Cahill 2006

Research paper

Cahill GF Jr. Fuel metabolism in starvation. Annual Review of Nutrition. 2006;26:1-22. doi:10.1146/annurev.nutr.26.061505.111258

Why we cite it

A review of human fuel metabolism during starvation synthesizing decades of the author’s own research. Establishes the central role of beta-hydroxybutyrate in brain fuel during fasting and documents the metabolic transitions (free fatty acids, glycerol, glucose, lactate, pyruvate) that sustain life without food intake.

About the author

George F. Cahill Jr. (1927–2012) was an American physician-scientist at Harvard Medical School and the Joslin Diabetes Center, where he served as research director (1962–1978). He studied fuel metabolism during prolonged starvation, establishing how the body transitions from glucose to ketone metabolism. He was also a Howard Hughes Medical Institute researcher, advisory board member, and vice president. Author or co-author of nearly 200 scientific publications.