The levels of insulin in your blood may be the single most important chemical level to your health and wellness.   Most are aware that insulin has something to do with regulating blood sugar, but what is less well known is that insulin has its fingers in almost every organ system in the body, and as the regulation and then levels of insulin in the blood get thrown off, its effects are generally detrimental, and in fact, most of the diseases of aging have direct relationships to the balance of this important chemical.  The causes of insulin resistance lay mostly in dietary factors, and so does the remedy for insulin imbalance, or insulin resistance. 

The primary purpose of insulin in the human body is to cause for the storage of excess nutrients.  With the intake of sugar, when the body recognizes there to be more sugar in the blood stream than is needed for the current activity level insulin is released to initiate the storage.  The first form of storage is glycogen storage in you liver and muscles, for the purpose of providing a quick boost of energy if needed.  Evolutionarily this could be thought of as energy for fight or flight if you are about to be eaten by a saber toothed tiger.  Glycogen stores fill quickly and then the body stores excess blood sugar as everyone’s favorite whipping boy, saturated fat.  Backing up a little, excess sugar enters your blood stream through ingesting it in the diet.  Now the biggest blast of blood-sugar comes from eating high-sugar foods, like your typical soft drinks and desserts; however any carbohydrates, even complex-carbohydrates elevate the blood sugar level and therefore cause for this storage process to be initiated.  This of course then begs the question: Why on earth would you ever eat a high complex-carbohydrate, low-saturated fat diet?  In essence this makes no sense as a high-complex carbohydrate diet would simply cause your body to make plenty of saturated fat on its own. 

Insulin touches every corner of your body and here is only a partial breakdown of what it causes in the body:

-Storage of magnesium

-Retention of sodium

-Stimulates cell proliferation and division

-Stores sugar as fat

-Mediates blood lipids (i.e. Triglycerides)

-Helps control the manufacture of cholesterol

-Helps control sex hormones estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone

-Controls growth hormone

-Elevates plasma non-esterified free fatty acid concentrations

-Increases hepatic secretion of VLDL

As you can see insulin has some important functions in the human body and without it you wouldn’t be long for this world.  However the key with insulin is to have a proper balance, and primarily to have only a small amount floating around in your blood stream at any one time.  

Insulin resistance, also known as type 2 diabetes or adult onset diabetes is a growing problem in the U.S.   In 2000, according to the World Health Organization, at least 171 million people worldwide suffered from diabetes, or 2.8% of the population.  Its incidence is increasing rapidly, and it is estimated that by the year 2030, this number will almost double. 

When sugar enters the blood stream insulin is released and signals your cells to store the sugar first as glycogen and then as fat.  The mechanism for this is that there are specific receptor sites for insulin on the membrane of each cell.  When a molecule of insulin touches the receptor a chain reaction takes place causing for the cell to perform whatever functions it does when in the presence of insulin.  Cell membranes have a self-regulating mechanism called up- or down-regulation of receptors.  This literally means that they either create more (up-regulation) or less receptors (down-regulation) for a specific chemical related to how much of it they are in contact with over time.  In other words when a cell is constantly bombarded with a chemical it begins to down-regulate its receptors for that chemical and becomes less sensitive to it.  This is similar to when you first enters a room with a strong smell, it is very noticeable, but after being in the room for some time your sense of smell accommodates (down-regulation) and you don’t notice it as much, but if you leave and then re-enter (up-regulation) you can then notice the smell strongly again.  In the case of insulin resistance, the cells are down-regulating their insulin receptors, and therefore they are less responsive to it in the blood stream.  However, even if the cells are resistant to the messages of insulin, you body still requires something to happen to the sugar floating in your blood, so your pancreas begins to secrete higher and higher amounts of insulin in order to achieve the same results.  This is where the trouble really begins.  An over abundance of insulin in the human body has numerous detrimental effects:

-Decreases the cellular uptake of vitamin C.  (A blood sugar level of 120 reduces the phagocytic index by 75%.  The phagocytic index is a measure of how rapidly an immune cell can destroy a virus, bacteria, or cancel cell.)

-Your cells become resistant to magnesium, which causes your blood vessels to constrict, which causes your blood pressure to rise.

-It raises triglyceride, and LDL levels

-It leads to coronary artery disease (CAD) by causing blood to clot to readily, the conversion of macrophages into foam cells, constriction of arteries, and stimulation of the sympathetic nervous system.  Not to mention the fact that it interferes with vitamin C uptake.

-It causes dyslipidemia i.e. Increased triglycerides, decreased HDL and increased LDL.

-Syndrome X (HBP, high cholesterol, Insulin resistance)

-Promotes acne

-Early menarche

-Certain epithelial cell carcinomas (cancer)

-Myopia (near-sightedness)

-Cutaneous papillomas (skin tags)

-Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS)

-Male vertex balding

Now the Million dollar question: What do I do about insulin?

The answer in its simplest form is; stop eating sugar!  O.K., O.K.  I know for most people this solution sounds easier than it is.  So what are some more “reasonable” steps one can take to reign in insulin levels?

The first distinction to make is identifying the primary sources of sugar in your diet.

Liquid Sugar       Recently a report came out detailing that the average American diet consists of 1/3 calories form sugar!  That means that 1 out of every 3 calories that you eat in a day has no positive nutritive value, and even more it can lead to many of the health challenges detailed above.  Another detail reported in the report was that a large number of these calories from sugar come in liquid form, soda, juice, etc…  And despite the commercials to the contrary, high fructose corn syrup in not good for you, at the least it is equal to regular sugar, and in reality there is evidence that it could be worse for your insulin levels. 

White Flour       Another important point to consider is that white flour is basically sugar.  Much of it turns into simple sugar before it even hits your stomach.  So In reality you can view any white flour the same as eating straight sugar, and compounding the issue, sugar usually accompanies white flour. 

What about maple syrup, honey, brown sugar, raw sugar?          In short, they are all still sugar and you r body still needs to deal with it when it enters your blood stream by releasing insulin.  Yes, they do break down a little slower, so in that respect they don’t cause for as rapid of an insulin dump, but insulin has to be produced anyway. 

Artificial sweeteners, NutraSweet, Splenda, etc…?        JUST SAY NO! 

Links to more info:

NutraSweet: http://doctorellisor.com/nutrition/thebad/nutrasweet. 

Splenda:  http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2000/12/03/sucralose-dangers.aspx

What else?        

Supplements:  Aside from reducing and or eliminating sugar in your diet, which is the most vital part, there are also some supplements that can help balance the effects of sugar in your blood.  Again however, these are supplements, meaning they are meant to supplement healthy diet and behavior, not replace it. 

-Cinnamon:  research has shown that cinnamon can reduce blood sugar levels and lower blood cholesterol as well. Even 20 days after the cinnamon treatment had ended, the patients continued to see beneficial effects.

-Chromium:  this can increase the ability of cells to burn fat rather than needing to burn sugar.

-Omega-3 oils:  This can improve cellular circulation by making the membrane more fluid, thereby increasing receptor sensitivity.

Exercise:  Research has shown that regular resistance training has been shown to be better than aerobic training in bringing down insulin levels and increase insulin sensitivity.

Insulin Resistance can be reversed:        Studies of humans show that insulin resistance can be significantly improved and even reversed by simple yet extensive dietary changes, sometimes within only a few weeks. 

There are over 50 essential nutrients for the human body, all of which can be successfully ingested without ever eating grains of sugars.

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The ills of diet soda etc…

An acquaintance of mine asked me the other day, what is so bad about diet soda? She asked because she thought that the trade-off to not have so much sugar was worth it.  This led me again to the realization of how ignorant most people are about aspartame. 

 NutraSweet, the most well known brand name for the artificial sweetener aspartame has made its way into many varied foods and drinks in the American food supply. 

Below is a small sampling of the research that is out there on aspartame. 

Analysis Shows Nearly 100% of Independent Research Finds Problems with Aspartame

An analysis of peer reviewed medical literature using MEDLINE and other databases was conducted by Ralph G. Walton, MD, Chairman, and The Center for Behavioral Medicine, Professor of Clinical Psychiatry, Northeastern Ohio Universities College of Medicine. Dr. Walton analyzed 164 studies which were felt to have relevance to human safety questions. Of those studies, 74 studies had aspartame industry-related sponsorship and 90 were funded without any industry money.

Of the 90 non-industry-sponsored studies, 83 (92%) identified one or more problems with aspartame. Of the 7 studies which did not find a problem, 6 of those studies were conducted by the FDA. Given that a number of FDA officials went to work for the aspartame industry immediately following approval (including the former FDA Commissioner), many consider these studies to be equivalent to industry-sponsored research.

Of the 74 aspartame industry-sponsored studies, all 74 (100%) claimed that no problems were found with aspartame. This is reminiscent of tobacco industry research where it is primarily the tobacco research which never finds problems with the product, but nearly all of the independent studies do find problems.

The 74 aspartame industry-sponsored studies are those which one invariably sees cited in PR/news reports and reported by organizations funded by Monsanto/Benevia/NutraSweet (e.g., IFIC, ADA). These studies have severe design deficiencies which help to guarantee the “desired” outcomes. These design deficiencies may not be apparent to the inexperienced scientist. Healthcare practitioners and scientists should print out the all of the documents on the Monsanto/NutraSweet Scientific Abuse web page, the Scientific FAQs web page and the Aspartame Toxicity Reaction Report Samples.

Aspartame and MSG Cause Painful Fibromyalgia Symptoms

Ann Pharmacother 2001 Jun;35(6):702-6
Relief of fibromyalgia symptoms following discontinuation of dietary excitotoxins.
Smith JD, Terpening CM, Schmidt SO, Gums JG. Malcolm Randall Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Gainesville, FL, USA.

BACKGROUND: Fibromyalgia is a common rheumatologic disorder that is often difficult to treat effectively. CASE SUMMARY: Four patients diagnosed with fibromyalgia syndrome for two to 17 years are described. All had undergone multiple treatment modalities with limited success. All had complete, or nearly complete, resolution of their symptoms within months after eliminating monosodium glutamate (MSG) or MSG plus aspartame from their diet. All patients were women with multiple co morbidities prior to elimination of MSG. All have had recurrence of symptoms whenever MSG is ingested. DISCUSSION: Excitotoxins are molecules, such as MSG and aspartate that act as excitatory neurotransmitters, and can lead to neurotoxicity when used in excess. We propose that these four patients may represent a subset of fibromyalgia syndrome that is induced or exacerbated by excitotoxins or, alternatively, may comprise an excitotoxin syndrome that is similar to fibromyalgia. We suggest that identification of similar patients and research with larger numbers of patients must be performed before definitive conclusions can be made. CONCLUSIONS: The elimination of MSG and other excitotoxins from the diets of patients with fibromyalgia offers a benign treatment option that has the potential for dramatic results in a subset of patients. PMID: 11408989

Aspartame Causes Memory Loss

Title: DANGEROUS DIET DRINKS.
Subject(s): ASPARTAME — Physiological effect; NONNUTRITIVE sweeteners
Side effects; MEMORY
Source: Psychology Today, Mar/Apr 2001, Vol. 34 Issue 2, p20, 2/5p

Section: [Nutrition] Facts&Findings
MIND DANGEROUS DIET DRINKS
CAN’T REMEMBER WHAT YOU HAD FOR LUNCH?
WHAT YOU ATE OR DRANK MIGHT BE THE REASON.
New research suggests that the artificial sweetener aspartame may actually go to your head.
By Peter Rebhahn

Anecdotal evidence that aspartame disrupts memory has been growing since the sugar substitute was approved in the early 1980s, though attempts to prove the claim have so far been equivocal. Previous studies have tested memory by asking aspartame users to remember lists of words or numbers– tests of short-term memory. But according to Timothy M. Barth, Ph.D., a psychology professor at Texas Christian University, those studies focused on the wrong type of memory.

In his study of 90 students, Barth found that participants who regularly drank diet sodas containing aspartame performed as well as nonusers on laboratory tests. However, aspartame users were more likely to report long-term memory lapses like forgetting details of personal routines or whether or not a task had been completed.

“These people aren’t crazy,” says Barth. Instead, “the type of memory problems they report are not the type of memories that have been assessed in the typical laboratory study.”

After reporting his findings at a recent Society for Neuroscience meeting, Barth cautioned that he thinks it’s premature to condemn aspartame. But he does worry about the largely untested effects of long-term use. Already, he has made some converts. “Several of my graduate students who drank diet soda no longer do.”

Aspartame and Lymphomas / Leukemias

A long-term study linking aspartame ingestion to lymphomas and leukemias in animals. The full study can be read at: http://www.ramazzini.it/fondazione/docs/AspartameGEO2005.pdf. Neurosurgeon Russell Blaylock M.D. commented: “The new study released in the European Journal of Oncology by Morando Soffritti and co-workers should terrify mothers and all those consuming aspartame sweetened products. This was a carefully done study which clearly demonstrated a statistically significant increase in several types of lymphomas and leukemias in rats. Both of these malignancies have increased significantly in this country since the widespread use of aspartame.

“This study confirmed the previous study by Dr. Trocho and co-workers, which also found the formaldehyde breakdown product of aspartame to be damaging to cellular DNA and that this damage was accumulative. The type of damage was a duplicate of that associated with cancers. Along with this most recent study, this means that drinking a single diet cola sweetened with aspartame every day could increase one’s risk of developing a lymphoma or leukemia.

“They also found an increased incidence of malignant brain tumors, even though it was not statistically significant. This does not mean there is no association to brain tumors, since only the animals exposed to aspartame developed the tumors. With children and pregnant women drinking the largest amount of diet colas, this puts their children at the greatest risk of developing one of these horrible diseases. Their study found that even low doses of aspartame could cause these malignancies; yet, the higher the dose, the more cancers that were seen.”

A follow-up study was published in Environmental Health Perspectives showing that there was a significant increase in cancer of the kidney and peripheral nerves. The full published study can be found in PDF format at: http://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/members/2005/8711/8711.pdf.

Aspartame and Weight Gain

A study conducted at the University of Texas Health Sciences Center reported a “41% increase in risk of being overweight for every can or bottle of diet soft drink a person consumes each day.” The findings come from eight years of collecting data by Sharon P. Fowler, MPH and colleagues. The results of the study were reported at the 65th Annual Scientific Sessions of the American Diabetes Association in San Diet on June 10-14, 2005 (Abstract 1058-P). While this study, by itself, does not prove that aspartame causes weight gain, it adds to the evidence seen in independent research. For example, a study conducted by Dr. H.J. Roberts found that 5% of subjects reporting symptoms from aspartame also reported a “paridoxic weight gain.” (Reactions Attributed to Aspartame-Containing Products: 551 Cases,” Journal of Applied Nutrition, Volume 40, page 85-94). Lavin found that females with eating restraint had a higher Calorie intake subsequent to aspartame intake as opposed to sugar or water intake. (Lavin, J.H., S.J. French, N.W. Read, 1997. “The Effect of Sucrose- and Aspartame-Sweetened Drinks on Energy Intake, Hunger and Food Choice of Female, Moderately Restrained Eaters,” International Journal of Obesity, Volume 21, pages 37-42, 1997.)

One assertion put forward by the food industry is that the amount of harmful substances like methanol and formaldehyde one ingests by drinking aspartame are too small to make a difference in your health.  This is an excerpt from http://www.holisticmed.com/aspartame/methanol.faq

 However, clinically, chronic exposure to methanol has been seen to produce headaches, dizziness, nausea, ear buzzing, GI disturbances, weakness, vertigo, chills, memory lapses, numbness & shooting pains, behavioral disturbances, neuritis, misty vision, vision tunneling, blurring of vision, conjunctivitis, insomnia, vision loss, depression, heart problems (including disease of the heart muscle), pancreatic inflammation (Kavet 1990, Monte 1984, Posner1975). The methanol from aspartame is converted to formaldehyde and then formic acid (DHHS 1993, Liesivuori 1991).  Chronic formaldehyde exposure at *very* low doses has been shown to cause immune system and neurological damage and changes as well as headaches, general poor health, permanent genetic damage, and a number of other serious health problems (Fujimaki 1992, John 1994, Liu 1993, Main 1983, Molhave 1986, National Research Council 1981, Shaham 1996, Srivastava 1992, Vojdani 1992, Wantke 1996).  One experiment (Wantke 1996) showed that chronic exposure to formaldehyde caused systemic health problems (i.e., poor health) in children at an air concentration of *only*

0.043 – 0.070 parts per million!  Clearly, chronic exposure to an extremely small amount of formaldehyde is to be avoided.

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            Trans Fats 

Trans fats are man-made fats that are created during the hydrogenation process.  They are unnatural and very toxic to your body.  Some of the effects they have on the body are, cancer, atherosclerosis, diabetes, obesity, immune system dysfunction, low-birth-weight babies, birth defects, decreased visual acuity, sterility, and problems with bones and tendons.[i]

What are trans fats, and where do they come from? 

Trans fats are a new player on the scene of modern foods.  They are abundant in packaged and processed foods.  The process of creating trans fats is called hydrogenation.  This is the process of turning polyunsaturated fats, normally liquid at room temperature, to fats that are solid at room temperature.  The cheapest, most available oils, like soy, corn, cottonseed, or canola, are mixed with tiny metal particles, usually nickel oxide, then subjected to hydrogen gas in a high-pressure, high temperature reactor.  Then, emulsifiers and starches are added for a better consistency, and the mixture is steam cleaned to remove the odor.  It is then bleached to remove the gray color, and dyes and strong flavors are added to make it resemble butter.i  The process alters the molecular structure from the naturally occurring form called cis, into the unnatural form called trans.  Meaning, a hydrogen atom is moved across to the other side of the carbon chain at the point of the double bond creating a more packable, plastic fat.ii 

          Why you should care. 

The consumption of trans fats in the diet can cause damage to the cell membranes and alter function of the phospholipid-dependant enzymes contained in these membranes.  This alters the membrane permeability impairing the active transport enzymes for sodium, calcium, magnesium, and potassium.  These cells are then subject to attack by free-radicals, causing all sorts of health problems.iii  

Cancer

atherosclerosis

diabetes

obesity

immune system dysfunction

low-birth-weight babies

birth defects

decreased visual acuity

sterility

problems with bones and tendons, to name a few.[ii]

These fats also block the utilization of essential fatty acids, (omega-3‘s etc…) causing effects such as sexual dysfunction, increased blood cholesterol and paralysis of the immune system.i  

As the body unwittingly incorporates these fats into the cell membranes, they severely reduce the cellular integrity, so the lungs, digestive tract, and all internal cells wind up admitting allergens, undigested foods, and other foreign particles.  Also the saturated fat sources that the trans fats come in causes you to eat six times as much as you normally would, presumably because the body needs essential fatty acids that it is not getting from the trans fats.vi   

 The safe amount of trans fat is ZERO grams per day 

-One study suggests that trans fat is linked to a 93% rise in the risk of cardiovascular disease, and that replacement of 2% of trans fat consumed with mono-unsaturated fats, could reduce the risk of heart disease by 53%.iii

 - In another study researchers analyzed data from 84,000 women who were followed for 14 years, and found that higher intake of trans fats was associated with a significant increase in the risk of diabetes.iv

 - This same analysis revealed that for every 2% increase in the amount of trans fats increases the person’s risk of heart disease by 93%.

 - It has been estimated that trans fats are responsible for 30,000 deaths annually in the U.S.v 

ii   Enig, M. and Fallon, S.  The Oiling of America, http://www.westonaprice.org/know_your_fats/oiling.html

iii   Lam, M.  Types of Fats,http://www.drlam.com/A3R_brief_in_doc_format/2002-No3-Fatandcholesterol.cfm#TypesofFat

[ii]   Enig, M. and Fallon, S.  The Skinny on Fats, http://www.westonaprice.org/know_your_fats/skinny.html.

viTreelight Health, The Role of TFAs (trans fatty acids & other degenerated fatty acids) in Disease and the Possible Effects of Fasting.  http://www.treelight.com/health/TFAsandfasting.html.

iv The Johns Hopkins Medical Letter: Health After 50,  March 2002, http://www.hopkinsafter50.com/html/silos/heart/haartocel_saturated.php.

vMedicinet.com, http://www.medterms.com/script/main/art.asp?artclekey=1109.

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