If Carbohydrates Make Us Fat, Might They Also Be the Primary Cause of Chronic Disease?

Carbohydrates can make us fat by causing us to over secrete insulin and to store blood sugar as fat in our fat cells, according to the alternative theory about overweight, also know as the Lipophilia Hypothesis.

KEY POINT: Low carb diets appear to be able to treat many of the "diseases of civilization."

This view also posits that carbs cause an array of metabolic dysfunctions which in turn lead to everything from chronic inflammation to cancer to diabetes to heart disease. Moreover, carbs also create unwanted "gunk" in our blood, such as VLDL particles and advanced glycation end products, both of which have been implicated in disease and aging.

If Lipophilia is correct, then cutting carbs should not only lead to weight loss but also to a radical reduction in risk for numerous chronic ills.

Here's some evidence that supports this radical-sounding view:

1. A German doctor, Wolfgang Lutz, claims to have treated literally thousands of patients in Europe using carb restriction. In his book Leben Ohne Brot ("Life Without Bread") Dr. Lutz and his co-author, Dr. Christian B. Allan, detail what low carb nutrition is, why it works, and how they've used the approach to treat a host of diseases, including obesity, type II diabetes, insulin resistance, high glucose levels, heart disease, polycythemia, hypertension, uric acid and kidney stones, arteriosclerosis, and so on and so forth.

2. Science journalist Gary Taubes also argues for the carbohydrate/disease hypothesis in his book Good Calories Bad Calories. Taubes provides a relentlessly data-driven, deeply researched argument that carbohydrate restriction can treat and/or prevent cancer, diabetes, stroke, arteriosclerosis, heart disease, hypertension, overweight and obesity, and a plethora of other diseases and conditions.

3. Anecdotal, evidential, and theoretical evidence all appear to support the argument that cutting carbs can treat and/or prevent many of the dangerous diseases of our civilization.

4. Let's not forget the anthropological arguments. Indigenous cultures that eat diets low in refined sugars and carbs do not appear to get obese or to suffer from chronic diseases like diabetes and cancer at nearly the rate that we do. Read the accounts of Vilhjalmur Stefansson and Weston Price to learn more.