Skip to content

The Lipid Cycle

Overview of The Lipid Cycle

The lipoproteins must deliver fatty nutrients to the tissues that need them, and then be removed from circulation (by the liver) when spent. The cycle is continual, with new nutrients entering into circulation by way of the liver, the skin, and many other tissues, on a continual basis. Major inputs come from the diet, and the ultimate disposal of broken-down fatty nutrients occurs with excretion into the bile. Because the flow of nutrients is continuous, the phases outlined below are broken into arbitrary points only for the sake of clarity.

Phase One

The small intestinal cells manufacture the very first lipoprotein particles that newly ingested fats will circulate within, called chylomicrons. Chylomicrons enter the bloodstream via the thoracic duct, which bypasses the liver to dump directly into the left subclavian vein. Sometimes the term nascent chylomicron is used to describe the first lipoproteins particle manufactured by the intestinal cells. When nascent chylomicrons circulate through the bloodstream they encounter HDL and acquire certain marker proteins called apoproteins, some investigators prefer to describe chylomicrons as particles containing these apoproteins exchanged with HDL. (Because the science is in flux, the names are changing.) Chylomicrons circulate throughout the bloodstream for several hours distributing fatty nutrients to the tissues that are in need and receptive, and acquiring apoprotein markers from HDL.

This article is continued below...(scroll down)
Kobe Bryant

It helped. I feel great.

"It’s helped. I feel great."

Kobe Bryant
NBA baskeball player
megyn kelly

This has been life changing

"Let me tell you this has been life-changing. I have all of her books, in audible and ebooks! I have gotten rid of all the hateful 8 oils. I have trained my body to eat its own previously toxic body fat. Download that pod it's a game changer!"

Megyn Kelly
Jesse Watters

Life changing

Deep Nutrition changed my life.

Jesse Watters
Fox News Primetime host

Saved my life

I would like to thank you for literally saving my life. Back in February, I had to be hospitalized while on vacation in Phoenix with an A1C of 11% and had to start taking 2 types of insulin and 2 other meds. I read the Fatburn Fix in April, and followed the program to a tee, and I’m down by 15 pounds, 6.8 A1C, and only one once weekly diabetes medicine. Prior to reading the book, it was almost impossible for me to lose weight as a diabetic. 

Leontyne Tompkins

I feel free

For the last month, I have really been reading all labels on everything. I have completely remove those 8 oils you talk about. I must tell you, I feel great! I have more energy and I am now 197 lbs (have always been around 205 to 210lbs). I eat potatoes with real butter, grass fed steak, pasta with the right toppings. I eat everything! I seem to crave less sugar. I love it! 

Robert Kirkendall

I feel so much better

I had terrible aches and pains everywhere in my body, my hands, shoulders and knees. I feel so much better and the way I feel is motivating me every day! Thank you

Mike Deb Wootan Burcin

Better than ever

I am an anesthesiologist in Orlando and a huge fan of both of your books! I have been incorporating your principles for the last 10 months and feel that my health is better than ever.

Marnie Robinson, MD

My allergies disappeared

The biggest difference for me (and a surprising one) is that my allergies have almost completely disappeared! This is a big deal for me, because I’ve had allergies most of my life and they have often affected what I do which is a teaching music in [a public school district].  In general, I feel much better and have more consistent energy throughout the day.

Erica Turrell

Heart Palpitations have Stopped

I’ve lost 20+ pounds (also fasting 16-24 hours daily) and haven’t had palpitations except for one occasion — I had a mini bag of Fritos for the first time in July. And, I feel better now on a daily basis than I ever did all through college.

Mike Wright
Deep Nutrition and Fatburn Fix reader
Mitzi Wilkinson Champion

I’ve lost over 50 pounds

I’ve lost over 50 pounds. I’m 56 years old. Cutting processed food and unhealthy fats from my diet was one of the first things I did on my health recovery journey...I went cold turkey off the bad oils. Emptied my pantry into the trash and just started eating real food

Mitzi Wilkinson Champion

Knowledge I didn’t know I needed

Your Fatburn Fix book is amazing, my friend. Thank you! I’m an Functional Nutritional Therapy Practitioner and I know my stuff. This is the extra layer of knowledge I didn’t know I needed. Well done!

Jennifer Dillman
Fatburn Fix reader

Lost a solid 20 lbs and my bloodwork is great

I have lost a solid 20 lbs and my bloodwork (after 3 months of eating your way) was even better! I was metabolically healthy (per your book) before I read your book, but barely. Lowering my weight, sealed the deal! I have been talking about you and your book to anyone who will listen...Thank you for all you’ve done and what you continue to do! You are changing lives for the better!

Missy Cramer
FatBurn Fix reader

Lost 20 lbs I could never shed

I love your Fatburn Fix!  Has helped me so so much!  I have had the dreaded weight all my life - 20 or so pounds I could never shed.  I have lost that now. I only eat 2 meals a day lunch and dinner with a glass of milk or cappuccino around 4 to hold me over. No snacking and not bad oils.  It has been the key to unlocking my fatburn.  I work out in the am and believe I am burning fat for energy not from food!

Lauren Smith

I feel great

My waist is four inches smaller. I feel great and many of the minor aches and pains that I had (knees and lower back) are gone. Also, my muscle tone is amazing, even though I have not increased my workout routine.

Richard Janelle
Completed Dr Cate's online course
Kent Matthes

The go-to for strength and conditioning coaches

Whenever I advise my clients about eating to perform I go straight to what I have learned from Dr. Cate. Her book Deep Nutrition has become the go-to for strength and conditioning coaches across the country.

Kent Matthes
Major League Baseball Agent with WME Sports
Ken D Berry

Dismantles the lie

Dr. Cate dismantles the lie that seed oils are healthy, which may the biggest lie about nutrition and health because it’s so insidious.  

Ken D Berry, MD
Author of Lies My Doctor Told Me
Dr. Drew Pinsky

She knows the chemistry

Dr. Cate alerts us to the harms of seed oils and she’s convincing because she knows the chemistry better than anyone.

Dr. Drew Pinskey, MD
Globally recognized internal medicine and addiction medicine specialist, media personality, LoveLine Host, and New York Times bestselling author
Kelly Starrett

No one is better at communicating nutritional truth

Dr. Cate has had the single greatest impact on how we talk to people about fueling for both performance or durability. While we all are a little unique, the foundational principles of human nutrition are immutable. If you are looking to create a more durable, resilient body, no one is better at communicating nutritional truth than Dr. Cate.

Dr. Kelly Starrett
Physiotherapist coach and New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestselling author
Brian Lenkzes

Highly recommend The Fatburn Fix

Dr. Shanahan has had a significant impact on my practice of medicine. I am known as a Low Carb Doctor, but I never really appreciated the negative effects of processed seed oils on the health of my patients. I highly recommend The Fatburn Fix to my patients and have a loaner copy in my waiting room. It is amazing how quickly blood sugars and overall health improves with cutting seed oils. It is not just about the carbs!

Dr. Brian Lenkzes, MD
CEO of LowCarbMD San Diego, co-host of Low Carb MD Podcast and host of Life's Best Medicine Podcast
Chris Kaman

Respected in the sports world

Dr. Cate reordered my diet when I was with the L.A. Lakers, and the benefits, for me personally, were felt immediately and have served me to this day. I’ve come to take real food so seriously I started a small family farm. I know of no M.D./nutritionist more respected in the sports world than Dr. Cate Shanahan.

Chris Kaman
NBA Player
Mark Sisson

Brought seed oil issue front and center

Cate brought the seed oil issue front and center. Healthy fats matter. So much so that I created an entire product line to swap out bad fats with good.

Mark Sisson
Founding Father of the Primal/Paleo Movement
Dallas Hartwig

Optimal health starts with food

If you want to understand how optimal health starts with food, start with Dr. Cate. Her book Deep Nutrition leaves you with an appreciation of the profound relationship between our genes and the planet, inspiring us to be good shepherds of both.

Dallas Hartwig
Attribution author of The Whole 30
Dwight Howard

Helped me with endurance

Deep Nutrition really helped me with endurance. I started to feel better as a player. I was able to run more, I was able to be more active …and I just decided to keep going with it to this day.

Dwight Howard
NBA Player
Paul Grewal

Silver bullet for me

Dr Cate’s teachings helped me lose 60 pounds like it was nothing. It was like a silver bullet for me.

Paul Grewal, MD 
Dr Grewal Internal Medicine, MD, author of Genius Foods
Joesph Mercola

Radically improve your health…

Dr. Shanahan has provided a solid reference that deserves a place in the library of anyone who is seriously interested in nutrition. Her perspective on the vital role that healthy fat has in our diet is novel and, if implemented, can radically improve your health.

Dr. Joseph Mercola
Author of Fat for Fuel and Founder of Mercola.com
Dave Aspery

Pull up a chair…

I have based my work on the idea that getting the right kinds of healthy fats into your body and avoiding the worst fats is essential to optimal health. I've interviewed dozens of the world's top experts about this, and I know of no one who speaks more eloquently on this topic than Dr Cate. If she’s talking fats, pull up a chair. Take notes.

Dave Asprey
Author of the Bulletproof Diet

The key to unlocking my fatburn

I love your Fatburn Fix!  Has helped me so so much!  I have had the dreaded weight all my life - 20 or so pounds I could never shed.  I have lost that now. I only eat 2 meals a day lunch and dinner with a glass of milk or cappuccino around 4 to hold me over. No snacking and not bad oils.  It has been the key to unlocking my fatburn.  

Lauren Smith

Saved my life

I would like to thank you for literally saving my life. Back in February, I had to be hospitalized while on vacation in Phoenix with an A1C of 11% and had to start taking 2 types of insulin and 2 other meds. I read the Fatburn Fix in April, and followed the program to a tee, and I’m down by 15 pounds, 6.8 A1C, and only one once weekly diabetes medicine. 

Leontyne Tompkins

> Tears of joy

 I'm crying tears of joy and appreciation for all you've done for me and my health! Without Deep Nutrition and Fatburn Fix, I would literally still be in the vicious cycle I'd been fighting all my life! In a nutshell - I am no longer a compulsive overeating addict suffering under the crushing 'thumb' of all food and alcohol.     

Penni Wicks

 

Phase Two

Spent chylomicrons, also called chylomicron remnants, enter the liver carrying their new apoprotein markers presumably to identify them as non-foreign material, as well as to direct them into the correct section of the liver for further processing. The liver repackages useful fatty nutrients for the second phase of circulation, as well as adding some of its own newly manufactured or stored nutrients. The particle exits the liver with new apoprotein biomarkers, and at this point it is called Very Low Density Lipoprotein, or VLDL.

Phase Three

VLDL circulates through the bloodstream and, analogous to the process with chylomicrons, distributes fatty materials to the tissues that are in need and receptive. And just as with the chylomicrons, as they circulate they encounter HDL and acquire apoprotein surface markers. At this point the terminology becomes muddy. Some investigators describe the shrunken, spent VLDL particle as Intermediate Density Lipoprotein and others describe them as Low Density Lipoprotein. Again, the science is in flux and clouded by emotionality and a particularly unscientific set of assumptions, as the terms “good” and “bad” cholesterol suggest.

Vascular Disease

When dietary imbalances (such as low intakes of omega-3 fatty acids, excess intakes of hydrogenation made trans fats), smoking, vitamin deficiencies, genetic disease or other insult intervenes in the healthy role that plays the lipid cycle, some lipoprotein particles may start playing a deleterious role in health. Some may generate inflammatory processes at the endothelial lining of the blood vessels as well as inside the artery walls themselves. The extent and duration of an individuals inflammatory response, coupled with the underlying support strength of the vascular wall, determine whether the artery becomes scarred with atherosclerotic plaque, and determines the thrombotic potential of that plaque.

Controversy

Many lipid scientists began their career with the understanding that cholesterol molecules are inherently dangerous and that the modern diet is unusually high in cholesterol, hence modern cardiovascular diseases are unusually prevalent among industrialized nations. As the science has become more sophisticated, we now understand that native cholesterol is not disease causing, and that oxidized cholesterol and other oxidized fats are the important class of fat-related factors, with other factors involved in atherosclerotic vascular disease being cigarette smoking, genetics, stress, and nutrient deficiencies, specifically low intakes of B-vitamins that allow a toxic agent, homocysteine, to be distributed by lipoproteins. However, the older belief that cholesterol is inherently bad still permeates the medical literature. This leaves us with a dichotomy of viewpoints and presents a significant barrier to progress in this field.

Source Material:

Textbook of Biochemistry With Clinical Correlations, Devlin. Fifth ed. Harrison’s Principles of Internal Medicine, 14th edition.

With over two decades of clinical experience and expertise in genetic and biochemical research, Dr. Cate can help you to reverse metabolic disease and reshape your body.

This Post Has One Comment

  1. […] get your total cholesterol under 200, or any other arbitrary number. The goal is to make sure your cholesterol metabolism is running smoothly. If you don’t smoke, and your LDL to HDL ratio is less than three to one and […]

Note: Please do not share personal information with a medical question in our comment section. Comments containing this content will be deleted due to HIPAA regulations.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Back To Top
Search