The Fat Switch

by Richard J. Johnson

To conclude, uric acid should be viewed as a “mayday” signal by the animal under conditions of starvation or stress.74 Uric acid functions by acting on the mitochondria energy factories where it causes oxidative stress and disrupts energy metabolism. The result is an increase in fat accumulation, insulin resistance, a rise in blood pressure, the stimulation of inflammation and activation of the immune system. These findings are similar to what animals undergo when they activate the switch to maximize fat storage. These findings may also remind you of the metabolic syndrome that affects over one fourth of the American population today. So this raises important questions. If uric acid is involved in fat accumulation, is there evidence that uric acid levels cycle in animals in which obesity is tightly regulated? Could uric acid be involved in the metabolic switch that animals use to become fat or lean?