The PROP Gene
The PROP gene - more formally, 6-n-propylthiouracil - determines the
sensitivity of our taste buds. People who have high amounts of this gene are
"super-tasters" while people with low amounts are
"non-tasters". Both categories have their advantages and
disadvantages regarding weight loss. For example, super-tasters may eschew
some foods as being too greasy or sweet but also shun broccoli or cabbage
because they taste particularly bitter to them. Non-tasters do not have
these aversions to these vegetables, or high-sugar/high-fat foods.
"Tasters" are somewhere in between. Some experts suggest
super-tasters eat less bitter vegetables such as carrots, or make the bitter
vegetable less so by squeezing lemon juice on them. Non-tasters just need to
be aware and exert control.
LEPTIN
Leptin is a hormone that releases from your fat cells after a meal
stimulated by glucose from the food. Leptin travels to receptors in your
brain, inducing satiety. Thus, low-calorie diets - where one is starving -
decrease leptin, and make you feel extremely hungry. Those on vegetarian
diets do not tend to feel overly hungry because they claim one can eat so
much on a vegetarian diet.
LPL
LPL (lipoprotein lipase) is an enzyme that sits on the outside of your fat
cells. LPL grabs post-meal fat from your blood and stores it in your fat
cells. When you eat a lot of fat, it helps you store more of it in your
body. You can decrease LPL expression with exercise.
INSULIN
Insulin is necessary to shuttle glucose into the cells of the body after a
meal. In the liver and muscles, glucose forms into glycogen - a storage form
of energy. Forming glycogen causes our cells to release calories. This is
coined the thermic effect of food, or TEF. The TEF is high for most
carbohydrates and low for fatty foods. Thus, high-fat diets result in less
calories burned. Furthermore, chronic consumption of a high-fat diet will
impair insulin function and result in high blood glucose. This
"tricks" the body into releasing more insulin - a futile effect.
Adding insult to injury, high insulin levels will shut down the fat-burning
machinery. Low fat, high-fiber diet can improve insulin function.
MUSCLE CELL TYPE
People have two types of muscle cells: Type I, and Type II. People have
different proportions of each, according to their genetic type. The Type I
muscle-cell has a good blood supply and plenty of LPL. This is good, because
muscles cannot store fat - they can only use it for energy. Thus,
individuals with more Type I cell usually demonstrate more endurance during
athletics. Unfortunately, you cannot change your muscle cell types. Regular
exercise will increase circulation to every muscle cell, thus making Type II
cells more like Type I's.
To your health!
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