Switching off one key gene in the liver can virtually halt the conversion of carbohydrates into body fat, a U.S. study suggests.
While the SCD-1 gene exists in every cell in the body, the University of Wisconsin research says its specific actions in the liver are essential for the production of body fat from high carbohydrate intakes â?? a primary source of the obesity epidemic sweeping the globe.
“I would say it is a switch-off gene,” says James Ntambi, a biochemist at the Madison school and the lead author of the study in mice.