Diet and Exercise: Route to Wellness, Fitness and Health

Low glycemic diet, high in fiber, proteins and physical activity are essential for muscle build-up. High glycemic carb diet, long chain fatty acid intake and sedentary lifestyle, on the other hand, will lead to fat build-up and metabolic syndrome. Fiber will supply short-chain fatty acids, as energy source from fermentation in the gut, as well as reduce glycemia.

The muscle is the largest organ in the body and constitutes greater than 45% of the body mass. It is highly plastic and, by contributing to protein metabolism, is subjected to rapid changes in mass. Intermuscular fat is located beneath the fascia and within the muscle itself and affects insulin resistance and metabolic syndrome.

Mesenchymal progenitors, fibro-adipogenic progenitors as well as pericytes, found in skeletal muscle, contribute to fat cell formation. Satellite (myosatellite) cells when subjected to high glucose(metabolic syndrome), equally differentiate into fat cells. These satellite cells, on the other hand, in the presence of proteins, mechanical loading and trauma/injury, will differentiate into myoblasts and fuse to become muscle fibers. Cytokines play an important role in muscle repair and build-up. However, too much of cytokines from chronic inflammation will tilt the balance towards fibrosis, loss of fat, muscle fiber and lead to apparent aging.

Satellite cells may also fuse with existing muscle fibers to form new muscle fibers. Hemapioetic cells can also differentiate into muscle cells.

While the fibro-adipogenic progenitors, pericyte type1 and mesenchymal progenitors have greater tendency to form adipose tissue, satellite cells and pericyte type 2 skew towards skeletal muscle differentiation. Mesenchymal stem cells can readily differentiate into adipocytes, myocytes, chondrocytes or osteocytes.

Although a lineage relationship exists between pericytes, mesenchymal cells, muscle fibers, smooth muscle cells, neural cells, glial cells, adipocytes and fibrocytes, interconvertibility between them all, is still up for debate.

The point of this review is to show that one way through which whole grain diet, fruits and vegetables, all high in fiber, as well as exercise, affect health is through the versatility of stem cells to either form fat tissue or muscle. Given the right stimulus, we can either be fat and sick or lean and healthy.

Dr. Oliver Verbe Birnso, MD.


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