dr. David Unwin
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Dr. Unwin was on the verge of retiring as a general practice physician in the UK. Then he found the power of low carb nutrition and began helping his patients in ways he never thought possible.
"I'll do this or I'm going to die trying"
19:23
Kristie Sullivan struggled with her weight for her whole life in spite of trying every diet imaginable, but then she finally lost a 120 pounds and improved her health on a keto diet.
Living low carb with Sue Acres
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Sue used to be 50 pounds (23 kg) overweight and suffered from lupus. Her fatigue and pain was also so severe that she had to use a walking stick to get around. But she has reversed all this on keto.
How to do an LCHF or keto diet
1:00:45
Dr. Eric Westman explains how to do a well-formulated LCHF diet.
How to think about how to eat — Gary Taubes
30:34
In this presentation from the Low Carb Denver conference, the amazing Gary Taubes talks about the conflicting dietary advice we are given and what to make of it all.
The 5 common mistakes on LCHF
09:25
Is it hard to reach your goal weight, are you hungry or do you feel bad? Make sure you're avoiding these mistakes.
My success story with Chuck Hicks
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At nearly 500 lbs (230 kg) Chuck could barely move at all anymore. It wasn’t until he found a keto diet that thing started to change.
Pie-making champion goes low carb
03:23
Learn how this pie-making champion went low carb and how it changed his life.
Part 8 of Dr. Jason Fung's diabetes course
05:21
Dr. Fung gives us an in-depth explanation of how beta cell failure happens, what the root cause is, and what you can do to treat it.
My success story with Kenneth Russell
02:52
When Kenneth turned 50, he realized that he wouldn't make it to 60 the way he was going.
The pathways of insulin resistance
30:41
Are we chasing the wrong guy when it comes to heart disease? And if so, what is the real culprit in the disease?
How to motivate your patients
50:25
In this presentation from Low Carb Denver 2019, Drs. David and Jen Unwin explain how physicians can finetune the art of practicing medicine with strategies from psychology to help their patients reach their goals.
Insulin toxicity — Dr. Jason Fung's diabetes course
09:03
Dr. Fung looks at the evidence on what high levels of insulin can do to one’s health and what can be done to lower insulin naturally.
Therapeutic fasting
46:09
What if there was a more effective treatment alternative for obesity and type 2 diabetes, that is both simple and free?
Q&A with Franziska Spritzler
09:52
Questions about how to formulate an optimal low-carb or keto diet.
My success story with Jim Caldwell
02:23
Jim Caldwell has transformed his health and gone from an all-time high at 352 lbs (160 kg) to 170 lbs (77 kg.
Are all calories the same?
20:04
Are all calories created equally – regardless of whether they come from a low-carb, low-fat or a vegan diet?
The hidden costs of medications
44:51
Can medications prevent or hinder your efforts to lose weight and become healthy? Jackie Eberstein at the Low Carb Cruise 2016.
Insulin resistance and sexual health — Dr. Priyanka Wali
23:24
Is there a connection between insulin resistance and sexual health? In this presentation, Dr. Priyanka Wali presents several studies that have been made on the subject.
"I knew nothing"
28:51
How come Professor Tim Noakes completely changed his view on what constitutes a healthy diet?

Earlier

Dr. Ludwig: “When you eat the right quality and balance of foods, your body can do the rest on its own”

Do we become fat because we’re overeating, or do we overeat because we’re becoming fat?

7 comments

1
Josh
January 4 2018 1
How can I find out more information on keeping insulin low? I know eating keto helps, but are there certain "keto" foods that have different effects on insulin levels?
2
Jason
January 4 2018
Not really, as long as it's actually keto food aka high fat low protein even lower carb. No sugar very low carb and your insulin will drop. Fruits have different insulin/glycemic responses like mangos are very high insulin response blueberries are much less. But they aren't keto. True keto food will be very productive for keeping insulin down.
3
Nata
January 4 2018
Isnt high fat food bad for liver and pancreas? I know for sure that high fat diet causing gallbladder stone formation.

Reply: #5
4
James
January 4 2018
Look up Dr Berg on youtube. He has a lot of videos on the subject.
5
Reply to comment #3 by Nata
Gentiann
January 5 2018
High fat diets keep the gallbladder active, keeping stones from forming. It's low fat diets that are causing stones on the gallbladder by keeping it inactive
6
Gwen
January 20 2018
Can you do a Keto diet if you have high cholesterol?

Reply: #7
7
Reply to comment #6 by Gwen
Peter Biörck Team Diet Doctor
January 21 2018
Hi Gwen!

I recommend that you read this:
https://www.dietdoctor.com/low-carb/side-effects#cholesterol

Can you do a Keto diet if you have high cholesterol?