The purpose of this study was to determine changes in intramyocellular lipid (IMCL) content in the vastus lateralis of nondiabetic, physically fit males over 72 h of fasting. Six men, mean age 35 yr (range 23-55 yr), body mass index 23.7 kg/m2 (21.2-27.4 kg/m2), undertook a water-only fast for 84 h. Vastus lateralis IMCL content was determined using proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy after… Read More

BACKGROUND: Hypertension-related diseases are the leading causes of morbidity and mortality in industrially developed societies. Surprisingly, 68% of all mortality attributed to high blood pressure (BP) occurs with systolic BP between 120 and 140 mm Hg and diastolic BP below 90 mm Hg. Dietary and lifestyle modifications are effective in the treatment of… Read More

BACKGROUND: Hypertension-related diseases are the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in industrially developed societies. Although antihypertensive drugs are extensively used, dietary and lifestyle modifications also are effective in the treatment of patients with hypertension. One such lifestyle intervention is the use of medically… Read More

BACKGROUND: The effects of food restriction on energy metabolism have been under investigation for more than a century. Data obtained are conflicting and research has failed to provide conclusive results. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to test the hypothesis that in lean subjects under normal living conditions, short-term starvation leads to an increase in serum concentrations of… Read More

Despite extensive experimental studies on total starvation, many of the findings relating to protein, fat (plus ketone body), and carbohydrate metabolism remain confusing, although they become more consistent when considered in relation to the degree of initial obesity. During prolonged starvation, protein loss and percent energy derived from protein oxidation are 2- to 3-fold less in the… Read More

Glutamine is the most abundant amino acid in the human body and is involved in more metabolic processes than any other amino acid. Until recently, the understanding of many aspects of glutamine metabolism was based on animal and in vitro data. However, recent studies using isotopic and balance techniques have greatly advanced the understanding of glutamine metabolism in humans and its role in… Read More

The adaptation to fasting reduces muscle protein breakdown by switching from a carbohydrate to fat fuel economy in normal man. With the discovery of T3 and the observation that its formation from T4 was reduced significantly during starvation, it was proposed that T3 mediated many of these changes. To examine this possibility, otherwise healthy, obese subjects were fasted for 10 days and… Read More