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Showing posts from February, 2016

Insulin Doesn't Regulate Fat Mass

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Sixteen post bumps for 2016 ... No. 4 While I'm way beyond behind in my post bumping for the new year, I still plan to finish out a total of sixteen at some point. This one doesn't need much in the way of summary, but quick points: In terms of energy homeostasis, the main role of insulin in the body is as a signaling molecule in the regulation of the circulating levels of energy substrate, the two primary ones being glucose and free fatty acids. This post models this for just the fatty acids using a room temperature/thermostat feedback analogy. In the case of fatty acids, circulating levels are controlled mainly at the release point from the fat tissue.   The role of insulin is to keep total amount of circulating free fatty acids at appropriate levels, and not to regulate the amount of fatty acids stored in the fat cells, and thus overall fat tissue mass. Original post date: 12/13/14 Insulin doesn't regulate fat mass.  This is a bold statement.  My