Ketones, Insulin and the Physiology of Fat Cells

Dr. Ben Bikman is an Associate Professor of Physiology & Developmental Biology at Brigham Young University. He has a PhD in Bioenergetics and did his postdoctoral work in Cardiovascular and Metabolic Diseases such as obesity.

In this interview with Dr. Tommy Wood, MD, PhD, Ben talks about his recent tenureship and research on the metabolic effects of insulin and ketones on fat cells.

Also discussed are two schools of thought in obesity research and how both groups may be right about various aspects of weight loss.

As you might be able to tell, I struggled a bit to find a picture of Tommy in the lab to match Ben's. Props to Tommy for allowing me to use the pic on the left (taken in jest), I thought it too funny to go to waste.

Here’s the outline of this interview with Ben Bikman:

[00:01:59] Dr Ben Bikman recently made tenure.

[00:02:46] The tenureship process.

[00:04:14] Presentation: Insulin vs. Ketones - The Battle for Brown Fat by Dr Ben Binkman.

[00:05:16] Podcast: Recap: Icelandic Health Symposium 2017 and Satchidananda Panda.

[00:06:20] The Pubmed warrior; Ivor Cumins aka the The Fat Emperor.

[00:07:16] Publishing a book.

[00:07:44] Dr Jeff Gerber and Dr Rod Tayler organizers of Low Carb Breckenridge.

[00:09:40] Removing the invisible barrier between the scientists and the public.

[00:12:36] American Heart Association.

[00:13:01] Study: Hall, Kevin D., et al. "Energy expenditure and body composition changes after an isocaloric ketogenic diet in overweight and obese men." The American journal of clinical nutrition 104.2 (2016): 324-333.

[00:14:33] Calorie type is more important.

[00:14:58] Study: Walsh, C. O., Ebbeling, C. B., Swain, J. F., Markowitz, R. L., Feldman, H. A., & Ludwig, D. S. (2013). Effects of diet composition on postprandial energy availability during weight loss maintenance. PloS one, 8(3), e58172.

[00:15:58] The Biggest Loser.

[00:16:58] The importance of protein.

[00:18:22] Protein increases glucagon.

[00:20:16] Just eat real food.

[00:20:48] Ben's research on adipocytes, studies not completed yet.

[00:22:20] White vs brown fat.

[00:22:50] Uncoupling to create heat.

[00:24:18] Fat mass also changed.

[00:24:49] Study: Roberts, Megan N., et al. "A Ketogenic Diet Extends Longevity and Healthspan in Adult Mice." Cell Metabolism 26.3 (2017): 539-546.

[00:25:35] Study: Lim, Gareth E., et al. "14-3-3 [zeta] coordinates adipogenesis of visceral fat." Nature communications 6 (2015).

[00:27:15] Wasting away in T1D.

[00:27:35] Elliot Joslin of the Joslin Diabetes Center and Francis Benedict.

[00:28:55] Ketones can be insulinogenic.

[00:29:33] Study: Biden, Trevor J., and Keith W. Taylor. "Effects of ketone bodies on insulin release and islet-cell metabolism in the rat." Biochemical Journal 212.2 (1983): 371-377.

[00:30:12] Exogenous ketones and weight loss.

[00:30:59] Study: Holdsworth, David A., et al. "A ketone ester drink increases postexercise muscle glycogen synthesis in humans." Medicine and science in sports and exercise 49.9 (2017): 1789.

[00:33:16] Human clinical studies.

[00:37:26] Ben is not an advocate of chronic ketosis.

[00:39:17] Breakfast and lunch are easy to change.

[00:40:49] Study: (PURE) Dehghan, Mahshid, et al. "Associations of fats and carbohydrate intake with cardiovascular disease and mortality in 18 countries from five continents (PURE): a prospective cohort study." The Lancet(2017).

[00:43:43] Dr Ben Bikman on social media: Instagram, Facebook, Twitter.