Excerpt from Sugar Nation
hpsnickers1
Posts: 2,783 Member
Sugar Nation: The Hidden Truth Behind America's Deadliest Habit and the Simple Way to Beat It.
Jeff O'Connell
Just thought this was really interesting information (and this tells me fat is the preferred fuel, not carbs. If carbs were the preferred fuel then the human body would have unlimited carb storage, not unlimited fat storage):
Along with possessing an almost magical potency, insulin is ancient; it was found in organisms whose habitat was the cauldron of primitive life-forms known as primordial soup. Insulin allowed our own earliest ancestors to make a huge evolutionary leap. Their bodies could store fuel, which afforded them time for other pursuits. They could erect family structures, tell stories, and build languages now that didn’t have to hunt and scavenge all day for nourishment. Insulin helped make us human.
Insulin helps the body metabolize the sugar in the blood, which is called glucose. This blood sugar can come from the diet, but the liver and kidneys can also produce it. What isn’t needed for energy can also be stored in muscle tissue and the liver. This stored from is called glycogen. But because storage space is limited, at a certain point, the liver begins turning excess glucose into triglycerides, which very often become body fat. The human body has evolved such that it possesses a very low capacity to store carbs but a very high capacity to store fat. This phenomenon is evident in buffet lines across the heartland.
“That’s in a relatively healthy person,” says Jeff S. Volek, Ph.D., R.D., associate professor of kinesiology at the University of Connecticut. “Even before glycogen levels fill up, people with insulin resistance dispose of carbohydrates by converting the majority to fat.” That’s one reason why the heavy will still become heavier, even if they pass on the second helpings.
Nearly every cell in the body can take up and use glucose as fuel, and blood travels everywhere in the body, making it the ideal transporter of glucose to far-flung destinations. But how does the glucose know where to go? A messenger hormone called insulin escorts it. Certain tissues in the body attract insulin; their surface is lined with welcoming receptors. Receptors are proteins, but think of them more as magnets. Most of these insulin receptors are located in muscle tissue, a function of muscle’s large size and metabolic activity.
The system is designed to work so that after you eat a meal, the pancreas releases insulin in an amount proportional to whatever the glucose load happens to be. Insulin arrives at receptors and is recognized as such, and cells know what to do in response: absorb glucose from the bloodstream. So your blood glucose never shoots too high. As this process unfolds, a feedback loop signals the pancreas to produce less insulin, to keep the messengers home. So your blood glucose never falls too low, either. The normal blood sugar response to a meal is a slow rise flowed by a reasonable drop.
Insulin resistance occurs when insulin tries but fails to bind with receptors, and glucose is left stranded. Instead of taking five units of insulin to produce a certain amount of energy from glucose, it’s now taking your body, say, twenty. All the pancreas knows is that insulin isn’t doing its job, so it keeps secreting more and more, to little avail.
This creates an energy crisis for each cell, not to mention your entire body. To use a crude analogy: Imagine oil tankers sailing from port to port loaded with oil (glucose) that needs to be loaded onto small boats (insulin) for transport to shore. But once the oil has been loaded onto the smaller vessels, these boats bounce off the docks, unable to land. Thus the raw material never makes it to shore, and the factories in town sit idle. The crude oil can’t be delivered. Productivity halts.
Unfortunately the lifestyle choices causing insulin resistance – not exercising, indulging a sweet tooth, and eating too much in general [MY NOTE: I believe the overeating stems from the constant up and down blood sugars. When the insulin can’t push the glucose into the resistant cells it will convert it to fat and send it to storage. So you end up starved on a cellular level and your body signals hunger after only a couple of hours – and it’s looking for more carbs] – trigger a feedback loop. Particularly if you don’t exercise, those excess carbs will cause blood sugar to spike and then crash, at which point the body bellies up for another round of sugar.
Since your body is dumping glucose into boats that can’t land, it must find another fuel source. An alternative is fat, which can be burned for energy as long as oxygen and mitochondria, the parts of the cells that contain fat-burning enzymes, are present. Luckily, only a few places in the entire body lack oxygen, mitochondria, or both. Red blood cells don’t possess those tiny power plants, so it may no coincidence that glucose floats around in the blood. The lens of the eye and a remote area of the kidneys also depend solely on glucose. But that’s about it.
It should hardly come as a surprise, then, that diabetes consistently attack these parts of the body. The kidneys are one of only two organs capable of producing glucose from noncarb sources such as protein, the liver being the other.
So glucose is essential for life, and it usually comes from carbs. Wouldn’t we cease to function if we didn’t consume enough carbs? Consider: In the early 1900s, a pair of Arctic explorers, Vilhjalmur Stefansson and Rudolph M. Anderson, marveled at not only the carnivorous diets but also the robust health of Eskimos. So upon returning from their expedition, the two men embarked upon a meat-only diet. The resulting macronutrient ration amounted to 75 to 85 percent fat and 1 to 2 percent carbohydrates. Protein made up the balance. At the end of what was a yearlong experiment, they were alive and well, although perhaps a bit grumpy.
To find out how they survived, I spent a day at Dr. Westman’s Duke Clinic on my way back from the ADA conference in New Orleans. As befits someone who grew up in the cheese state of Wisconsin, the good doctor puts patients needing to shed extra pounds, manage diabetes, or both on a low-carb diet. To great effect, I might add. He’s fascinated by which organs actually need glucose – not which ones use it when it’s available. As I trail him into his office, my gaze is drawn to a homemade anatomy-chart-turned-schematic on one wall. The names of bodily organs are computer-printed on pieces of paper. This anatomy chart is proportional rather than representational; each cutout reflects the energy requirement of that organ, rather than its shape or size, I see that the liver sucks up as much glucose as the brain. “Pretty much everything can run on fat,” says the Stanford grad, noting the exceptions mentioned before – red blood cells, retina, and a remote region of the kidneys.
The assumption has been that dietary carbohydrates must provide 130g of glucose per day for the brain and central nervous system to function fully. But Dr. Westman insists that the liver and kidneys could produce more than enough glucose from protein to supply that amount, which explains why those Eskimos, and the explorers who found them, could live on only meat. No, I can’t imagine any sane non-Eskimo wanting to follow the Eskimo Diet, which is a product of their unique habitat. But the wall schematic is illuminating nonetheless. Everyone, from Gatorade and General Mills, to the corn lobby and dietetic organizations, keeps telling us that we need ALL these carbs, and that eating them gives us all this energy.
We’re being implored to eat them for reasons that have little to do with any sort of internal need. I bought into their sales pitch, and I write about this stuff for a living. The truth is, we don’t need all those carbs, and they don’t give us all that energy. In fact we don’t need nearly as many carbs as we are implored to consume by everything from government guidelines to television commercials. “The Western diet is far too high in carbohydrates,” says the IDF’s Raab. The metabolic system of the average human being was designed to run on some debatable fraction of that amount.
The solution to the Type 2 diabetes epidemic isn’t force-feeding the hard-core Atkins approach to everyone who’s either a diabetic or at risk of becoming one – although that approach, if followed, would produce better results than the approach we take now. But the solution isn’t the status quo approach of the diabetes industry, either. The evidence against that is prima facie. Just look at what amounts to an epidemiological study including the entire U.S. population, which makes the conventional wisdom look increasingly unwise.
Part of the solution for America’s obesity and diabetes epidemic is a diet lower in carbs – and less internal insulin production as a result – and a higher intake of protein and healthy fats. This will result in much better glucose control But you won’t hear that recommendation from most diabetes organizations and experts.
Jeff O'Connell
Just thought this was really interesting information (and this tells me fat is the preferred fuel, not carbs. If carbs were the preferred fuel then the human body would have unlimited carb storage, not unlimited fat storage):
Along with possessing an almost magical potency, insulin is ancient; it was found in organisms whose habitat was the cauldron of primitive life-forms known as primordial soup. Insulin allowed our own earliest ancestors to make a huge evolutionary leap. Their bodies could store fuel, which afforded them time for other pursuits. They could erect family structures, tell stories, and build languages now that didn’t have to hunt and scavenge all day for nourishment. Insulin helped make us human.
Insulin helps the body metabolize the sugar in the blood, which is called glucose. This blood sugar can come from the diet, but the liver and kidneys can also produce it. What isn’t needed for energy can also be stored in muscle tissue and the liver. This stored from is called glycogen. But because storage space is limited, at a certain point, the liver begins turning excess glucose into triglycerides, which very often become body fat. The human body has evolved such that it possesses a very low capacity to store carbs but a very high capacity to store fat. This phenomenon is evident in buffet lines across the heartland.
“That’s in a relatively healthy person,” says Jeff S. Volek, Ph.D., R.D., associate professor of kinesiology at the University of Connecticut. “Even before glycogen levels fill up, people with insulin resistance dispose of carbohydrates by converting the majority to fat.” That’s one reason why the heavy will still become heavier, even if they pass on the second helpings.
Nearly every cell in the body can take up and use glucose as fuel, and blood travels everywhere in the body, making it the ideal transporter of glucose to far-flung destinations. But how does the glucose know where to go? A messenger hormone called insulin escorts it. Certain tissues in the body attract insulin; their surface is lined with welcoming receptors. Receptors are proteins, but think of them more as magnets. Most of these insulin receptors are located in muscle tissue, a function of muscle’s large size and metabolic activity.
The system is designed to work so that after you eat a meal, the pancreas releases insulin in an amount proportional to whatever the glucose load happens to be. Insulin arrives at receptors and is recognized as such, and cells know what to do in response: absorb glucose from the bloodstream. So your blood glucose never shoots too high. As this process unfolds, a feedback loop signals the pancreas to produce less insulin, to keep the messengers home. So your blood glucose never falls too low, either. The normal blood sugar response to a meal is a slow rise flowed by a reasonable drop.
Insulin resistance occurs when insulin tries but fails to bind with receptors, and glucose is left stranded. Instead of taking five units of insulin to produce a certain amount of energy from glucose, it’s now taking your body, say, twenty. All the pancreas knows is that insulin isn’t doing its job, so it keeps secreting more and more, to little avail.
This creates an energy crisis for each cell, not to mention your entire body. To use a crude analogy: Imagine oil tankers sailing from port to port loaded with oil (glucose) that needs to be loaded onto small boats (insulin) for transport to shore. But once the oil has been loaded onto the smaller vessels, these boats bounce off the docks, unable to land. Thus the raw material never makes it to shore, and the factories in town sit idle. The crude oil can’t be delivered. Productivity halts.
Unfortunately the lifestyle choices causing insulin resistance – not exercising, indulging a sweet tooth, and eating too much in general [MY NOTE: I believe the overeating stems from the constant up and down blood sugars. When the insulin can’t push the glucose into the resistant cells it will convert it to fat and send it to storage. So you end up starved on a cellular level and your body signals hunger after only a couple of hours – and it’s looking for more carbs] – trigger a feedback loop. Particularly if you don’t exercise, those excess carbs will cause blood sugar to spike and then crash, at which point the body bellies up for another round of sugar.
Since your body is dumping glucose into boats that can’t land, it must find another fuel source. An alternative is fat, which can be burned for energy as long as oxygen and mitochondria, the parts of the cells that contain fat-burning enzymes, are present. Luckily, only a few places in the entire body lack oxygen, mitochondria, or both. Red blood cells don’t possess those tiny power plants, so it may no coincidence that glucose floats around in the blood. The lens of the eye and a remote area of the kidneys also depend solely on glucose. But that’s about it.
It should hardly come as a surprise, then, that diabetes consistently attack these parts of the body. The kidneys are one of only two organs capable of producing glucose from noncarb sources such as protein, the liver being the other.
So glucose is essential for life, and it usually comes from carbs. Wouldn’t we cease to function if we didn’t consume enough carbs? Consider: In the early 1900s, a pair of Arctic explorers, Vilhjalmur Stefansson and Rudolph M. Anderson, marveled at not only the carnivorous diets but also the robust health of Eskimos. So upon returning from their expedition, the two men embarked upon a meat-only diet. The resulting macronutrient ration amounted to 75 to 85 percent fat and 1 to 2 percent carbohydrates. Protein made up the balance. At the end of what was a yearlong experiment, they were alive and well, although perhaps a bit grumpy.
To find out how they survived, I spent a day at Dr. Westman’s Duke Clinic on my way back from the ADA conference in New Orleans. As befits someone who grew up in the cheese state of Wisconsin, the good doctor puts patients needing to shed extra pounds, manage diabetes, or both on a low-carb diet. To great effect, I might add. He’s fascinated by which organs actually need glucose – not which ones use it when it’s available. As I trail him into his office, my gaze is drawn to a homemade anatomy-chart-turned-schematic on one wall. The names of bodily organs are computer-printed on pieces of paper. This anatomy chart is proportional rather than representational; each cutout reflects the energy requirement of that organ, rather than its shape or size, I see that the liver sucks up as much glucose as the brain. “Pretty much everything can run on fat,” says the Stanford grad, noting the exceptions mentioned before – red blood cells, retina, and a remote region of the kidneys.
The assumption has been that dietary carbohydrates must provide 130g of glucose per day for the brain and central nervous system to function fully. But Dr. Westman insists that the liver and kidneys could produce more than enough glucose from protein to supply that amount, which explains why those Eskimos, and the explorers who found them, could live on only meat. No, I can’t imagine any sane non-Eskimo wanting to follow the Eskimo Diet, which is a product of their unique habitat. But the wall schematic is illuminating nonetheless. Everyone, from Gatorade and General Mills, to the corn lobby and dietetic organizations, keeps telling us that we need ALL these carbs, and that eating them gives us all this energy.
We’re being implored to eat them for reasons that have little to do with any sort of internal need. I bought into their sales pitch, and I write about this stuff for a living. The truth is, we don’t need all those carbs, and they don’t give us all that energy. In fact we don’t need nearly as many carbs as we are implored to consume by everything from government guidelines to television commercials. “The Western diet is far too high in carbohydrates,” says the IDF’s Raab. The metabolic system of the average human being was designed to run on some debatable fraction of that amount.
The solution to the Type 2 diabetes epidemic isn’t force-feeding the hard-core Atkins approach to everyone who’s either a diabetic or at risk of becoming one – although that approach, if followed, would produce better results than the approach we take now. But the solution isn’t the status quo approach of the diabetes industry, either. The evidence against that is prima facie. Just look at what amounts to an epidemiological study including the entire U.S. population, which makes the conventional wisdom look increasingly unwise.
Part of the solution for America’s obesity and diabetes epidemic is a diet lower in carbs – and less internal insulin production as a result – and a higher intake of protein and healthy fats. This will result in much better glucose control But you won’t hear that recommendation from most diabetes organizations and experts.
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I have cut down on sugar, I try not to have more than 9 grams each meal, snacks I like it to be even less than that. I was reading Jackie Warner's book This Is Why Your Fat. Its a great read, I take a few of her tips. Sugar Nation is a great read too, very interesting post.0
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My first test I did with my blood glucose monitor was with whole grain bread. I had a reuben sandwich. Corned Beef, saurkraut, thousand island dressing on two slices of rye bread. My blood sugar shot up to 140mg after one hour and 156mg after two hours.
I had a handful of white chocolate covered chex mix earlier this week and got those types of numbers. I had about 8oz of a Cinnamon Cookie Cappucino (the powdered/add hot water kind from a convenience store) and my sugars shot up to 137mg.
The grains - even whole grains - do to my blood sugars exact same thing as actual sugar (almost all carbs turn to glucose when ingested and raise your blood glucose levels).0 -
My first test I did with my blood glucose monitor was with whole grain bread. I had a reuben sandwich. Corned Beef, saurkraut, thousand island dressing on two slices of rye bread. My blood sugar shot up to 140mg after one hour and 156mg after two hours.
I had a handful of white chocolate covered chex mix earlier this week and got those types of numbers. I had about 8oz of a Cinnamon Cookie Cappucino (the powdered/add hot water kind from a convenience store) and my sugars shot up to 137mg.
The grains - even whole grains - do to my blood sugars exact same thing as actual sugar (almost all carbs turn to glucose when ingested and raise your blood glucose levels).
Yeh I no I cut down on carbs too, Feel much better and more energy, My daughter who a nurse she not diabetic neither. I'm not but she tested her blood sugar, and it was high after eating just a roll white bread and cheese, she now limit the amount of carbs and try to eat mostly veggies, less of the white stuff. I try and keep it less than 100 it seems to be working, somedays it way less.0 -
So what about carbs and sugar that come from fruit and veggies? Since I've been tracking my calories, I've noticed that fruit has A LOT of sugar in it. Does that spike your blood sugar in the same way as grain-based carbs?0
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My mum has diabetes she has to limit carbs and sugar and not eat so much fruit, and it depends on what kind of fruit, tomatoes can spike your sugar Its always best to talk to doctor everyone is different, I just cant have to much carbs, makes me fat and tired but fruit no problem.0
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INSULIN!!!
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INSULIN!!!
:laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:0 -
I'm a total meat lover, but you ain't gonna feed 9 billion people on a low-carb diet.0
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I'm a total meat lover, but you ain't gonna feed 9 billion people on a low-carb diet.
Great point, never really looked at it that way.
Reason #4567892 I'm glad to be an American, lol.0 -
Yes, it's the carbs fault that Americans are becoming overweight and suffering from myriad health problems. Let's completely ignore the parts of the world where grains and carbs ARE the staple diet, and they have none of the health problems we have here.
It's not sugar, it's not ZOMG EVIL CARBS, it's simply the fact that Americans eat over 600 calories a day MORE than they did 40 years ago on average. People are moving a lot less (due to the increase in sedentary desk jobs,) and eating a lot more. It's that simple. There is no magic bullet.
Also, insulin spikes and blood sugar spikes right after eating are NORMAL, it's how the body works. Insulin rises when you eat, which suppresses your appetite, and then steadily falls over the next several hours. It's like your oven, you set your oven for a set temperature, and your oven heats up, spikes above that temperature, falls back down under it, spikes back up over it, etc.
That's another reason why I disagree with the eating every 2 hours or whatever it is, all that does is keep your insulin and blood glucose levels constantly raised, as you never let them fall.0 -
It's not sugar, it's not ZOMG EVIL CARBS, it's simply the fact that Americans eat over 600 calories a day MORE than they did 40 years ago on average. People are moving a lot less (due to the increase in sedentary desk jobs,) and eating a lot more. It's that simple. There is no magic bullet.
I make it a point not to tell carbophobes that protein is also insulinogenic, because I'm afraid they'll start avoiding that as well.0 -
Yes, it's the carbs fault that Americans are becoming overweight and suffering from myriad health problems. Let's completely ignore the parts of the world where grains and carbs ARE the staple diet, and they have none of the health problems we have here.
It's not sugar, it's not ZOMG EVIL CARBS, it's simply the fact that Americans eat over 600 calories a day MORE than they did 40 years ago on average. People are moving a lot less (due to the increase in sedentary desk jobs,) and eating a lot more. It's that simple. There is no magic bullet.
Also, insulin spikes and blood sugar spikes right after eating are NORMAL, it's how the body works. Insulin rises when you eat, which suppresses your appetite, and then steadily falls over the next several hours. It's like your oven, you set your oven for a set temperature, and your oven heats up, spikes above that temperature, falls back down under it, spikes back up over it, etc.
That's another reason why I disagree with the eating every 2 hours or whatever it is, all that does is keep your insulin and blood glucose levels constantly raised, as you never let them fall.
I so
you for this. We are fat because we eat more than what we burn...little sugar demons and their pal insulin are not scheming to make you fat. Eat less and move more! What a novel idea! 0 -
It's not sugar, it's not ZOMG EVIL CARBS, it's simply the fact that Americans eat over 600 calories a day MORE than they did 40 years ago on average. People are moving a lot less (due to the increase in sedentary desk jobs,) and eating a lot more. It's that simple. There is no magic bullet.
I make it a point not to tell carbophobes that protein is also insulinogenic, because I'm afraid they'll start avoiding that as well.
Eating in general causes an insulin response, even if you eat something that's all fat. Don't tell anyone, though. :laugh:
Oh, also, to comment on the content of the topic in general, it's interesting to read about the different ways the body can work, but just because the body CAN survive on certain diets, doesn't mean it is ideal.0 -
Oh, also, to comment on the content of the topic in general, it's interesting to read about the different ways the body can work, but just because the body CAN survive on certain diets, doesn't mean it is ideal.
When people start educating themselves about fitness, the often start missing the forest for the trees. For the most part, my Grandma's nutrition advice still holds true.0 -
So what about carbs and sugar that come from fruit and veggies? Since I've been tracking my calories, I've noticed that fruit has A LOT of sugar in it. Does that spike your blood sugar in the same way as grain-based carbs?
I get blood sugar spikes from fruit but they don't get quite as high. I made some almond banana pancakes with some blueberries on top and my bg jumped up to 121 but came back down an hour after that - it didn't stay up. Bananas are very high in sugar; blueberries are low-sugar. I stay away from very starchy veggies and fibrous veggies have very, very few carbs. But I have to take a break from the experimenting because my gut get messed up.0 -
It's not sugar, it's not ZOMG EVIL CARBS, it's simply the fact that Americans eat over 600 calories a day MORE than they did 40 years ago on average. People are moving a lot less (due to the increase in sedentary desk jobs,) and eating a lot more. It's that simple. There is no magic bullet.
I make it a point not to tell carbophobes that protein is also insulinogenic, because I'm afraid they'll start avoiding that as well.
Eating in general causes an insulin response, even if you eat something that's all fat. Don't tell anyone, though. :laugh:
Oh, also, to comment on the content of the topic in general, it's interesting to read about the different ways the body can work, but just because the body CAN survive on certain diets, doesn't mean it is ideal.
Yes I know this. No I'm not a carbophobe. Yes I know that protein is insulinogenic. Yes, even thinking about eating can cause an insulin response. I know all of this. Insulin response is normal. Excessive insulin production because your body can't handle the sugar levels isn't.
I have a desk job. I don't do a whole lot of exercise - enough to be fit and happy. I don't track calories. I stay away from grains and sugar and legumes and milk and I eat lots of protein and fat (fat is about 70% of my diet). I am maintaining a weight of 113lbs without even trying. In fact when I hit 110.6 my body decided it didn't like that weight and proceeded to add a couple of pounds no matter what I did. But I gained it in my butt and my boobs, not my belly. My belly has stayed flat.
If you are dealing with obesity you are dealing with insulin resistance. You can suffer from years and years of insulin resistance and never develop diabetes. You don't have to be obese to have diabetes or insulin resistance.
"Insulin sensitivity can vary eightfold between any two individuals, even healthy ones. Biology seldom accommodates a spread so wide. 'As it turns out, only 25 percent of the variability can be attributed to difference in body fat,' Dr. Reaven told me. 'Another 25 percent comes from differences in fitness level. The rest is likely genetic.' So the individual who becomes obese through inactivity AND has a genetic predisposition is likelier than most to become insulin resistant.
But diabetes is popping more and more in the thin and the young. (1 in 5 diabetics aren't overweight)
"Insulin-resistant cells can no longer gain access to the energy they need, so they conserve what remains. The body begins telling the brain: Don't do any exercise, and, please, would you eat more? As these people gain weight, the standard approach is to tell them: Get your tail off the sofa and go for a jog! And whatever you do, stop eating! 'This usually fails because their internal signaling is telling them to do the opposite,' says Jay Wortman, M.D., senior medical advisor for the First Nations and Inuit Health Branch of Health Cananda. 'It takes a lot of willpower to overcome those signals.'"
And I think Leptin is what suppresses the appetite (tells your brain you are full), not insulin. And I agree with the eating every 2 hours thing. I don't believe in that but when I eat something containing grains or sugar I get hungry every couple of hours (even though there is still food in my stomach). When I eat protein and fat I stay full for a good 5-6 hours, sometimes longer. I also don't get the shaky feeling if I don't eat all day.
And I have come across many, many, many people who are overweight or obese and are very active and do not overeat. In fact my dad was very active throughout his entire life. And no he didn't overeat either. It was what he ate. And he is now on dialysis and just had a pacemaker installed.0 -
And I have come across many, many, many people who are overweight or obese and are very active and do not overeat. In fact my dad was very active throughout his entire life. And no he didn't overeat either. It was what he ate.
You can't create fat from a vacuum. If you are obese, you got there by eating more calories than your bodies needed to maintain. Period.0 -
And I have come across many, many, many people who are overweight or obese and are very active and do not overeat. In fact my dad was very active throughout his entire life. And no he didn't overeat either. It was what he ate.
You can't create fat from a vacuum. If you are obese, you got there by eating more calories than your bodies needed to maintain. Period.
Oh, Ron Swanson. I don't agree with everything you say, but sometimes I just want nothing more than to take you out to an all-you-can-eat breakfast buffet.0 -
And I have come across many, many, many people who are overweight or obese and are very active and do not overeat. In fact my dad was very active throughout his entire life. And no he didn't overeat either. It was what he ate.
You can't create fat from a vacuum. If you are obese, you got there by eating more calories than your bodies needed to maintain. Period.
Oh, Ron Swanson. I don't agree with everything you say, but sometimes I just want nothing more than to take you out to an all-you-can-eat breakfast buffet.
:laugh:
I worry what you just heard was: Give me a lot of bacon and eggs.
What I said was: Give me all the bacon and eggs you have.0 -
I make it a point not to tell carbophobes that protein is also insulinogenic, because I'm afraid they'll start avoiding that as well.
Our bodies produce insulin in response to protein so that the amino acids it breaks down to (especially the essential amino acids) can be pushed/absorbed into our cells for good use, like repairing muscles. However, unlike carb-rich foods, protein-rich foods also elicit increased levels of the hormone glucagon, which helps keep blood sugars from rising. So, yes, protein and carbs both elicit an insulin response, but protein (at least in the absence or restriction of carb-rich foods) does not raise blood sugar levels due to the interaction with glucagon.
Now time for my bacon and butter.
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I'm a total meat lover, but you ain't gonna feed 9 billion people on a low-carb diet.
That's exactly what I was thinking. Meat is expensive to produce. The only reason our meat doesn't cost more in the US (much more!) is subsidies.0 -
I make it a point not to tell carbophobes that protein is also insulinogenic, because I'm afraid they'll start avoiding that as well.
Our bodies produce insulin in response to protein so that the amino acids it breaks down to (especially the essential amino acids) can be pushed/absorbed into our cells for good use, like repairing muscles. However, unlike carb-rich foods, protein-rich foods also elicit increased levels of the hormone glucagon, which helps keep blood sugars from rising. So, yes, protein and carbs both elicit an insulin response, but protein (at least in the absence or restriction of carb-rich foods) does not raise blood sugar levels due to the interaction with glucagon.
Now time for my bacon and butter.
Not really. Glucagon is the opposite of insulin. It's not released because of protein. It's released when blood glucose levels drop too low. Insulin is released when your blood glucose is elevated, it's job is to bring it down. Glucagon does the opposite, it's job is to raise your blood glucose levels when it's low. Basically glucagon is released when you aren't eating, and your blood glucose levels are low, in order to raise them up and stabilize them by telling your liver to release more glucose into the blood stream. Nothing to do with protein, and it certainly won't keep your blood glucose from elevating, as elevating blood glucose is kind of it's thing.
Also, Insulin actually inhibits glucagon release, so protein can't elicit both an insulin and glucagon response, because you can't have both hormones circulating at the same time.0 -
And I think Leptin is what suppresses the appetite (tells your brain you are full), not insulin.
Leptin and insulin work together. Insulin moves glucose around your body, and when insulin levels are raised, and starts storing glucose (as glycogen) then leptin is produced by the fat cells and sends the "I'm full" signal. That persists as long as the insulin levels are raised and insulin is working. When the insulin levels drop, glucagon levels rise, leptin levels fall, ghrelin levels rise, and then you eventually start to feel hungry again.0 -
Not everyone can go low carb because of the high cost of meat production, sure. But I don't think it's a valid argument because not everyone would go low carb, as demonstrated by certain vocal naysayers on the MFP forums who hate people who don't eat like them.
I'll just take their share of the steak and bacon, kthx.0 -
Have you ever heard the term "balanced diet?" You don't have to eat low or high anything to be healthy. A good balance is optimal, not eating too high or too low of any one macro.0
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Leptin and insulin work together. Insulin moves glucose around your body, and when insulin levels are raised, and starts storing glucose (as glycogen) then leptin is produced by the fat cells and sends the "I'm full" signal. That persists as long as the insulin levels are raised and insulin is working. When the insulin levels drop, glucagon levels rise, leptin levels fall, ghrelin levels rise, and then you eventually start to feel hungry again.
Ahhh you're giving me horrible flashbacks to a recent physiology exam! I think you're right though.0 -
Have you ever heard the term "balanced diet?" You don't have to eat low or high anything to be healthy. A good balance is optimal, not eating too high or too low of any one macro.
See? See? Hating on me. Right there. And my diet is plenty balanced. I get all the micronutrients I need. 0 -
Yes, it's the carbs fault that Americans are becoming overweight and suffering from myriad health problems. Let's completely ignore the parts of the world where grains and carbs ARE the staple diet, and they have none of the health problems we have here.
It's not sugar, it's not ZOMG EVIL CARBS, it's simply the fact that Americans eat over 600 calories a day MORE than they did 40 years ago on average. People are moving a lot less (due to the increase in sedentary desk jobs,) and eating a lot more. It's that simple. There is no magic bullet.
Also, insulin spikes and blood sugar spikes right after eating are NORMAL, it's how the body works. Insulin rises when you eat, which suppresses your appetite, and then steadily falls over the next several hours. It's like your oven, you set your oven for a set temperature, and your oven heats up, spikes above that temperature, falls back down under it, spikes back up over it, etc.
That's another reason why I disagree with the eating every 2 hours or whatever it is, all that does is keep your insulin and blood glucose levels constantly raised, as you never let them fall.
Can you provide the habit that is all carb and has the same health results as the Eskimo example. Need to counter not just with words, but specifics.
Thanks0 -
Not really. Glucagon is the opposite of insulin. It's not released because of protein. It's released when blood glucose levels drop too low. Insulin is released when your blood glucose is elevated, it's job is to bring it down. Glucagon does the opposite, it's job is to raise your blood glucose levels when it's low. Basically glucagon is released when you aren't eating, and your blood glucose levels are low, in order to raise them up and stabilize them by telling your liver to release more glucose into the blood stream. Nothing to do with protein, and it certainly won't keep your blood glucose from elevating, as elevating blood glucose is kind of it's thing.
Also, Insulin actually inhibits glucagon release, so protein can't elicit both an insulin and glucagon response, because you can't have both hormones circulating at the same time.
I once thought the same thing, but in this specific case, glucagon and insulin are both released in response to dietary protein in the absence or restriction of carbs. The type and amount of protein seems to affect the degree of glucagon/insulin response as well. This explains why protein-rich foods can raise insulin levels without raising blood glucose levels, whereas a carb-rich diet will raise both insulin response and blood glucose levels.
For reference, see “Glucagon and Insulin Responses after Ingestion of Different Amounts of Intact and Hydrolysed Proteins” (2008) (http://journals.cambridge.org/download.php?file=/BJN/BJN100_01/S0007114507886314a.pdf&code=561f1bbd463f1056db323feb4fadd1e3)
“Insulin and glucagon responses increased with increasing protein load…but the effect was more pronounced for glucagon. A higher dose of protein or its hydrolysate will result in a lower insulin:glucagon ratio, an important parameter for the control of postprandial substrate metabolism. In conclusion, insulin and glucagon responses were protein and hydrolysate specific.”
Page 4, Figure 2, show their test subjects' (healthy, non-obese individuals) levels of insulin, glucagon, and blood glucose over time in response to the ingestion of soy and whey protein.0 -
Yes, it's the carbs fault that Americans are becoming overweight and suffering from myriad health problems. Let's completely ignore the parts of the world where grains and carbs ARE the staple diet, and they have none of the health problems we have here.
It's not sugar, it's not ZOMG EVIL CARBS, it's simply the fact that Americans eat over 600 calories a day MORE than they did 40 years ago on average. People are moving a lot less (due to the increase in sedentary desk jobs,) and eating a lot more. It's that simple. There is no magic bullet.
Also, insulin spikes and blood sugar spikes right after eating are NORMAL, it's how the body works. Insulin rises when you eat, which suppresses your appetite, and then steadily falls over the next several hours. It's like your oven, you set your oven for a set temperature, and your oven heats up, spikes above that temperature, falls back down under it, spikes back up over it, etc.
That's another reason why I disagree with the eating every 2 hours or whatever it is, all that does is keep your insulin and blood glucose levels constantly raised, as you never let them fall.
Can you provide the habit that is all carb and has the same health results as the Eskimo example. Need to counter not just with words, but specifics.
Thanks
The Okinawan diet consists of about 90% carbohydrate. They are generally regarded as the healthiest population in the world, and have the longest lifespan.0
This discussion has been closed.
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