Tag Archives: Ivor Goodbody

Ivor Goodbody in a recent tweet reminded me of an interesting nutrition science article.  Ian Spreadbury hypothesizes that carbohydrate density of modern foods may be the cause of obesity.  Refined sugars and grains—types of acellular carbohydrates—are  particularly bad offenders.

These acellular carbs may alter our gut microorganisms, leading to systemic inflammation and leptin resistance, etc.  Our Paleolithic ancestors had little access to acellular carbohydrates.

Read more about it in “Comparison with ancestral diets suggests dense acellular carbohydrates promote an inflammatory microbiota, and may be the primary dietary cause of leptin resistance and obesity,” in Diabetes, Metabolic Syndrome and Obesity: Targets and Therapy, 2012, vol. 5, pp. 175-189.

To reverse our modern obesity epidemic, we need better understanding of the underlying pathophysiology.

—Steve

PS:  For Spreadbury’s formal definition of acellular carbohydrates, see my long comment below.