(From “Why we get sick” by Dr. Benjamin Bikman, PhD)
The theory that is widely accepted, is that if we either/or burn more calories or consume less calories, we will lose weight. Unfortunately, this theory does not consider the complex processes in the body that regulate how it uses fuel. Ultimately, hormones determine what the body does with the fuel we eat and store – make more muscle, make bigger bones, make more fat, dissipate it as heat, etc. The hormone, insulin, promotes fat cells to grow more than any other hormone. Insulin is so good at increasing body fat that rising amounts of insulin increase body fat even when the number of calories consumed stays the same. *¹ Simply put, insulin directs nutrients toward being stored as fat.