Re: Atkins Can't Be That Ignorant

CurtAdams@aol.com
Sun, 28 Nov 1999 13:37:24 EST

In a message dated 11/28/99 10:03:20 AM Pacific Standard Time, daugh@home.msen.com writes:

> What are these other things fat is processed to in the liver without
ketosis?

Primarily it goes into energy, which gets used to convert pyruvate back into glucose, so the brain and muscle can leave aerobic metabolism on low. It can also make or interconvert most amino acids. The glycerol moiety can be made into glucose, but not the rest.

>James Wonders: Is there never any ketosis on the Priikin and Ornish diets?
There's always a little bit of ketones about but Pritikin and Ornish should not
increase it over the basal level: no starvation and plenty of glucose.

>How is fat used-up or lost when "glucosis" is never interupted? Serious
>question as I am no expert on this by any means...just trying to explore
>the issues without dilligent study of the field.

Stryer's says the adipocytes just dump fatty acids into the blood, where they complex with blood proteins. Other cells can take up the fatty acids directly.
Normally, ketone bodies are just another way to ship fat energy around (I'm not sure why - they are more soluble). In Atkins-style ketosis, however, the body cannot use as much of the ketone bodies as it makes, so they pile up in the blood and eventually get lost through the kidneys.