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(Ivanhoe Newswire) Scientists may have a better idea why obese people develop insulin resistance, a precursor to diabetes.
Because obese people store proteins called branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs) at much higher levels than non-obese people, the suspicion has been that these amino acids, when combined with a high-fat diet, contribute to insulin resistance.
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Now researchers from Duke University Medical Center have confirmed this in animal tests. They found the BCAA signature in obesity is made up of the branched-chain amino acids themselves, plus a cluster of several products related to the bodys breakdown processes for BCAA.
In the case of the amino acids, we also are finding increased levels of their metabolic breakdown products, which suggests the whole system for handling the amino acid metabolic process has been overloaded, senior author Christopher Newgard, Ph.D., of Duke University Medical Center, was quoted as saying. Our rat studies show that this overload causes changes at the cellular level that can lead to insulin resistance.
Researchers stress there is nothing wrong with getting protein from foods that are high in branched-chain amino acids as long as you do not eat more calories than you need. However, they say if you add a lot of unneeded protein to a fatty diet, that may cause problems.
The study found rats on a high-fat diet gained much more weight than those that ate BCAAs with high-fat food or ate standard chow. However, the rats that ate the high-fat diet with BCAA became as insulin resistant as rats who had a high-fat only diet, even though they werent eating as much.
The authors say their findings need to be confirmed in studies on humans before they can make any dietary recommendations.
SOURCE: Cell Metabolism, 2009;9:311-326
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