CAN PEOPLE STORE CARBOHYDRATES AS FAT EASILY?
Updated: Sep 18
The answer here is a resounding NO! The production of fat from carbohydrate sources is referred to as De Novo Lipogenesis, and it’s rare, contrary to popular belief. The biggest reason why is because of the backup energy store pool at the liver and muscles store around 2000 calories of glycogen for when we need it. Couple that with the fact that the extra carbohydrates at least raise the metabolism enough to burn off the extra carbohydrates by elevating your thyroid and nervous system output (1979 Vermont Studies...), along with a shift that occurs in fuel burning from primarily fat to carbohydrates (aka the glucose-FFA cycle).
Also consider the calories that you are burning from digesting your food, resting processes, and any activity, and you can start to see that fat storage from carbohydrate is much harder than people have you believe. Not to mention, carbohydrates help suppress the hunger hormone ghrelin, and also contain fiber, which also helps drive gastric filling to an extent and limit blood sugar spikes. This argument unfairly stems from the anti-carbohydrate supporters for no reason other than that carbohydrates are awful. Compelling stuff.
“Eucaloric replacement of dietary fat by CHO does not induce hepatic DNL to any
substantial degree.”1 In other words, replacing fats with carbohydrates does not miraculously cause a sudden increase in fat storage in our working liver. The take-home point throughout the literature shows that in order for carbohydrates to be stored as fat, intake has to exceed total daily expenditure. And all of this ties back into the energy laws that have been circulating throughout the industry for decades now. After we eat, fat is accrued, but it’s not through the DNL pathway, likely many tend to think, as fat and carbohydrates have independent energy pathways that simply interact in the body at times.1
On a final note, you hear some false but clever arguments that can mislead people regarding this topic. One of them is that fat, because it is so high in calories, contains a glycerol (carbohydrate) backbone that can be stored as fat. This is true, but the daily amount of fat that can be stored from glycerol is approximately 22 grams, according to nutritional mastermind Lyle McDonald from years ago. Not to mention that Dr. Jose Antonio shared research years ago showing that protein can actually be stored as fat once intake scales to around 3 grams per kilo of body weight, or more than 30-40% of caloric intake, generally speaking. For a 200 lbs. male with a normal daily calorie burn with no exercise, this amount scales around 40%. Yes, folks, you can indeed store fat from protein, believe it or not. And well, fat pretty much speaks for itself and is always stored directly and is double the calories, remember. So, with all that being said, it's absolutely more than clear that once again carbohydrates are painted as a scapegoat to the real truth, and you have nothing to worry about in this regard, regardless of who you are.
Last but not least, you will hear another common claim that sugar spikes from either high glycemic foods or a high glycemic load (food + quantity), and you soak up all the carbs in your fat cells or convert to it directly, which you've seen from above that is clearly not the case. As a result, this leaves you feeling hungrier or starving even though you just ate adequate food more than likely.
My obvious question would be didn't you just eat? What about the suppression of Ghrelin from eating the carbs which has shown a pronounced effect on fullness? The fiber? the stored energy you just created in your fat and muscle cells and the natural safeguard and protective capacity of the liver to mobilize energy if needed by other cells when blood sugar drops (blood cells, neurons, etc.) How about another hormone that is almost never discussed, and that is Glucagon. The sister hormone of Insulin that mobilizes energy from fat and and the liver to pick you back up if you are low on energy or blood sugar levels drop post-digestion/prandial phase.
Quit drinking the kool-aid people. As if energy is just somehow magically trapped in our cells with no escape after we eat sugar or too much, of it and the body simply has no way to survive or counter the possibility. To say that people have bought the lie and been brainwashed is an absolute understatement, and hope more quality expert information can turn the tides over time only for the benefit of people and their health and performance.
And if somehow you still aren't sold on this long-held fundamental truth, then please check out the sales copy from my The RBS general fitness and fat loss program below. Every single individual that you see, regardless of their age, body type, etc. utilized a moderate to high carb approach. Not only that, but they were beyond relieved to finally enjoy a food that was meant to be cherished and satisfy an innate craving they had all along. Moreover, everyone reported feeling happier, fuller, more energetic, and compliant with a flexible approach that research has and will always endorse, as all of the tricky trends still coming pouring in.
My dear friend and former client lost over 80 lbs. eating moderate to high carbohydrates with a poor Thyroid and kept the weight off for more than 10 years. Quit drinking the mainstream Kool-Aid, ladies and gentlemen.
SCIENTIFIC REFERENCES:
#1- Hellerstein, M K. “De Novo Lipogenesis in Humans: Metabolic and Regulatory Aspects.”European Journal of Clinical Nutrition., U.S. National Library of Medicine, Apr. 1999, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10365981/.
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