Weight Gain May Not Be A Bad Thing

[stargazer1111]

vitamin A is not accutane. its a shame your ten graduate degrees couldnt teach you that @stargazer1111

Only a moron would read what I wrote in this thread and think I claimed that Vitamin A is Accutane.

 

[Murtaza]

Only a moron would read what I wrote in this thread and think I claimed that Vitamin A is Accutane.

take a chill pill buddy. i would argue with you but your condescending attitude makes me not want to. hope you have a good one

 

[stargazer1111]

...

 

[lvysaur]

There are plenty of benefits to being overweight, and even obese in some cases. It's not ideal, but it's also probably an adaptive mechanism of some sort. Don't let the herd tell you otherwise, it has nothing to do with calorie consumption.

Thymus Function: Higher In The Young/fat/female/Asian
People With The Lowest Overall Mortality Are Overweight

 

[opson123]

Nvm.

 

[LLight]

Knockout of Cyp26a1 and Cyp26b1 during post-natal life causes reduced lifespan, dermatitis, splenomegaly and systemic inflammation in mice

"In adults, inhibition of Cyp26a1 and Cyp26b1 increases atRA concentrations and signaling. However, post-natal knockout of Cyp26a1 does not cause a severe phenotype. We hypothesized that Cyp26b1 is the main atRA clearing Cyp in post-natal mammals. [...]
There were significant changes in vitamin A homeostasis demonstrating the paramount role of Cyp26b1 in regulating retinoid homeostasis in post-natal life."​

Altered Gene Expression in Circulating Immune Cells Following a 24-Hour Passive Dehydration

"Significantly upregulated genes after 24 hours of fluid restriction:
CYP26B1 -> log2FoldChange = 7.72
p- value (adjusted) = 0.00021828"​

But in immune cells, not in the liver.

Also:

Ethanol enhances retinoic acid metabolism into polar metabolites in rat liver via induction of cytochrome P4502E1

Interestingly, the enzyme CYP2E1 could be upregulated by restricting water: Regulation of Cytochrome P450 2E1 Under Hypertonic Environment Through TonEBP in Human Hepatocytes - PubMed

CYP3A4 enzymes also seems to be increased by water restriction (1, 2) and could be involved in retinoic acid metabolism:

"CYP3A4 is most likely the enzyme that is responsible for the increased clearance and decreased circulating at-RA concentrations in adults undergoing chronic treatment with the enzyme inducing antiepileptic drugs phenytoin and carbamazepine [99]. In infants and children treated with phenytoin, phenobarbital, carbamazepine and ethosuximide, the plasma concentrations of at-RA were more than 70% lower than in untreated children, suggesting that these drugs significantly induce at-RA metabolism [100]." (The role of CYP26 enzymes in retinoic acid clearance)​

Could a water restriction/dry fasting habit be helpful regarding vitamin A metabolism issues (e.g. hypervitaminosis A)?

 

[Fidelio]

I have done plenty of "research." I hold 3 science degrees, two of which are biochemical degrees, one of which is a graduate degree and I am currently working on 3 graduate degrees in metabolism.

Also, I do not think you understand the scientific definition of the word "theory" based on your use of it here.

What sort of practitioner are you?

My man you need a refund on your 3 graduate degrees in metabolism if you don’t think it’s possible to be in a healthy weight range without having elevated cortisol.

 

[schultz]

There are plenty of benefits to being overweight, and even obese in some cases. It's not ideal, but it's also probably an adaptive mechanism of some sort. Don't let the herd tell you otherwise, it has nothing to do with calorie consumption.

Thymus Function: Higher In The Young/fat/female/Asian
People With The Lowest Overall Mortality Are Overweight

Being overweight has nothing to do with calorie consumption?

 

[stargazer1111]

Double post

 

[stargazer1111]

My man you need a refund on your 3 graduate degrees in metabolism if you don’t think it’s possible to be in a healthy weight range without having elevated cortisol.

Please quote back to me where I made this claim.

 

[stargazer1111]

There is also some evidence that vitamin E speeds up the clearance of excess retinol. Vitamin E and vitamin A seem to compete with each other. In fact, hypervitaminosis E has been cited as a potential cure for hypervitaminosis A with little side effect in some animal studies but I have not seen evidence directly in humans.

EDIT: This was a reply to LLight but the quote won't show for some reason. @LLight

 

[LLight]

There is also some evidence that vitamin E speeds up the clearance of excess retinol. Vitamin E and vitamin A seem to compete with each other. In fact, hypervitaminosis E has been cited as a potential cure for hypervitaminosis A with little side effect in some animal studies but I have not seen evidence directly in humans.

EDIT: This was a reply to LLight but the quote won't show for some reason. @LLight

Your post reminds me that I had read that vitamin E could be linked to CYP3A4 enzyme, for example: Adverse effects of vitamin E by induction of drug metabolism

"Genes which have been shown to be induced by α-tocopherol in vitro and in vivo, although not yet in humans, are genes encoding drug-metabolizing enzymes, like CYP3A4 which metabolizes 60% of all the prescription drugs"​

I think it was not working because quotes are not displayed in quotes, and my post was only containing a quote.

 

[stargazer1111]

Your post reminds me that I had read that vitamin E could be linked to CYP3A4 enzyme, for example: Adverse effects of vitamin E by induction of drug metabolism

"Genes which have been shown to be induced by α-tocopherol in vitro and in vivo, although not yet in humans, are genes encoding drug-metabolizing enzymes, like CYP3A4 which metabolizes 60% of all the prescription drugs"​

I think it was not working because quotes are not displayed in quotes, and my post was only containing a quote.

Fascinating. This could be part of the mechanism behind vitamin E countering hypervitaminosis A. Vitamin E may then be beneficial in drug overdose scenarios as well.

It also protects the retinol from improper oxidation when the retinol is outside of the retinol binding protein. Improper oxidation of the retinol is really why excess vitamin A causes damage. If it isn't inside the protective environment of the beta barrel retinol binding protein, it will react with anything (especially redox metals like iron and oxygen). Vitamin E stops this reaction, similarly to its effects on polyunsaturated fats.

 

[Korven]

@stargazer1111 If I remember correctly in one of your posts you mentioned that starch triggered some sort of mania along with hypersexuality/cravings for porn. Does starch still cause these same issues for you? And are you still on a starch-free diet to prevent this from happening?

I am curious because looking back at my life I can detect similar patterns. When I was relying on a lot starch for my calories I would often find myself in a very anti-social, schizophrenic kind of state where I often would have very strong cravings for porn. Sometimes I would just walk around town not knowing what to do with myself because I felt so strange and out of place. I wonder if this has to do with estrogen/adrenaline/serotonin from excessive gut fermentation and/or gut dysbiosis.

 

[lvysaur]

Being overweight has nothing to do with calorie consumption?

For most people, no it doesn't. Obviously if you eat more calories in the same context, you will gain weight. But there are overweight people who eat 800 calories a day and lean people who eat 2500.

 

[stargazer1111]

@stargazer1111 If I remember correctly in one of your posts you mentioned that starch triggered some sort of mania along with hypersexuality/cravings for porn. Does starch still cause these same issues for you? And are you still on a starch-free diet to prevent this from happening?

I am curious because looking back at my life I can detect similar patterns. When I was relying on a lot starch for my calories I would often find myself in a very anti-social, schizophrenic kind of state where I often would have very strong cravings for porn. Sometimes I would just walk around town not knowing what to do with myself because I felt so strange and out of place. I wonder if this has to do with estrogen/adrenaline/serotonin from excessive gut fermentation and/or gut dysbiosis.

My thoughts on this subject are constantly evolving, so always keep that in mind. I go back and forth with starch. As recently as my earlier replies in this thread which were perhaps a little on the hostile side, I was eating potato starch. However, I've removed it again as I think it was making me overly aggressive and anxious/paranoid.

Starch is a double-edged sword for me. The high vitamin A ketogenic diet I ate produced a mild level of memory loss and I was not astute enough at the time to attribute it to the vitamin A. Only after taking the 100,000 IU daily for 6 weeks in the spring of 2017 and suffering extreme memory loss did I realize it was the vitamin A that caused it. Ever since then, if I don't get the diet just right, the memory loss comes back (albeit the severity of it is lessening as the years go on, so I suspect if I am vitamin A free for long enough it will completely go away regardless of what I eat). Starch seems to make it go away while no starch seems to bring it back. Low-fat also seems to bring it back so I try to get a certain amount of fat daily. I'm not sure why this is. I believe it's connected to the gastrointestinal damage that the vitamin A (especially the high dose supplement in 2017) caused.

There is a case study (attached) of twins who were given too much vitamin A for long periods by their parents. One twin died. The other twin was found to still have elevated vitamin A levels years after following a strict zero-vitamin A diet. It has been exactly 3 years for me, so I suspect that my vitamin A levels are still too high and it will require a much longer period of time before they drop low enough for the damage to completely reverse. It's been gradually reversing bit by bit over time. First, the serious hot nodules on the thyroid went away. Then the thyroid hormone levels normalized. Then, the tachycardia went away later etc... It's a progressive, long recovery.

As the paper points out, some people recover much more quickly which points to the variable tolerance of retinol intake in the population and is a point I brought up in an earlier reply. Some people may do just fine with 100,000 IU per day while others may die because their body stores it and hangs on to it too efficiently.

 

[Vegancrossfit]

For most people, no it doesn't. Obviously if you eat more calories in the same context, you will gain weight. But there are overweight people who eat 800 calories a day and lean people who eat 2500.

they didn’t become overweight eating 800kcals

 

[animalcule]

I find this all very interesting as I experienced something (sort of) similar. I dieted down to my lowest weight on zerocarb though, not low fat. I’ve since rebounded up 40 lbs.

There is definitely something to set point theory, as my appetite when eating mostly unrestricted tends to pull me towards about 160 lbs (30-40 lbs overweight for my height). I too have been overweight since I was 8-10 years old, following a very stressful change that led to an extremely high stress childhood, for most of which I was obese.

I’ve since decided to restrict only those foods that I know cause me acute negative symptoms, but I do not restrict calories or quantities. My appetite has leveled off somewhat (though processed foods do ramp it up, so I tend to avoid those).

I don’t wish to be overweight, and yet all previous attempts to lose weight have led to anxiety, fatigue, disordered eating behavior, etc. So now I am attempting to address my weight through eating to satiety, walking (5-6 miles a day), and stress reduction activities.

It’s also extremely interesting to read that someone else also experienced the starch/hyper sexuality/porn connection. I’ve been practically asexual for most of my adult life (assumed it has to do with poor health and hormone dysregulation). But now that I’m back eating more starch, my libido has ramped WAY up. Only it doesn’t feel ... good haha. It’s sort of an antisocial sexuality almost. When I limit or eliminate starch it goes away. When I add starch back, it ramps way back up. I’ve often wondered if the problem is just that I don’t have a good outlet (ie a partner) to release this energy, and so it becomes a more twisted, self focused (porn) type of sexual energy because it’s so constrained.

I can’t eliminate starch completely though. Not sure what to do. I’m convinced something is off in my gut, and that a better course of action is to strengthen digestion rather than eliminate more foods.

 

[Cinnara]

I am not an expert here. And I certainly don't want to offend anyone. But the weight gain/weight loss aspect of this thread interest me. I have been confused by an aspect of my own health -- or lack there of. My health as an adult was at it's best when I was also at my heaviest. By anyone's standards I was morbidly obese. But I walked miles every day. Once I measured out a long walk I took just to clear my head and think -- and I had walked 7 miles with no sore muscles. I used a wood stove for heat and chopped wood in great quantity. I worked hard and played harder.

Then I started trying to eat healthier. I ate mostly meat, cooked veggies, dairy and even some sugar in my tea. I did not calorie count. I just ate till I was not hungry.

But the health problems I had in my teens and early adult life returned. That was about 20 years ago and I have never been able to return to the health I had when I was fat with a capitol F.

At this point I have even tried overeating. But I just cannot eat that much any more. This all seems strange and confusing to me. Everyone says weighing less (within reason) is good. But I think in some cases it might not be.

 

[animalcule]

I am not an expert here. And I certainly don't want to offend anyone. But the weight gain/weight loss aspect of this thread interest me. I have been confused by an aspect of my own health -- or lack there of. My health as an adult was at it's best when I was also at my heaviest. By anyone's standards I was morbidly obese. But I walked miles every day. Once I measured out a long walk I took just to clear my head and think -- and I had walked 7 miles with no sore muscles. I used a wood stove for heat and chopped wood in great quantity. I worked hard and played harder.

Then I started trying to eat healthier. I ate mostly meat, cooked veggies, dairy and even some sugar in my tea. I did not calorie count. I just ate till I was not hungry.

But the health problems I had in my teens and early adult life returned. That was about 20 years ago and I have never been able to return to the health I had when I was fat with a capitol F.

At this point I have even tried overeating. But I just cannot eat that much any more. This all seems strange and confusing to me. Everyone says weighing less (within reason) is good. But I think in some cases it might not be.

Very interesting! Thank you for your post.

Can I ask if there have been any major traumatic events or stressors in your life? And when you say you were heavy, about how much heavier than average were you?

also, what foods were you eating before you decided to eat healthy?

How much weight did you lose and did you keep it off? Maybe I misread your post but I’m not sure if you’re saying you’re still thin now or just not as fat as before, but the health problems have returned.