Research

Hormonal

Glucose and insulin directly regulate fat oxidation by inhibiting the entry of long-chain fatty acids into the mitochondria, independent of plasma fatty acid availability.

High carbohydrate intake combined with insulin secretion can directly shut down fat oxidation in muscles, even if you are not eating fat. This happens because insulin and glucose inhibit the transport of fat into the mitochondria where it is burned. To maximize fat oxidation, one must manage carbohydrate intake to avoid high insulin spikes, as simply eating low-fat does not guarantee fat burning if insulin levels are elevated.

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We conclude that glucose and/or insulin determine fatty acid oxidation by controlling the rate of long-chain fatty acid entrance into the mitochondria.
Labros S. Sidossis et al. · Journal of Clinical Investigation · 1996

Why this rating

Controlled human clamp study with direct measurement of oxidation rates and intracellular metabolites.

Source

Glucose plus insulin regulate fat oxidation by controlling the rate of fatty acid entry into the mitochondria.

Labros S. Sidossis et al. · Journal of Clinical Investigation · 1996

DOI 10.1172/jci119034

mechanism_only · n=7Cited 233×
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DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10

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