3093: Carbs and Insulin: Are They to Blame? By Sam Lynch of Fitnitiative on Managing Overall Energy Balance

Optimal Health Daily - Fitness and Nutrition

Optimal Living Daily LLC

Nutrition, Fitness, Health & Fitness

4.5 • 677 Ratings

🗓️ 23 August 2025

⏱️ 11 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Discover all of the podcasts in our network, search for specific episodes, get the Optimal Living Daily workbook, and learn more at: OLDPodcast.com. Episode 3093: Carbohydrates and insulin have been unfairly painted as the main villains in weight gain, but as Sam Lynch explains, their roles are far more nuanced. Insulin’s fat-storage effects are short-lived, storing carbs as fat is surprisingly inefficient, and calorie surplus, not carbs alone, is the real driver of long-term fat gain. Understanding these mechanisms helps shift the focus from demonizing food groups to managing overall energy balance. Read along with the original article(s) here: https://fitnitiative.co.uk/2023/02/08/carbs-and-insulin-are-they-to-blame/ Quotes to ponder: "Storing carbs as fat is difficult. It’s an expensive process called De Novo Lipogenesis." "Acute fat storage doesn’t equate to total fat gain if you’re not in a calorie surplus." "If carbs are so bad because they raise insulin, then what about protein? That raises insulin too." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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0:00.0	If you're in traffic right now, look around. You'll see empty car seats. Nobody loves sitting in traffic. We don't. And neither do ESSO. Every filled passenger seat in this jam could mean one less car on the road. And ESO want to help with that. Carpooling could mean less traffic. Split fuel bills. And new friends. Are we friends? I added you on social media. We don't have social media. We're bobbleheads. No, I've got social media.
0:23.6	More journeys made together. And new friends. Oh, we're friends. Oh, I added to you on social media. We don't have social media.
0:21.2	We're bobbleheads.
0:22.1	Oh, I've got social media.
0:23.5	More journeys made together.
0:25.4	That's thoughtful driving.
0:27.5	S.O.
0:28.3	See sO.com.uk.
0:30.7	This is Optimal Health Daily.
0:33.1	Carbs and insulin are they to blame?
0:35.4	By Sam Lynch of FitNitiitiative.co.uk.
0:39.8	And I'm Dr. Neil Malik.
0:41.5	Hey there, happy Saturday. Thank you so much for being here, and welcome back to Optimal Health Daily,
0:47.2	where I act as your narrator of the best health and fitness blogs all for free.
0:52.4	But let's keep this intro nice and short so we can get right to today's post and start
0:57.0	optimizing your life.
1:02.7	Carbs and insulin are they to blame by Sam Lynch of Fitinitiative.co.uk.
1:10.8	Insulin is a hormone that is most known for controlling blood sugar levels.
1:15.4	When we eat food, particularly carbohydrates, our blood sugar levels increase.
1:20.6	As our blood sugar increases, insulin is released to push glucose into cells
1:25.1	to be used as energy or stored as fat for later.
1:29.0	Insulin also shuttles proteins and fats into cells.
	...

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