I amend my explanation of the whoosh to say that when fat cells are filled with water they collapse but remain.

This subject is extremely fascinating. There are many studies showing that increased cell receptivity to insulin greatly reduces cell size and there is a study that destruction of the blood vessels serving fat cells causes the fat cells to die. When you lose weight, a lot of weight, don't you lose the blood vessels that serviced that lost weight? What happens to them? Do they die, shrink or what? Perhaps, in the short term they disappear as smaller cells require less blood? What happens in the long term?

Also, as you've noted, studies show that cells can be caused to die through application of drugs, supplements and hormones. So fat cells can die. And who takes more supplements than many of us on the board? There are also studies showing that upon weight reduction fat disappears from around internal organs and bone marrow. Where does it go? There are no long term studies following people who have successfully reduced from a high weight and maintained the lower weight for some years. The longest study I found was two years. That's very short in human terms.

After all these years of "certain" science the medical community are just now discovering that fat is biologicallly active. How long did it take them to "discover" or admit that insulin resistance is a factor in obesity and blood lipids? They still haven't come around to accepting that lc can reverse obesity and its accompanying diseases.

I still believe that fat cells die. It may take longer than two years of maintaining a stable lesser weight, but I believe they can die. I further believe that it will probably be proved by the people on this board. If there's anything we've learned here it's to take medical "gospel" with a large serving of salt.

Meanwhile, I thank you for the opportunity to delve into some fascinating reasearch.

Here's some more reading.

http://www.ars.usda.gov/research/pu...q_no_115=152529

http://diss.kib.ki.se/2003/91-7349-631-6/

http://www.pharmacy.ohio-state.edu/...f/9jul2004a.pdf