Summary
Brad Marshall explains why olive oil might not be the health food it's marketed as. He discusses how certain fats signal "winter is coming" to our metabolism and why this may not be advantageous for modern humans seeking longevity.
Key Points
- Why olive oil may not be optimal for health
- How fats affect metabolic signaling
- Brad's personal weight loss journey
- What European diets actually look like
- Comparing different oils and fats
- The role of saturated vs unsaturated fats
Key Moments
Torpor theory: olive oil signals winter to your body and activates fat storage
Brad Marshall presents the torpor hypothesis of obesity, arguing that mammalian metabolic syndrome is analogous to pre-hibernation fattening. He traces the evolutionary signal through echidnas, the oldest living mammals, which eat ants high in monounsaturated fats (oleic acid) before hibernation. As animals move away from the equator, their food sources shift from saturated to monounsaturated fat. Oleic acid activates lipogenic enzymes, PPARalpha, and endocannabinoid signaling, all of which promote fat storage.
"I've been arguing that an analogy for human obesity and human metabolic syndrome is this idea of mammalian torpor."
Glycine counters BCAA-driven insulin resistance in metabolically broken people
Brad Marshall explains his emergence diet based on collagen and gelatin (broth). In some people, metabolism shifts to a torpor-like state where branched-chain amino acids cannot be properly broken down, contributing to insulin resistance. Glycine appears to counter-regulate this effect. BCAAs themselves are fine and even thermogenic in people who can metabolize them efficiently, but for those in a metabolically dysfunctional state, glycine from collagen-rich foods helps restore balance.
"they seem to be counter-regulated with glycine. And glycine can actually help you to get out of that."
SCD1 knockout mice can't get fat: removing the enzyme that makes monounsaturated fat boosts metabolism 40%
Marshall presents the SCD1 gene, which converts saturated fats to monounsaturated fats. Mice with this gene knocked out have metabolic rates 40% higher than normal and cannot gain fat. In feeding studies, rats fed olive oil had the highest expression of lipogenic enzymes in their liver compared to beef tallow or sunflower oil. Oleic acid also activates SREBP, the master lipogenic transcription factor, and prevents breakdown of endocannabinoids, creating a multi-level positive feedback loop promoting fat accumulation.
"if you take an SCD1 deficient mice or a mouse or a SCD1 knockout mouse, they have super high. Their metabolic rates are like 40% higher than a normal mouse."
