Big Science Small Pod

Can fat fight diabetes?

Conventional wisdom tells us that, to be healthy, we should exercise and limit fatty foods. Exercise helps us lose weight, build muscle, strengthens our hearts and boosts how we take in and use oxygen for energy — one of the strongest predictors of health and longevity.

But people with high blood sugar often don’t enjoy those benefits from exercise, especially the ability to use oxygen efficiently.

For them, a new study suggests the answer could be eating not less fat, but more.

Exercise medicine scientist Sarah Lessard explains her new study that examines how the keto diet might help people with diabetes and high blood sugar in the latest episode of Big Science Small Pod.

Lessard is an associate professor at Virginia Tech's Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC in Roanoke. Her lab in the FBRI Center for Exercise Medicine Research workes to determine the molecular mechanisms behind the powerful clinical benefits of exercise in the prevention and treatment of chronic disease.