Greentrees8733:
TL;DR: could you further explain your point about blood triglycerides?
Sorry for the confusion! I wasn’t trying to discuss ectopic liver fat per se, just that another user made a similar point about it that I was trying to make about blood triglycerides—namely, that it can’t account for weight gain *after* the cessation of HC because it would already have been counted.
I’m confused because, by my reading of your comment about blood triglycerides, you were speculating that they were responsible for delayed weight gain after stopping HC; that doesn’t *seem* like a point you’d make, so I assume I must be misunderstanding it.
Sure!
I didn't got all that far into it because it's a complex topic and I didn't feel like typing all that out. But I can give you the quick and dirty.
You are right that the triglycerides alone do not cause the delayed weight gain. Rather, they are just the starting point. As your body breaks down the triglycerides, you get something called glycerol. It's an alcohol that is also used as a sweetener.
Glycerol is a normal part of the fat metabolic process, but if the levels get too high, it can cause pancreas inflammation and insulinemia (elevated levels of insulin).
One aspect of weight gain is triggering an insulin response. So as the triglycerides break down and release more glycerol, the pancreas will create more insulin. This elevated insulin encourages the body to take the food you eat and convert more of it to fat.
Keep in mind that a lot of gainers don't have the best diets already, so this adds to it.
Please understand that elevated insulin levels do not mean someone has high blood sugar. This doesn't necessarily mean heavy cream is bad for diabetics. The effects of diary on diabetics is not well understood, and there is a lot of conflicting evidence. You can talk to 10 different doctors on the matter and get 10 different answers.