Too much sugar is unhealthy - that we know, but it s not just down to the many calories. Even moderate amounts of added fructose and sucrose double the body s own fat production in the liver, researchers from the University of Zurich and the University Hospital Zurich have shown. In the long term, this contributes to the development of diabetes or a fatty liver.
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IMAGE: Ketogenesis-deficient mice lacking the gene for HMG-CoA Synthase 2 (HMGCS2) (bottom row) develop severely fatty liver starting in the neonatal period. view more
Credit: Dr. Yuichiro Arima
Ketone bodies are generally an alternative energy source during starvation, but in newborns, ketogenesis is active regardless of nutritional status. In a recent study from Kumamoto University (Japan), researchers analyzed the effects of ketogenesis in mice and found that it has a protective effect on cells by maintaining the function of mitochondria. They expect that this effect can be used in future therapies for protecting mitochondria and organs.
Ketones, along with glucose and fatty acids, are metabolites used as energy sources. In particular, ketones are known to be an alternative energy source during periods of fasting or starvation. However, ketogenesis is known to be active in the neonatal period regardless of the number of calories consumed during nursing, and
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Females who are fit and healthy tend to burn more fat when they exercise than men, according to new research from a team of sports nutritionists.
The research, comprising two new studies from academics led by the University of Bath s Centre for Nutrition, Exercise & Metabolism, analysed the factors that most influenced individuals capacity to burn body fat when undertaking endurance sports.
How the body burns fat is important to all of us for good metabolic health, insulin sensitivity and in reducing the risk of developing Type II diabetes. But, for endurance sport competitions, such as running or cycling, how the body burns fat can make the difference between success and failure.
Credit: Johan Wingborg
Researchers at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, have now presented results that may change our basic view of how type 2 diabetes occurs. Their study indicates that free fatty acids (FFAs) in the blood trigger insulin release even at a normal blood-sugar level, without an overt uncompensated insulin resistance in fat cells. What is more, the researchers demonstrate the connection with obesity: the amount of FFAs largely depends on how many extra kilos of adipose tissue a person carries, but also on how the body adapt to the increased adiposity.
Worldwide, extensive research is underway to clarify exactly what happens in the body as type 2 diabetes progresses, and why obesity is such a huge risk factor for the disease. For almost 50 years, diabetes researchers have been discussing their version of the chicken-or-egg question: Which comes first insulin resistance or elevated insulin levels? The dominant hypothesis has long been that the pancreas steps up
Credit: Insel Gruppe
In Switzerland about 17 000 people are living with an HIV infection, worldwide there are about 38 million. Today, the disease can be treated so successfully that a normal life can be ensured to a great extent. However, weight increases are often observed at the beginning of HIV therapy due to adaptations of the metabolism, which are part of a successful therapy. Therefore, body weight control plays an important role in HIV therapy. It is important, for example, to avoid metabolic problems that can lead to heart attacks or diabetes over the long term.
Tenofovir is the drug used as part of the standard HIV therapies. The previously, widely used TDF-based therapy (tenofovir disoproxil fumarate, TDF) has been associated with renal side effects and bone loss. It was therefore steadily replaced with a new variant, TAF-based therapy (tenofovir alafenamide), which was associated with fewer side effects. The study presented here explores evidence of excessive weight g