616.398 – ohWow

Sugar gives the body energy. But in the bloodstream, too much of it behaves more like a problem that needs urgent control. Every time we eat carbohydrates — from soft drinks and pastries to bowls of rice or large servings of fufu — the body quickly breaks them down into glucose. That glucose enters the bloodstream, and almost immediately, the body scrambles to clear it out. The hormone responsible for this cleanup job is insulin. Insulin works like a key. It unlocks cells so glucose can move from the blood into muscles, the liver, and other tissues where it can be used or stored. When this system works well, blood sugar rises after a meal and then gradually returns to normal. Trouble begins when the body is asked to repeat this process constantly. Many people snack throughout t...

“Do you want to lose weight, or do you want to lose fat?” It sounds like the same thing, but the difference could determine whether someone ends up healthier — or simply lighter on a bathroom scale. For decades, weight loss advice has focused on one number: calories. Burn more than you eat and the scale drops. That formula works, at least temporarily. Many people slash their food intake, avoid carbohydrates, and spend hours doing cardio. Within weeks, the scale moves. Clothes may even fit looser. But what the scale doesn’t show is what kind of weight is actually disappearing. When calories are cut too aggressively and exercise revolves around endless cardio, the body often breaks down muscle along with fat. Muscle is a metabolically active tissue — it helps the body burn calories ...

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