Why Do We Get Fat?

That has been a questions that I've been intrigued by for quite some time.  I'm sure many of you are saying to yourself "You eat to much fat."  I'm here to tell you that statement is only a myth.  It was started by the manufacturing companies in the 80s to get you to buy their low fat and no fat products.  It worked, didn't it?  You were eating Snack Well cookies, Reduced Fat Oreos, Light Milky Ways, and low fat chips and crackers.  Did America get thinner and healthier during this craze?  No!  Americans actually continued to get more over weight and more unhealthy.  Why do you ask?  Your body actually needs fat to survive and believe it or not it provides nutrients your body needs.

So why do we get fat?  It's because insulin makes you fat.  Insulin is what your body uses to get sugar out of your blood.  Of course your pancreas produces it (or you would have type 1 diabetes), but you also get it from the carbohydrates you eat (which is sugar).  The more carbohydrates you eat, especially those that have added sugar the more insulin your body produces.  The insulin then goes to your bloodstream to attach to the sugar you just ate to regulate your blood sugar.  There is only so much sugar in your blood for the insulin to attach too.  Once there aren't any more receptors for them to bond with, the extra insulin finds it way to one of two places. 

1. If you are an individual who keeps active and exercises, the extra insulin will attach to your muscles and help them grow.
2. If you are someone who is less active and who doesn't exercise at all or rarely, the extra insulin will attach to your fat cells and they will grow. 

I'm sure you are thinking that option 2 isn't what you are looking for in your body.  How can we prevent this from happening?  The first thing would be to get the majority of your carbohydrates from fruits and vegetables and then choose whole grains like wheat flour in whole wheat bread and pasta, brown rice, or oatmeal.  The refined carbohydrates you find in white products like white rice, flour, and bread have more sugar and will produce more insulin.  This is also the case for processed foods and even those low fat foods we were talking about above.  When a product is made to be low fat, 9 out of 10 times the sugar will be increased to make up for the lost taste from lowering the fat content.  One trick while grocery shopping is to stick to the perimeter of the store.  That's where your fresh produce, meats, and dairy are located.  This is what you want in your diet! 

There is one more thing I want to mention that has really blown my mind lately.  Diet Soda can make you fat!  Now how is that true since it has no calories?  Think about what you just learned above. Your body releases insulin when you eat sugar, so it can clear your blood of that sugar.  You drink diet soda and how does it taste?  Sweet, right?  Your brain senses that sweetness and what does it release?  Insulin, because it thinks sugar will be coming into your blood that it will need to clear.  What happens when that insulin realizes that it doesn't have any sugar to attach too since the soda was sugar free?  It has no where else to go, but to steps 1 and 2 above.

This doesn't mean that if you are exercising you can drink diet soda and eat however you want because the insulin will attach to your muscles. Everyone's body reacts differently, so I would just assume all the extra insulin will be attaching to your fat cells!

I hope you find this information interesting and helpful.  I've loved studying this in class while learning about diabetes.  Needless to say, I've been eating much fewer carbohydrates, sugar, and diet soda and I can see a big difference!  I challenge you to try it and let me know if you have any questions.  I will do my best to help!