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hyperglycemia

Ascorbate Restores Vasodilation Impaired by Acute Hyperglycemia – (04-30-01)

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Ascorbate Restores Vasodilation Impaired by Acute Hyperglycemia

Where do we start with this one? It’s always good to see our old friend Vit C supported in the medical literature. In this study, Vit C protected against the vasoconstriction caused by high glucose levels in the bloodstream. This information can have a major impact on the risk of CVD in diabetics with poorly controlled blood sugar. A few things to take home…the glycosylation of proteins from high blood sugar has consistently shown to be a factor in aging and that the damage from these high blood sugar may in part be due to oxidative damage (which can be prevented or reduced with antioxidant therapy).

Circulation — Abstracts: Beckman et al. 103 (12): 1618

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Ghrelin, Induces Hyperglycemia and Reduces Insulin Secretion in Humans – (11-01-01)

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Ghrelin, a Natural GH Secretagogue Produced by the Stomach, Induces Hyperglycemia and Reduces Insulin Secretion in Humans

This is more of an FYI. Keep an eye on this hormone. It is just now finding it’s way into the limelight and will most likely be a target of some new drugs coming down the pipeline. It is only a matter of time, however, before we find out how certain vitamins, minerals, herbs and foods affect ghrelin levels.

JCEM — Abstracts: Broglio et al. 86 (10): 5083

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Is Hypoglycemia Dangerous? A Warning to All Diabetics

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You may be concerned about high blood sugar levels  (hyperglycemia, diabetes), but don’t worry about hypoglycemia (low blood sugar). This may be a mistake.

I recall a patient some years back that had a short story to tell.  He was having anxiety attacks every day around 11:30.  He asked me if I could help because he had already received 3 (yes–count them–3 prescriptions) from 3 different providers.  Valium, Ativan and one other that I can’t recall right now.

Those of you familiar with anxiety attacks may be scratching your head right now thinking that it is strange that the anxiety attacks were at the same time every day.  I was thinking the same thing.  Hypoglycemia, on the other hand, can very commonly occur before a next meal and is well known to wreak havoc on the brain causing things like anxiety attacks.

Patients mistakenly believe that there is a blood test for hypoglycemia, but this is not really true.  Anytime blood sugar levels drop too low, the brain immediately responds by releasing hormones like cortisol and epinephrine (adrenaline) to break down muscle and put sugar back into the bloodstream for the brain to use.  Your doctor can order a test like the 2 or 4 hour postprandial glucose tolerance test, but quite frankly, it sucks.  Drink a nasty tasting liquid that is like flat orange Crush and get your blood drawn every half hour.  Not exactly my idea of a picnic.

Rather, a better way is to look at the timing of whatever symptoms are of concern.  In the earlier patient’s example, it was anxiety attacks.  If the symptoms fit into a pattern, add in some food or a healthy snack a few hours after a meal to see if that helps.

So that was it.  An earlier lunch miraculously cured the anxiety attacks in this patient without the medications that were prescribed.  But what if he had taken the medication and the episodes of hypoglycemia were allowed to continue unchecked?

According to this particular study, it’s far more dangerous than we thought.

Researchers looked at what happened in normal patients and in Type 1 diabetic patients when a state of hypoglycemia was created.  They then followed up with 1 of 3 scenarios:

  1. After the low blood sugar levels, one group brought to a state of high blood sugar.
  2. After the hypoglycemia, on group was brought back to normal blood sugar levels.
  3. High blood sugar after hypoglycemia was was initiated along with an infusion of vitamin C

So basically, the participants were put into a low blood sugar state and then the hypoglycemia was corrected, either by bringing blood sugar levels back to normal or by sending them too high.  In the group that was sent into elevated blood sugar levels, they were given a hit of vitamin C to see if it could help.  Here is what they found:

  • It was discovered that hypoglycemia itself was associated with all kinds of bad things for our bodies, including endothelial dysfunction (problems with the blood vessels), oxidative stress, and inflammation.
  • In the hyperglycemia group, all of the above were found to get worse, and this bad effect last for at least 6 hours.
  • When vitamin C was added, the negative effects of hyperglycemia were blunted.

The take home message is that hypoglycemia is a very bad state that contributes greatly to our risk of cardiovascular disease.  This happens to us when we are not careful and go too long without eating.  It is also a side effect of overmedicating in diabetics.

Fixing the hyperglycemia by rushing to the fridge for an apple juice or candy bar is very likely to swing you the other way, creating an even worse state for your health and blood vessels.  This will last for hours afterwards.

This study would also suggest that decent levels of vitamin C (3-4 grams per day) may prove to be a smart and blood vessel-protecting approach to in anyone prone to low blood sugar and ALL diabetics, Type 1 and Type 2 included.

Of course, the BEST answer is to prevent the hypoglycemic crash in the first place by not eating any foods that rapidly convert to sugar (referred to as a high glycemic index) and not skipping meals, especially breakfast.

EFFECT OF HYPERGLYCEMIA ON MITOCHONDRIAL RESPIRATION

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A few things to think about here.  We could argue that healthy mitochondrial function is the Holy Grail of good health and longevity.  Anything that improves mitochondrial function is a good thing.  So, what does this mean if we focus so heavily in mainstream medicine on achieving good blood sugar control, but that this control does not change mitochondrial function?

Could it mean we’re barking up the wrong physiological pathway?  I could rant and rave about surrogate end markers, but I’m sure you’ve read it from me before… It boils down to the cold, hard, undeniable fact that the ONLY way to properly manage chronic conditions like diabetes is through lifestyle changes.  There is massive evidence that changing a particular number artificially through the use of drugs is not only not helpful, but dangerous.

Read entire article here

DIABETIC MEDS DON’T CONTROL BLOOD SUGAR

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I think that many diabetics do not fully understand just how dangerous the condition is.  The level of understanding of how damaging the prediabetic state is for our health is even lower.  There are a few important concepts to understand.

First, in the prediabetic state, levels of insulin become elevated.  At normal levels, insulin’s actions are required to keep levels of blood glucose optimal in the bloodstream.  However, when insulin levels go up because of poor quality lifestyle choices, sedentary lifestyles and environmental chemical exposures, the higher levels of insulin become more dangerous than cigarette smoking.

High blood pressure, abdominal obesity, menstrual problems, most types of cancer, blood clotting problems leading to heart attacks and strokes…the list is almost endless.  We live in a society that doesn’t place much concern on being prediabetic unless it means that you can qualify to be put on metformin or some other drug like that.

In the diabetic state, the elevated insulin is still present, but the body can no longer control the levels of glucose so glucose levels elevate in the blood stream.  Now we have more problems on top of the insulin issue.  Glucose, when levels get high enough, will irreversibly damage proteins in a process called glycation (the Maillard reaction).  We check the HbA1c in the bloodstream, which is damage to hemoglobin.  But this damage occurs in EVERY cell of the body.  Every protein in a diabetics’ body has the potential to being damaged by the elevated glucose.  Not good.

 Which then brings us to this article.  Despite being on diabetic medication, the authors found that the diabetics in this study frequently had elevated levels of blood glucose (hyperglycemia) after meals.  This is, for the reason stated above, not good.  While the article did not go into detail, it should be obvious that the contents of the meal will play a large role in the body’s response to the meal.

More processed, more unhealthy = less risk of hyperglycemia.  This article is the perfect example of why “I have diabetes, but it’s under control with medication” is a very dangerous position to live from.  If you are on medication, your condition is NOT, I repeat, NOT, controlled.

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