The Genius Life 124: Why We Get Fat, How to Fix Insulin Resistance, IGF-1 and Cancer | Benjamin Bikman, PhD
12 snips
Aug 19, 2020 
Benjamin Bikman, PhD, discusses the relationship between fat cells and insulin resistance, the consequences of insulin resistance in chronic diseases, the link between IGF-1, insulin, and cancer, and optimizing protein consumption for growth.
AI Snips
Chapters
Transcript
Episode notes
How A Paper Changed His Career
- Benjamin Bikman found a pivotal study showing fat cells release pro-inflammatory hormones, which changed his research focus.
- That discovery led him to study how fat-driven inflammation promotes insulin resistance and chronic disease.
Fat Cells Start The Insulin-Resistance Cascade
- Fat tissue often drives whole-body insulin resistance because hypertrophic fat cells become inflamed and leak fatty acids.
- Those leaked fats form ceramides that spread insulin resistance to liver, muscle, and brain.
Two Very Different Ways Fat Tissue Grows
- Fat tissue can grow by hypertrophy (bigger cells) or hyperplasia (more cells), producing different metabolic outcomes.
- Hyperplastic growth often preserves insulin sensitivity while hypertrophy drives inflammation and metabolic disease.