The Study
Liver glycogen in man--the effect of total starvation or a carbohydrate-poor diet followed by carbohydrate refeeding.
This study just looked at one group of animals after they ate carbs again and measured their liver sugar. It didn't compare them to other animals or test why it happened — so we can't say eating carbs causes higher liver sugar, we can only say it happened in these animals.
Analysis score
Maximum 44 for a cross-sectional study.
Where the score came from
When animals go without carbs for a long time and then eat lots of carbs again, their liver stores way more sugar than normal.
Where does this study sit?
Reviews of RCTs (Meta-analyses)
Max 100Randomized Trials
Max 90Reviews of Cohort Studies
Max 85Cohort Studies
Max 72Reviews of Case-Control Studies
Max 63Case-Control Studies
Max 58Cross-Sectional & Case Series
Max 50Expert Opinion
Max 56 / 100
Quality score
Snapshots of a population at a single point in time, or descriptions of small groups. Can identify correlations and prevalence, but cannot determine cause and effect.
Key takeaways
Summary
Based on the study abstract and findings.
- 1This shows the liver can store a huge amount of sugar quickly after being deprived, but it's in animals, not humans.
- 2Liver glycogen jumped to 424–624 mmol per kg of liver tissue after eating carbs again.
Score breakdown, methodology, conflicts of interest, evidence analysis & raw study data
Publication
Journal
Scandinavian journal of clinical and laboratory investigation
Year
1973
Authors
L. Nilsson, E. Hultman
Related Content
Claims (2)
When animals are deprived of food or carbohydrates and then given carbohydrates again, their liver stores a large amount of glycogen, reaching levels between 424 and 624 mmol glucosyl units per kg of liver tissue.
After a long period of low-carbohydrate eating, consuming carbohydrates again increases glycogen levels and maintains serotonin production.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before making health decisions.