If gluttony is the culprit of adiposity is gourmet the panacea of health? A lesson from Indian cuisine

The life style ‘gluttony and sloth’ has become the central point of morbidity and the biochemical consequences of these are explained in the form of an extended arm of lipotoxicity resulting in hyperinsulinemia (1). It is suggested that certain selective activation of genes like proprotein convertase subtilin/kexin type 9(PCSK9) involved in LDL receptor metabolism could help eliminate gluttonous and slothful members of society. It is speculated that such an elimination would guarantee the youngest members of the society a fair share of the food available during periods of limited food supply. Society’s strength lies in its health and a young generation, which are human investments of a country’s well-being. In a world with an obesity pandemic adipose tissue has assumed a vital role in the understanding of the global phenomenon of adiposity in health and disease (2, 3). Obesity could be considered as a phenotypic expression of impending metabolic syndrome and it is associated with coronary artery disease (CAD), diabetes, and now non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). A scientific explanation was given in biochemical terms through the concept of ‘thrifty gene.’ The ‘thrifty gene’ concept explains the importance of adipocytes as storage depot of lipids to meet the fuel requirements of lipid-intolerant non-adipose tissues during starvation. During fuelsurplus periods adipose tissue could protect non-adipose tissue from lipotoxicity (i.e. the metabolic syndrome) (4, 5). This was explained in much simpler terms by an ancient Indian saying: