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Old April 14th, 2011, 04:48 PM posted to alt.support.diet.low-carb
Doug Freyburger
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Default Thermogenic Effect?

jay wrote:

Glucagon pulls fat out of storage ... *Glucagon is released as an
indirect effect from dietary fat ...


I am wondering if glucagon is released to stabilize blood glucose
since insulin would cause it to drop.


There's a feedback loop among dietary fat while eating low carb, blood
glucose levels and glucagon release. It's close to as you describe but
more complex. Partly because insulin is a very effective suppressor of
glucagon release.

Maybe glucagon releases fatty
acids from adipose so that the liver can convert the glycerol part of
fat to glucose. Maybe brown fat is enabled to burn off the excess
fatty acids.


For weight loss purposes we don't have to go deeper than glucagon
pulling fat out of storage therefore more glucagon is better. But yes
that's part of it. Also one path for burning fatty acids is the slow
conversion to acetyl-CoA. Acetyl-CoA goes to the mitochondria in the
cells and gets used in the Krebs cycle for aerobic respiration. It's a
glucose substitute in a way. Ketones are the other faster fatty acid
path.

Is this due to uncoupling in the mitos?


I don't know what that means.


Some studies (see below) show that glucagon causes brown (due to extra
iron) adipose to use fatty acids to generate heat by allowing
electrons to leak across mitochondria's membrane.


Brown fat is fat that is the most resistant to weight loss. If this is
a system that reduces brown fat then it's a good idea for folks well
over their ideal weight.

I think I will keep the carbs at the lower level for a while to see if
the effects persists or subsides


Less than six months please! Or do cycles of much higher carb.
There's a long term metabolic adjustment mechanism having to do with
leptin levels that you don't want to trigger. You don't want your body
to make a long term adjustment to low carb and switch to burning fat
slower and more effeciently. Ineffecient is the goal for fat loss.
Bouncing in and out of high body heat should probably keep you out but
you don't want to have to deal with adjusting metabolism.