LifeCare Chiropractic

The Best Chiropractic Care in Mesa, Arizona

beta cells

A New Way To Fight Fat & Diabetes – Smoke Pot!

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For those of you who grew up in the 60’s or went to college or hung out with Bill Clinton, the title to this post seems somewhat contradictory.  Really–don’t the munchies and marijuana kind of go hand in hand?  Isn’t that why Shaggy and Scoob just never stopped eating?

Turns out there is a receptor on our cells called the canniboid receptor.  It has several different forms and is present in several types of cells, but there is a heavy presence in the brain.  Our bodies make endocanniboids that activate this receptor, but, as the name might suggest, there are certain plant based compounds that also activate this receptor…

In the brain, this can have a calming effect by affecting GABA pathways.  Interestingly, I had an epiliptic patient who kept his seizures managed by regular marijuana use.  His neurologist thought the drugs were finally working…

Now, before we look at the results of this particular study, a few things need to be clarified.

There has been much research in the past few years on the canniboid receptor and obesity, but the focus has been on blocking this receptor, NOT stimulating it.  Since canniboids normally stimulate appetite, the thought process follows that, if we can block the receptor, we can block hunger and treat obesity with a medication.

On to the study.

Researchers injected mice with organic cannibas extract to see what effect it would have on a diet that promotes obesity.  They found that the injected mice actually had less weight gain as well as better pancreatic beta cell function.  Since obesity is damaging to the beta cells of the pancreas (the very cells that release insulin and help us fight off diabetes), anything that can protect them is a good thing.

Sooooo….

This does not mean that someone who is prediabetic can run to a marijuana medical card dispensing facility…

ANOTHER TOOL TO PROTECT AGAINST DIABETES

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Obviously, the most powerful tools to manage diabetes are diet, exercise and avoiding toxins in our environment.  In addition to these, there are certain natural compounds that can be powerful advocates in the battle against diabetes.

To understand the progression to diabetes we first need to understand that the beta cells of the pancreas are the cells that produce insulin to be released in the body. There are a few triggers that cause insulin release, the most powerful of which is glucose floating around in the bloodstream. Other things like the amino acids arginine and leucine, the gut derived hormones GLP-1 and GIP and epinephrine (adrenaline–this may one of the reasons why stress is so destructive to sugar handling).

In a perfect world with lots of good phytonutrients to protect it and nothing to insult it, the beta cells of the pancreas hum along just find doing what they’re supposed to be doing. Of course, a few minutes people watching at the local discount buffet can tell you that we don’t live in a perfect world.

Ironically enough, the beta cells of the pancreas–the very ones we need to protect us against diabetes, are uniquely vulnerable to too much sugar. Much research over the past decade has pointed to the fact that oxidative stress within the beta cells begins the inexorable slide into prediabetes and diabetes and ultimately, a slow and disease ridden death.

  1. Oxidative stress indicators linked to prediabetes
  2. The mere act of forcing the beta cells to produce more insulin damages them

For those of your who have already been labeled diabetics, consider this little tidbit. Some of the most common drugs used to treat diabetes (the sulfonylureas like glybizide and Glyburide) force the already overworked beta cells of the pancreas to work harder. Picture a slave driver with a whip forcing the tired little beta cells to literally work to death. If your doctor has you on this class of drugs, he or she have obviously missed multiple studies over the past decade:

  1. Higher sulfonylurea dose increases risk of death
  2. Sulfonylureas stimulate beta cell suicide, called apoptosis
  3. Deeper detail into how sulfonylureas stimulate beta cell death
  4. Sulfonylureas increase the amount of oxidative stress in the beta cells
  5. MORE info on suflonylureas increasing oxidative stress

Hopefully by now you’re getting the idea that I’m not making this stuff up. Worse, I have the same concerns with the massive increase in use of drugs like Byetta and Januvia to manage the GLP-1 pathways in our bodies. It will not surprise me to find that this class of drugs will have even greater effects in the long run.

So, what actually helps to protect the beta cells of our pancreas? There are many compounds and lifestyle factors that we are aware of. Here are just a few:

  1. 77% of diabetics were deficient in magnesium in this study
  2. High doses of magnesium helped lower prediabetes in this study
  3. Vitamin D helps protect the beta cells from oxidative stress
  4. Monounsaturated fat (think olive oil) protects the beta cells
  5. Another article on monounsaturated fats

This particular article adds alpha lipoic acid to the list of compounds known to protect the beta cells of the pancreas and finds that, in mice fed a high fat diet, alpha lipoic acid was still able to protect the beta cells. While this dose not give you free reign to eat a crappy diet and just load up with supplements, a good dosage to add of lipoic acid to your regimen is 400 mg / day.

 

SIMPLE VITAMIN HELPS PANCREAS

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A little background here.  Personally, I think there is nothing more important to the human physiology as managing the relationship between our cells, glucose, insulin and our pancreas.  There is nothing more crucial to our longevity than this.  Period.

Our pancreas is composed of two main types of endocrine cells.  The alpha cells release a hormone called glucagon.  Glucagon helps us to keep a steady level of glucose in the bloodstream so we don’t do bad things like slip into a hypoglycemic coma.  The other cell is the beta cell that produces insulin.

The beta cells, however, have a problem.  They can only do so much work for so long.  Anything that damages them worsens our ability to manage glucose.  Chronic intakes of poor quality diets will do this.  Some diabetic drugs (the sulfonylureas are notorious for burning out the beta cells of the pancreas!) will also contribute to the death of the beta cells.

In a sick twist, high levels of glucose produce oxidative stress within a cell.  The beta cells of the pancreas, the very cells that we need to produce insulin and protect us from high blood sugar, are poorly protected against oxidative stress and vulnerable to dying off when blood sugar is elevated.

Because of this, anything we can do to protect and support the beta cells is a very good thing.  This particular study finds that Vitamin D, among the seemingly hundreds of other benefits, also supports the health of the beta cell. 

Read more…