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insulin

CHARACTERISTICS OF METABOLIC SYNDROME – (02-21-05)

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Effects of rosuvastatin, atorvastatin, simvastatin, and pravastatin on atherogenic dyslipidemia in patients with characteristics of the metabolic syndrome

Okay.  A couple problems here.  This study reviewed several statin drugs to determine which one lowered lipids better in patients with metabolic syndrome.  You know metabolic syndrome the condition where high INSULIN levels increase lipids.

So here’s my analogy:  Your house is on fire and the smoke detector is going off.  We take a baseball bat, hammer and the wrong end of a screwdriver and beat on the smoke detector to see which one breaks the detector into the smallest pieces.  Forget the fire–that’s not important.

And, just to be consistent with this study for my analogy, Astra Zeneca, the manufacturer of the hammer (which was found to be the most effective), paid for the study.  Suspicious?  And does anyone wonder why they didn’t check corresponding insulin levels?

Read entire article here

METABOLIC RISK FACTORS IN OBESE WOMEN – (05-08-05)

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Metabolic risk factors in formerly obese women-effects of a pronounced weight loss by gastric band operation compared with weight loss by diet alone

Some interesting observations here.  First, while no one should be surprised, I am NOT a fan of any type of gastric bypass.  Mother Nature put it there for a reason. I’m sure that, when all the long term data are in, we will see much greater risks of chronic diseases in these patients due to malabsorption of any number of vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients.

That being said, the patients undergoing surgery lost more weight than those choosing the diet route, however, their insulin sensitivity was better than their dietary counterparts prior to surgery–suggesting that they may not have been as metabolically “bad off” as the diet group.

What I find VERY interesting was that, after surgery, this group of patients had elevated levels of TNF-apha, a marker of inflammation that begins a cascade of further inflammation in the body.  Not a good sign, at all.  Even more interestingly, this data were mentioned in the conclusion but no importance was given to this finding.

Read entire article here

INSULIN RESISTANCE – A MAJOR CONTRIBUTOR TO PLAQUING – (08-13-07)

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Nontraditional atherosclerotic risk factors and extent of coronary atherosclerosis in patients with combined impaired fasting glucose and impaired glucose tolerance.

There are many clinical trials attempting to find that one drug that, when given at high dosages, can reverse or stop plaquing of the arteries. Of course, all this money spent is in the face of lifestyle changes and natural compounds that already to what the drug companies are trying to mimic.

This study found a relationship between the amount of plaquing in the coronary arteries and several “non-traditional” risk factors. So often physicians view coronary heart disease risk with blinders on — check cholesterol, blood pressure, family history, etc… But these risk factors only show a small part of what’s going on as far as risk of CHD in the patient.

This study found that insulin resistance was a major contributor to plaquing. No big surprise, of course, given how pro-inflammatory insulin resistance is.

Read entire article here

EFFECTS OF OMEGA-3 FATTY ACIDS ON HEART RATE – (04-30-07)

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Effects of Omega-3 Fatty Acids on Heart Rate in Cardiac Transplant Recipients

Probably one the worst things that has happened to our health is the increased intake of omega-6 fatty acids at the expense of omega-3 fatty acids. Most processed foods contain high omega-6 fatty acids like cottonseed, sunflower, corn and soybean oil. Over time, our cells turn over, whether heart, lung, blood vessels, liver or brain.

As new cells are created, they will take up the fatty acids that they are given. High levels of omega-3 fatty acids will result in more stable membranes, leaving the cell much healthier. Neurons can control their firing much better. Liver cells can respond to the environment much better. The pancreas can better produce insulin. And the heart cells that regulate when the heart is supposed to beat will be able to perform more efficiently.

This takes some time, dependent upon the cell type and how long it takes to turn over. The result of consistent intake of healthier fats is healthier cells. All cells. As such, increasing intake of fatty acids, through diet as well as supplementation, is an intervention with potent, broad spectrum benefits.

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INSULIN – A BIGGEST FEAR IN MOST DIABETICS! – (02-11-08)

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Sulfonylurea and glinide reduce insulin content, functional expression of K ATP channels, and accelerate apoptotic beta-cell death in the chronic phase

Wow. The biggest fear in most diabetics is the need to go on insulin. I can honestly say that, without exception, I have yet to see a diabetic follow mainstream medicine’s protocols and get better. For all, it is a slow downward spiral of worsening glucose control ending up with insulin use or death from heart disease. Not a pretty picture, huh? If the outcome is not sickening enough, picture this–2 classes of commonly used drugs for diabetes kill off the very cells that make insulin in the pancreas. Read that last line again. That means that if you stay on your medication, it is likely to produce the very outcome most diabetics are trying desperately to avoid.

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LEUKOARAIOSIS – AN MRI STUDY OF THE BRAIN – (02-25-08)

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Significant association between leukoaraiosis and metabolic syndrome in healthy subjects

For those of you not familiar with the term, leukoaraisosis is a finding on MRI that loss of white matter in the brain is occurring. And if that doesn’t sound like a good thing, then you’re right.

In this study, those patients with Metabolic Syndrome had triple the risk of having leukoaraiosis. This adds further weight to the concept that neurodegenerative disorders like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s are actually a form of Type 3 diabetes resulting from insulin resistance.

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IS INSULIN A MAJOR CONTRIBUTING FACTOR TO PANCREATIC CANCER? – (03-17-08)

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Prediagnostic Plasma C-Peptide and Pancreatic Cancer Risk in Men and Women

Pancreatic cancer is arguably one of the worst cancers we experience. Outcomes are exceedingly poor, treatment successes are rare, and there are no good methods to detect the cancer early enough to be of real value. To top that off, it seems that the prevalence is skyrocketing. So, as always, this boils down to prevention. As a way of background, C-peptide is a protein release in the formation of insulin, and thus can be used as a marker of how hard the pancreas is working to produce insulin.

In this study, non fasting C-peptide levels led to a whopping 4.24 times risk for pancreatic cancer. This clearly delineates sugar handling / insulin issues as a MAJOR contributing factor to pancreatic cancer. That also means that this cancer is likely to be heavily risk-modifiable.

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DOES HIGH INTENSITY INTERVAL TRAINING IMPROVE INSULIN? (08-24-09)

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Extremely short duration high intensity interval training substantially improves insulin action in young healthy males

I’ve become more and more of a fan of interval type training when it comes to aerobics. Personally, I subscribe to Dr. Sears’ PACE program (Progressive Accelerating Cardiopulmonary Exertion), which involves sets of increasing intensity but shorter duration. Makes sense when you look at what our bodies were designed to do (can’t imagine any type of sustained aerobic jog to chase after a running antelope for food…). The research is increasingly in support of this type of program.

In this particular study, a miniscule level of intense exercise (15 mins over 2 wks) led to a 23% improvement in the way insulin was functioning in the body in a small group of sedentary young men.  We’re talking 4-6 sets of cycling as fast as they could for 30 seconds.  This was done in 6 sessions over the course of 2 wks.  Listen..if you can’t do 9 minutes of exercise per week, you should just hang it up now.

Read entire article here