Is science finding a way to eat all the things – without becoming obese?

January 2, 2017 Ashley 0 Comments

Ever wish you could eat as much as you wanted?

Without morphing into a Pillsbury Dough monster, that is?

Well, science might just be working on an answer to our sweetest (literally) dreams.

And the answer’s actually in a hormonal hack.

Now, if you’ve trolled my digital scribblings here before, first of all: you’re awesome. And, second of all, you may have heard a lot before about how hormones like insulin and leptin can either serve or smite your weight loss goals. (Depending on what you’re doing to them with your diet.) Basically, the two of ’em collaborate with a pack of specialized neurons in your brain. And that, in turn, sets off the fat burning process. How? By converting white fat to brown fat – which ultimately ups your weight loss capacity. (’cause brown fat’s the good kind.) However, when you’re a chronic over-eater, their activity goes kinda wacky, slows down, and boom: no more brown fat conversion. And boom: a bison sized booty.

But, leave it to science to find a way to make the second deadly sin devoid of adipose ramifications.

Because Australian scientists did a full on study – with fat fed rats and everything.

And, per Science Alert, this’s what they noted:

The team has now found out for the first time that the obstacle that stops us from burning excess fat is a group of enzymes called phosphatases, which inhibit the action of both leptin and insulin. They also found that, if we block the action of these enzymes, we can effectively trick our brain into burning more fat, as Tiganis explains in the release. In their study, the team reduced the levels of two of these inhibiting enzymes in laboratory mice. They then placed them on a high-fat diet to see whether the action of leptin and insulin would be able to keep their weight in check. What they found was that, incredibly, the mice proved to be “remarkably resistant to diet-induced obesity and the development of type 2 diabetes,” Tiganis told Brown – regardless of how much they ate. Their results have been published in the journal Cell. The next step will be finding a drug that can safely lower the activity of these two enzymes.

No obesity – regardless of how much they ate?

Sounds like a glutton’s wet dream, for sure…

(Now all you’ll have to do is come up with justifications for your gluttonous hobby, right?)

Well, maybe. That’s if they ever come up with a drug. But, even if they do, let’s look at some of the downsides to such a drug that’d potentially block or lower these phosphatases and their activity. Because, even if you weren’t to suffer the most visible of the side effects poor eating wreaks on your body, there are plenty’ve other negative consequences to consider. Most of the bad foods we eat make us fat – why? For one, because we eat too much of them (which means we’re deficient in the other macros – and thus, imbalanced). That matters because we need an even flow of fats, proteins, and carbs to keep our flesh machine functioning properly. Also, we usually gain weight because of the high blood sugar it causes. While that typically results in faster conversion to fat, even if that didn’t happen, it could still conceivably cause other issues… not the least of which is making us too tired to do the exercise our body needs – not just to avoid being fat – but to stay healthy and strong. And, finally, weight loss aside, I can’t help but wonder what happens any time you interfere with the natural, organic order of things in your body. I’m no body biologist – but isn’t it possible that phos-blocking just might mess up some’ve our other somatic ongoings?

I dunno, man. It does sound too good to be true, doesn’t it? But you know what else sounds too good to be true? (But unlike an enzyme blocker – isn’t?) The fact that I can also eat as much as I want – on a clean, plant based eating plan. And feel like a god after I polish off that last mile – with my body all glistening in hard earned perspiration. And, as for the weight loss? No, I don’t lose weight. Not anymore. I did – but now I don’t have to – because I banished that monster within months and never gained it back. See, once you’ve made great eating a routine, you never check your dietary rearview to reminisce on your formerly shizzy snack habits. Because it’s not a diet. There’s no expiration. It’s just a lifestyle. And inking that into your identity brings on this fantastic sense of validation. One that feels just as good (if not better) as knowing you can fit into your bikini now – even though it’s winter – when your future fiance wants to whisk you away to the Bahamas to escape the remains of winter. And that you don’t just fit in it – but look (and feel) amazing in it. All because of the choices you made.

And, sorry to say – but no matter what they come up with in the future…

You can never swallow, inject, or binge eat your way to that.