A New Look at Insulin, Glucagon & the Pancreas (a.k.a. ITIS part 9)

“Contrary to popular belief, insulin is not needed for glucose uptake and utilization in man.” (Source)

What? Insulin is not needed for glucose uptake? Did I just blow your mind a little?  If so, hang on to your hat. Lots more of that to come.

As I mentioned in my previous post on the personal fat threshold concept, what I enjoy most about writing my blog is that I get to share with you the fascinating and surprising things I learn. And one thing I can say with certainty is, the more I learn, the less I know. It seems like I barely hit publish on a new blog post before coming across a bunch of papers that teach me even more about the subject in question, or make me rethink what I wrote about it in the past.

One subject I’ve learned more about since I last wrote about it is insulin. If you’re new here, I recommend digging into my 8-part series on insulin. If I do say so myself, it’s some of the most important and educational stuff I’ve written.  But you don’t need to have read that to understand today’s post.

If you’re accustomed to thinking about insulin as a “blood sugar hormone,” you’re about to have your world turned upside down.  What I’ve learned about insulin over the past couple of years makes me think that lowering blood glucose might be one of the least important and impressive things it does.

Another very long post coming your way here, so grab a coffee or some pork rinds, and happy reading!

Before you dive in, though, I recommend scrolling way down to the bottom of this post where it says “End.” You might want to spend a while reading the whole thing, or you might not…that will help you decide. 

Does Protein Harm the Kidneys?

Hey kids! My previous blog post laid waste to the myth that a high protein intake is harmful for bone health. This time, it’s my great pleasure to decimate another “high protein is bad for you” thing. Today, it’s kidney function. Many of you have been eagerly awaiting this post. Here’s hoping I don’t disappoint.

Even if you’ve accepted that everything we thought we knew about saturated fat and cholesterol in our diets was almost completely wrong, and you’ve been following a low-carb or ketogenic diet confidently for fat loss, migraines, GERD/acid reflux,  reversing type 2 diabetes, reducing insulin needs and evening out blood sugar for type 1 diabetes, or for some other health issue, maybe there’s still some lingering fear in the back of your mind that the protein you’re eating—especially animal protein—is bad for your kidneys.

We’ve heard this over and over from just about everyone with an agenda to discredit the efficacy of low carb diets. Now, mind you, low carb diets are not, by definition, high in protein, but in walking away from sugars, grains, beans, and starchy vegetables, many of us find that, compared to our former high-carb life, our protein consumption does increase, whether in absolute grams, as a percentage of total calories, or both. Not to mention the growing carnivore movement, where people are eating only animal foods. For these folks, protein consumption almost certainly increases compared to a standard Western diet, and likely even compared to if/when they were following a ketogenic diet.

So with all this in mind, it’s important that we set the record straight about the influence of dietary protein on kidney function.

Ketogenesis, Measuring Ketones, and Burning Fat vs Being in Ketosis

This post is long overdue.

I cannot tell you how many emails I get from people fretting over their ketone levels. It’s time to set the record straight on this issue. I wish there was someplace I could refer people for reliable information on this subject, but I haven’t come across a blog post or podcast interview that explains things satisfactorily. At least, not to my satisfaction. And that is and always has been my goal in writing my blog: I explain things the way I would want someone to explain them to me, if I were new to all this. And since no one—as far as I know, anyway—has tackled this subject the way I would, I finally had to just sit down and write this. If you feel it’s educational, please share it in the low carb and/or ketogenic circles you frequent, because I know this issue comes up all the time in ketogenic forums and Facebook groups. (And if you know of other good resources on this topic, feel free to provide a link in the comments, and I’ll update this post to include it.)

Okay, here goes.

There are few issues more controversial regarding ketogenic diets than whether you should measure your ketones. There are valid reasons to measure, but there are also a lot—a lot—of misconceptions about measuring ketones and how to interpret the data. So let’s get into when and why it’s a good idea to measure, who doesn’t need to measure, and most important, what the numbers mean. (I said who “doesn’t need to” measure rather than who shouldn’t measure because if you want to measure, then go ahead. There’s really no should or shouldn’t here. But if you choose to measure, you need to understand how to interpret and understand the numbers so you don’t jump to illogical and false conclusions.)     

I will also be covering the difference between being fat adapted versus in ketosis. I tried to do it in a few posts awhile back, but I think I the way I explain it here is much better because I will show you the biochemical pathways involved so you will be able to see how it actually works. My hope is that this will go from a vague concept in your mind to, “Oh! NOW I get it!” And you will understand very clearly how you can absolutely, positively have a fat-based metabolism and lose body fat even if you’re not in ketosis. 

Book Review: The Salt Fix (and a look at sodium)

“Modern medicine diverted us from our evolutionary path when it decided that salt was a toxic, addictive, non-essential food additive. The seeds of this destructive myth were sown one hundred years ago, but we are still bearing the costs now.” (p.30)

“As is clear from the medical literature, as well as the population-based studies, low-salt guidelines are not ‘the ideal.’ They are not even innocuous. We may someday discover that the low-salt guidelines created more heart disease than they ever prevented.” (p.89)

Those are some pretty hefty claims, and it would take some pretty hefty research to back them up. Fortunately, James DiNicolantonio, PharmD, has done the heavy lifting for us in his new book, The Salt Fix: Why the Experts Got It All Wrong--and How Eating More Might Save Your Life. That’s an ambitious title, but after reading the book, you might find it hard to refute.

Before I get into the review, in the interest of full disclosure, allow me to declare that I received a courtesy copy of this book. I also collaborated with Dr. DiNicolantonio on my very first peer-reviewed journal article, so obviously, I respect him and his work. That being said, if I thought the book was lackluster, I’d tell you so. Fortunately, that is not the case, so I can give you my honest assessment of the book and still stay in my friend and colleague’s good graces.     

On to the details!

More Than You Ever Wanted to Know About Protein & Gluconeogenesis

My dear readers, the website/blog update has run into some snags. Rather than continuing to keep you waiting, though, I’m going to publish new posts and I’ll worry about transitioning them over later on. And since it’s been a few months since I last posted anything of substance, I’ve decided to drop this enormous, enormous post on you to make up for that lost time—and it might take you equally long to read it. Sorry about that, but hey, I haven’t written anything meaningful since May, so, depending on your point of view, this post is either a gift or a punishment. As I’ve said in the past, if you’re an insomniac or a cubicle dweller with lots of time to kill, you’re welcome. (The rest of you, go get yourself a cup of coffee or tea, come back, and get comfy.)

I’ve been meaning to write this post for over a year, but it’s such a big topic and so much can go wrong that the thought of tackling it all was enough to make me not write it. But it’s gotten to the point that I’m tired enough of seeing the same questions asked and the same myths propagated over and over on various keto and low carb forums that I’ve decided this needs to be done, no matter how painful I might find it. Because seeing nonsense and fearmongering regarding the role of protein in low carb or ketogenic diets is even more painful. So if finally managing to organize my thoughts into some kind of coherent prose means I never have to read the phrase, “too much protein turns into sugar” ever again, it will be worth it.

So that’s what’s on tap today, kids: Gluconeogenesis.

That’s right, friends, it’s time to do some myth-busting surrounding the whacked-out notion that protein—lean protein, in particular (like a skinless chicken breast, or tuna canned in water)—is the metabolic equivalent of chocolate cake. (Or cotton candy, or gummy bears, or any other insanely sugary thing that might raise your blood glucose and insulin far more than protein does.) 

Break Nutrition - A New (and GOOD!) Blog & Podcast

Hey Everyone,

To get the word out about the release of my book, The Alzheimer’s Antidote, I’ve been making the rounds on several podcasts. I’ll post something soon with links to all of them in case you’d like to give a few of them a listen. (Yes, it’s true! You can get your fix of me ranting [and occasionally sharing nifty information] even when there’s no new blog post, haha! And you get to hear it all in my real voice! [For better or worse…ugh…])

Before I get to that, though, there’s a particular show I’d like to tell you about. My friend Raphael has started a new podcast and website called Break Nutrition. Raphi is very darn smart. He’s doing graduate work in molecular biology, with a research focus on cancer. (He is quite familiar with all we’ve covered in the cancer series – the Warburg effect, Dr. Thomas Seyfried’s work, the role of damaged mitochondria, etc. Recall that I picked his brain a bit for one of the posts on hypoxia.) If you’re on Twitter, you’ll want to follow him.

Break Nutrition is brand new, but it looks to be a good source for some pretty intense, intelligent, and science-based arguments covering a lot of what you all love: evolutionary theory informing modern diets, how low carb/ketogenic diets might affect nutrient requirements, fat loss mistakes, and more. Raphi is not the only one writing for Break Nutrition. He’s already had guest posts from some low-carb heavy-hitters. If you’re getting a bit bored with your blog or podcast “routine” and are looking to change things up a little—and are especially seeking things that really make you think, question what you think you know, and go hmmm…, then this is for you.

The podcast is pretty advanced sometimes. I’ve listened to a couple episodes and have more to get to. Raphi has had his friend and colleague Gabor Erdosi on a few times, and they’ve talked about some very interesting theories and mechanisms regarding type 2 diabetes and obesity – things you are not learning about anywhere else, including my blog. (I’ve been reading some papers on these ideas, though, and it’s fascinating stuff! I’ll have a post or two on it in the not-too-distant future. Sneak peek: it’s becoming more and more obvious to me why some people do horribly on keto when they focus on the “high fat” part more than the low carb part.) These episodes might be a bit advanced for some people, but others might soak them up like sponges.

One particular episode you will not need a PhD to understand and enjoy is the one I was on. Raphi and I had a great time talking about Alzheimer’s pathology and possible treatments, but the stuff we chatted about after that was even better. We got into gluconeogenesis (LOADS of misinformation on this all over the ketowebs), exogenous ketones, and why the whole calorie “thing” is almost useless in discussions of fat loss, satiety, energy balance, and body weight regulation. Useless! (Details in this post I wrote. One of my favorites!) You will hear me say I’ve lost 14 pounds since starting thyroid medication in December. The crippling depression that had me sidelined for over two years is about 91% gone as well—for real this time! (Post coming soon on that, too, my darlings!)

Raphi and I had a great conversation and I think you’ll enjoy listening. (Bonus: you get to hear what my favorite Chinese food was, back in the day.)  ;-)

So check out Break Nutrition and download the podcast. (And check out the other shows, too! Available on iTunes, too.)

Disclaimer: Amy Berger, MS, CNS, NTP, is not a physician and Tuit Nutrition, LLC, is not a medical practice. The information contained on this site is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any medical condition and is not to be used as a substitute for the care and guidance of a physician. Links in this post and all others may direct you to amazon.com, where I will receive a small amount of the purchase price of any items you buy through my affiliate links.

My Top 10 Favorite Posts

I missed my four year blogversary!

My blog has existed since August 2012. I would have celebrated sooner, but August 2016 blew right past me. (Probably because I was mired in a deep and longstanding depression, which I thought I was starting to come out of, but which is actually back in full force and only lifted temporarily.)  As of this writing, there are 242 posts. I don’t think I hit my stride until sometime mid-2013, but there are a couple of gems going back as far as September 2012.

For those of you who found me a few years into my blathering blogging, and since new people stumble upon my blog every week, I thought it would be nice to start the new year by sharing a selection of my personal favorite posts for those of you who have only recently tuned in, as well as for any of you who are wondering what the “must read” posts are. (In my opinion, anyway.) I tried to purge all my low carb and keto-related anger in a few posts prior to the close of 2016 so that I could start 2017 on a more positive note. I can’t promise I won’t post any more rants in the future (I think we can all agree I’m not physically capable of holding it in), but I am going to try to stick to things that are a little more scientific, as well as posting tips and insights that are helpful for following these types of diets in the real world.

With no further ado, here are my top ten favorites, in no particular order, except that the first one is probably nearest and dearest to my heart and resonates with me, personally, the most deeply:

Metabolic Theory of Cancer: Speculation on the Causes of Cancer -- and How to Mitigate Them (Pt.5B)

Okay!

I left off last time saying that we have two big issues to address with regard to hypoxia as a cause or exacerbating factor in cancer: 

1. What causes tissue to become hypoxic?
2. Is there a role for hyperbaric oxygen therapy in fighting cancer?

  

Let’s tackle them in order.

To be honest with you, I still don’t know which comes first: low oxygen, or mitochondrial dysfunction. The fact is, even when there’s plenty of oxygen available, if the mitochondria are malfunctioning, they can’t use it. But what if what’s causing the mitochondria to malfunction is insufficient oxygen? (I told you last time this stuff is complicated!)

It almost doesn’t matter, right? The bottom line is, whether the tissue is hypoxic or not, the mitochondria are not using whatever oxygen might be present. (Well, they’re using some of it. Remember, kids, when it comes to biology and biochemistry, there are very rarely any absolutes, yes or no, on or off. Things aren't binary, but rather, there's a balancing act. Even cancer cells have some mitochondria that are okay; it’s just that the majority of them are messed up.)

I just have a hard time wrapping my head around it all. Think about angiogenesis: the creation of blood vessels specifically so that the cancerous tissue ensures it has a steady supply of fuel and nutrients. But what does blood carry besides fuel and nutrients? OXYGEN. So you would think that angiogenesis would give cancer cells more oxygen, not less. So going one step further, this being the case, it seems like the mitochondrial dysfunction comes first, because theoretically, there should be sufficient oxygen delivery to the cancer cells, what with all those blood vessels they created for their own nefarious purposes. So there is sufficient oxygen (“normoxia”), yet we have hypoxia-inducible factors out the yin-yang upregulating all sorts of nasty pathways and reactions in these cells to keep themselves alive because they think they’re hypoxic. And the reason they think they’re hypoxic is because the mitochondria aren’t using the oxygen. (That’s my logic, anyway. I told you there was going to be a lot of wild speculation here, and so it begins.)

Metabolic Theory of Cancer: Speculation on the Causes of Cancer -- and How to Mitigate Them (Pt.5A)

Graphic adapted from Seyfried et al., 2015

OH. EM. GEE!!!!!

It’s baaa-aaaaack!

Today is June 1, 2016. Looking back through the blog archives, I saw that the previous post in this series on the metabolic theory of cancer was published on June 1, 2015. Yes, kids, it’s been a year. A full year! An entire year to the day. If you have been waiting and waiting (and waiting!) for me to get back to this and address some key concepts we haven’t gotten to yet, believe me, nobody wanted me to get back to this more than I did. I absolutely did not plan on it taking a year. But alas. Hopefully, in that time, you’ve learned a thing or two about insulin, stubborn fat loss, and the use of ketogenic diets for Alzheimer’s disease and other neurological conditions. In fact, I am in the process of adding a new installment to the “ITIS/It’s the Insulin, Stupid” series, but when I saw that I was coming up on the one-year anniversary of neglecting the cancer series, I knew I had to get my rear in gear and just DO IT. I really wanted to do the insulin post first, but considering the date, I thought it would be apropos for me to do this one instead.

Also, just to let you know, since the writing of that last post, I have had the honor of meeting Drs. Seyfried, D’Agostino, and Poff in person. {Squee!!}  I also got to meet Dr. Cunnane, Dr. Newport, Dr. Rho, and Dr. Maffetone. Holy moly…it was a nonstop conference of metabolism rock stars.

I am most definitely going to get to the mamma-jamma, granddaddy of all topics we’ve been waiting for in this cancer series—the ketogenic diet—but please be patient. I’ve very recently had more work stuff come up (in a good way), and I am feeling a bit overwhelmed. I will write about ketosis. I can’t promise when, exactly, that will happen, but I promise it won’t take a year. (Maybe just a couple weeks, considering I’m already working on it.)  ;-)

If you’re new to my blog and have no idea what’s going on right now, the series I’ve written on the metabolic theory of cancer is a “fan favorite” – at least, among the people who like to geek out on the science with me. The cancer series is representative of when my blog becomes a free course in (very basic) biochemistry and physiology, and is peppered with links and quotes from the scientific literature. If you prefer my rants, shakedowns of food labels, and other casual-type posts, no prob! Whatever floats your boat. But for those of you who need to kill lots of time at your desk job, or who perhaps need help falling asleep, you might want to start way back at the beginning and work your way toward today’s post. (Actually, that’s sarcasm. The truth is, I think this stuff is fascinating, and perhaps some of my best work. I swear, that hexokinase 2 stuff STILL blows my mind.)

Since it has been a year (!!) since the last installment, I’ll make it easy for you and list all the posts in order, from first to most recent: 

1. Introduction
2. Cells Behaving Badly
3. Cellular Energy Generation 1 - Glycolysis
4. Cellular Energy Generation 2 - Mighty Mitochondria (Krebs Cycle, Electron Transport Chain)
5. Mitochondrial Dysfunction 1
6. Mitochondrial Dysfunction 2 - They ARE Broken
7. Glycolysis Run Amok & Mutant Hexokinase
8. Aerobic Fermentation (a.k.a. "The Warburg Effect")
9. Cancer Cells are Sugar Junkies
10. Mutations vs. Mitochondria
11. Cancer as a Protective Mechanism
12. Speculation on the Causes of Cancer (Pt.1)
13. Video Lesson! (Thomas Seyfried, PhD)
14. Speculation on the Causes of Cancer -- and How to Mitigate Risk (Pt.2)
15. Speculation on the Causes of Cancer -- and How to Mitigate Them (Pt.3 - Viruses)
16. Speculation on the Causes of Cancer -- and How to Mitigate Them (Pt.4 - Carcinogens)

Buckle up and hang on tight, everyone. HERE WE GO!

Podcast Interview - Ketogenic Diets for Neurological Health

For those of you who don’t follow me on Twitter or Facebook and missed the announcement last week, I’ve recorded another episode of the Real World Paleo Podcast with Christine Lehmann, the Reverse Diabetes Coach, and a fellow Nutritional Therapy Practitioner. (In fact, Christine and I met when we were in the same class for our NTP training.) You can check out the details here, and the show is available on iTunes and Stitcher.

You may recall I was on this show a few months ago, talking about ketogenic diets for Alzheimer’s disease. This time, we expanded the discussion to other neurological conditions, including Parkinson’s, ALS, epilepsy, and multiple sclerosis. We briefly touched upon the potential efficacy of ketogenic approaches for psychological conditions as well, such as schizophrenia, anxiety, and bipolar disorder. We also spent a few minutes talking about intermittent fasting and how it might be an additional tool in the arsenal to combat neurological and neurodegenerative conditions.

Talk in West Virginia!

WEST VIRGINIA PEOPLE!

I’m giving a talk on Thursday, January 21^st at 6pm, at the Clarion Hotel in Shepherdstown. If you’re in the local area, come on out and say hello! There’s a $13.95 charge, but that covers your enjoyment of an all-you-can-eat low carb buffet. (I receive no speaking fee. Just doing this for fun and to help lots of low-carb newbies!)

The event is a meeting for a low-carb support group run by Mark Cucuzzella, MD. I reached out to Dr. Cucuzzella after hearing him on episode 1005 of Jimmy Moore’s Livin’ la Vida Low Carb Show. Listening to him talk with Jimmy, I felt like I was hearing a kindred spirit. Not only is he in the U.S. Air Force Reserve, but he’s a LCHF-fueled distance runner as well as a low-carb-friendly physician bringing the low-carb and real food message to the bigwigs who decide what recruits eat at basic training. Can you imagine the fighting force we’d have if more of these young people were eating low-carb? As if that weren’t enough to keep the guy busy, he’s also on a mission to transform the health of people in West Virginia (which has the sad distinction of being one of the most obese states in the nation).

Turns out, Dr. Cucuzzella heard me on Robb Wolf’s podcast, and had been planning to contact me as well. Go figure!

I’m told the group I’ll be addressing will be about 50/50 low-carb newbies and people who’ve already been doing it for a few months. So I’m planning to give a (funny and educational) general talk about why and how low-carb works. It'll be sort of the live version of my fuel partitioning series. (If you’ve read that, you’ll probably recognize some of my slides, hehheh.) So I probably won’t be saying anything you don’t already know, but if you’d like to come eat some yummy food, see me in person, and meet other low-carbers in your area, come join us! Plus, we’ll have a Q&A, so if you want to ask me something more advanced or off-topic from the talk, this is your chance.

See the flyer below, and if you’d like to attend, please RSVP to Melanie Miller, at melaniemillerconsulting@gmail.com.

Remember: Amy Berger, M.S., NTP, is not a physician and Tuit Nutrition, LLC, is not a medical practice. The information contained on this site is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any medical condition and is not to be used as a substitute for the care and guidance of a physician. Links in this post and all others may direct you to amazon.com, where I will receive a small amount of the purchase price of any items you buy through my affiliate links.

Why Am I Not Losing Weight on LCHF? (Pt.3a - Thyroid)

In the previous post in this series on stubborn weight loss, we talked about nutrient deficiencies as possible roadblocks to losing body fat, even when someone is faithfully following a low-carb, higher-fat diet. I left off saying that there are nutrients we typically associate with thyroid function, and thyroid function is a huge player, not just in fat loss, but in metabolism and energy generation as a whole. If your thyroid is on the fritz, or forces outside the thyroid gland are making it go on the fritz, fat loss will be very difficult. So this post and the next one will focus on nutritional factors that help the thyroid, as well as dietary and lifestyle factors that hurt the thyroid.

I have had many clients who were on thyroid medication of one kind or another. It was obvious to me, however, that whatever medication they were taking was not helping, because they were still overweight, depressed, fatigued, and had other signs and symptoms of low thyroid function. To my astonishment, these people were typically dumbfounded by my asking them, “Do you think the medication is working? Do you actually feel any better?” (Apparently, none of their physicians had ever bothered to inquire, and the clients had never stopped to ask themselves if they were feeling better.) The answer, which required no hesitation or deliberation on their part whatsoever, was an unqualified NO. Of course it was no. If they did feel better, and they were losing weight, they would not have sought my help in the first place. This isn’t rocket science, folks. If you are “on thyroid medication,” but you still feel like dog-poo, then either the dose is not optimal for you, or the type of medication is not right for you. Before we can get into detail on medication, though, we need to talk a little bit about thyroid function in general, and then we’ll see where nutrients and meds fit into the picture.

Why Am I Not Losing Weight on LCHF? (Pt.2 - Nutrients)

This is the second installment in a short-ish series looking at roadblocks to fat loss, even when it seems like you’re doing “all the right things.” If you missed part 1, you can check it out here, and here’s a link to a post about the complexity of weight loss in general.

Since we covered some of the “duh” stuff last time—the stuff that most of you are already aware of and were probably angry with me for even writing—this time, let’s get into some issues that might resonate with more of you, and, perhaps most importantly, provide you with information you can apply immediately if they do resonate.

In the series I wrote about insulin (which general consensus says totally kicked butt, by the way), I frequently used the word lipolysis. I explained that that’s just a fancy way to say “breaking down fat.” (“Lipo” for fat, and “lysis,” for splitting apart.) I further explained that lipolysis is the splitting of a triglyceride into its component pieces: a glycerol molecule and three fatty acids. The reason lipolysis is such an important process is that it is the method by which body fat is released from adipose tissue (fat cells), in order to travel through the blood to arrive at a destination where it can be burned for energy, such as in muscle cells. (10-second refresher: triglycerides are too large to pass through the cell membrane. In order for them to get out of the fat cell—which is what we want and need to happen in order to burn that fat—they have to be broken down into smaller pieces.)

As we also covered in the insulin posts, insulin gets in the way of lipolysis. (Scientifically speaking, insulin inhibits the enzyme hormone-sensitive lipase, which is what starts the lipolysis ball rolling.) This is one of the mechanisms by which low-carb diets work: keep insulin levels low, and lipolysis is free to proceed. Keep insulin levels high, and that fat ain’t goin’ nowhere, no-how.

But here’s the thing. And pay attention, because this is a very big thing:

ITIS -- It's the Insulin, Stupid (pt 4/8)

“Insulin is vital for lipogenesis. Its role as a lipogenic hormone is underplayed, but we know that without insulin, you can’t get fat.”
                                        --Dr. Roger Unger

Having raved about Dr. Unger’s lecture in the previous insulin post, obviously, I think he’s pretty brilliant. That being said, chronically elevated insulin isn’t the only mechanism by which people accumulate excess adipose tissue. (For the newbies out there, “accumulating excess adipose tissue” is the fancy way to say “get fat.”) I prefer to use the word adipose instead of fat, because I am trying to make a distinction between dietary fat that we consume in food, and the body fat that we all love to hate so much on our bellies, hips, thighs, and elsewhere. Even if they both occur in the form of triglycerides, I still want to keep them separate, since eating dietary fat does not automatically result in said fat depositing itself on our rear ends or forming second and third chins.

Apart from insulin, there are several other things that contribute to the regulation of body weight, and, perhaps more important, the composition of that weight. And I’m not ignoring those. Sometime in the next few weeks, I’ll be writing a post about the myriad other reasons someone might not be losing weight on a low-carb diet (unrelated to this insulin series). For our purposes right now, though, we’ll stick with insulin. Because even if there are other factors playing a role in excess adiposity, when we look at changes that have occurred to the food supply and the general dietary guidelines from various government and professional medical/health organizations during the last several decades, systemic hyperinsulinemia is probably one of the largest influences, if not the single largest.

In tackling the role of insulin on the accumulation of adipose tissue, first we need to explore just a few more things about insulin’s biochemical & physiological roles. After that, we’ll see how it all plays out in the real world—that is, in the body.

Alzheimer’s, Ketones, and Kidding Ourselves (Pt.1/3)

  

The Setup

Picture the following scenario:

You find yourself walking from one room into another and can’t remember why. And it’s been happening more often.

You’ve been misplacing things. Your phone, your keys, your wallet or purse. And it’s been happening more often.

You’ve been forgetting about important appointments, and that’s happening more often, too.

But this isn’t a big deal, right? You’re just getting older. This is normal. “Senior moments.” Happens to everyone.

But what if things are a little worse than that?

What if you’re out running errands and forget how to get back home?

What if you go for a walk by yourself and get lost in your own neighborhood?

What if you set something on the stove to cook, then wander away for a few minutes, and the only reason you remember you had something cooking is because the smoke alarm goes off and acrid smoke fills the house?

What if you start asking people the same simple question—one they’ve already answered—over and over—and over again?

You’re not just having senior moments. You’re having entire senior days. Senior weeks. Senior months.

You are literally losing your mind.

Maybe it’s gotten so bad you’ve had to stop working.

Maybe your family no longer trusts you to be at home by yourself, or cook for yourself, or drive your car.

Scary, huh?

But what if I told you I could fix things for you?

The Dietetics Organization Joins the 21st Century (Kind Of...)

If you’ve been living under a rock for the past few weeks, or, unlike me, you have an actual life, which precludes you from reading as many nutrition articles, blogs, and papers as I do, you might have missed the comments from the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (AND) in response to the Scientific Report of the 2015 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee. (The AND was formerly the ADA—the American Dietetic Association—the body that oversees the registered dietitian credential [RD].)

This thing has been making the rounds in the low-carb, Paleo, Primal and real food circles, mostly because it is a refreshing—and we might even say downright shocking—reversal of course by this supremely mainstream organization regarding some of the nutrients that have been public outlaws for the past few decades. While the AND has certainly not come out and directly endorsed higher-fat, low-carbohydrate diets, here a few general points they made about the recommendations by the 2015 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee (DGAC), some of which agree with the committee’s findings, and some of which don’t: 

• Very low sodium diets are not appropriate for everyone, and may, in fact, be harmful for some populations. 
• There is no correlation between dietary cholesterol intake and serum cholesterol levels.
• Since the studies on saturated fat, cholesterol, and heart disease over the years have been so terribly conducted and interpreted, “the Academy suggests that HHS and USDA support a similar revision [for that of cholesterol] deemphasizing saturated fat as a nutrient of concern.”
• Carbohydrate intake is a much stronger predictor for cardiovascular disease risk than is saturated fat, and it might not be such a bad idea to replace some amount of dietary carbohydrate with fat. 

As you can see, these points mark a huge step forward for this organization, which in the past, has been tepid, conventional, and by-the-book all the way. It’s a gutsy move, and I’m thrilled to see it happen. I applaud the AND for joining the rest of us in the 21^st Century with regard to basic science about food and human health. Since I have ragged pretty hard on the AND in the past, I’m happy to be able to give credit where credit is due.

That being said, this wouldn’t be all that interesting a post if all I did was sing the praises of this document. Naturally, there are a few points of contention. So let’s look at things little more closely, celebrate the good stuff, and bring to light the not-so-good stuff. We’ll start with the not-so-good stuff and then move to the good stuff, so that we end on a positive note.

Metabolic Theory of Cancer: Speculation on the Causes of Cancer -- and How to Mitigate Risk (Pt.2)

If the previous post in this series on cancer (before the video) was unsettling, good! It was supposed to be. It was meant to remind us that cancer is a vile beast, and that it can spring up seemingly from out of nowhere. It strikes people who are total health trainwrecks, and people who, by all accounts, are healthy. (That is, except for the cancer...) It strikes old people, young people, fat people, thin people, rich people, poor people, PhDs, high school dropouts, men, women, and everybody somewhere in between.

We are working under the theory that cancer is a metabolic disease. Something damages mitochondrial function to the point that cellular metabolism is derailed, and all the nefarious things cancer cells do can be understood as logical sequelae of broken mitochondria and cells that are fighting to keep themselves alive. (Anyone else hearing “Eye of the Tiger” playing in their head right now? Hehheh. [BTW…to anyone out there in the Philadelphia area, I did the Broad Street Run several years ago and someone on the sidelines about a mile from the finish line had a boom box and they were playing that song, and it was awesome. Especially because the original Rocky is one of my all-time favorite movies, but I digress. Adrian!!])

I left off last time saying that, according to the metabolic theory of cancer, anything that contributes to mitochondrial dysfunction can be considered a potential cause of cancer. I think the reason older folks tend to have higher rates of cancer is simply that their bodies have been exposed to potential cancer-causing dietary, lifestyle, environmental, and unknown factors for longer than younger people’s bodies have been. That stuff’s gotta add up over time, no? Frankly, in this day and age, I think if you make it to 85 without getting cancer, you’re kind of a living miracle.

But recall that I made a point to emphasize that babies and toddlers get cancer, too, so it’s not only a matter of physiological insults building up over time. And it’s not just eating too much vegetable oil, or slurping down too much sugar, or being sedentary, or smoking, or being exposed to too much radiation, or whatever else we might speculate could cause cancer. There are other factors at work here.

Metabolic Theory of Cancer: Video Lesson!

Since I've fallen behind in churning out new posts in the cancer series on this blog, I wanted to share a little something with you to whet your appetite for more, and to remind you of all the amazing things we've covered so far. (I’ll get back to posting once I’ve written a few and have them in the hopper, ready to go, but I hope you’ll agree that finishing my Alzheimer’s book constitutes a “good cause” for having put things on hold.) 

I have quoted a ton from the work of Thomas Seyfried, PhD, and his colleagues & students. Here, you’ll get to see the man, himself, in action. If you’ve followed along in the series so far, you will be able to understand it all. In fact, you’ll know even more details than Dr. Seyfried goes into here. He only had 55 minutes, after all, and he wasn’t speaking to a room of molecular biologists or biochemists, so he kept things pretty general.  

Still, he managed to cover a lot of ground in less than an hour. He touches on the following, which you are now familiar with:

ANNOUNCEMENT!!

It’s a boy!

It’s a girl!

It’s a book!

I did it! The e-book I’ve been dropping hints about is finally finished and available for sale! Go check it out:

The Alzheimer’s Antidote: A Comprehensive Nutrition and Lifestyle Strategy to Fight Alzheimer’s Disease, Memory Loss, and Cognitive Decline.

I apologize for hawking my wares here, but I’ve got to get the word out, right? Just be thankful I am completely clueless about web design, otherwise you’d have annoying things popping up right in your face the minute my site loads, as you might be familiar with from other sites you frequent.

And since I am the least tech-savvy person alive, before I even tell you anything about the book, I would like to express my deepest and sincerest thanks to Ms. Ellen Davis, for her untiring support and encouragement on this project … and, oh, yeah, by the way, she did all the design and layout. I am not kidding when I say this book wouldn’t exist without her. I sent her all my writing in MS Word, sent all the images I either created or purchased (from iStock Photo, in case anyone’s curious), and she magically transformed them into the e-book that is going to change the way people think about Alzheimer’s and cognitive impairment. Ellen is not just a great designer, however. She is the mastermind behind the Ketogenic Diet Resource, the single best blow-your-mind, one-stop-shop I know of for information on low-carbohydrate and ketogenic diets. (She also happens to have a master’s in nutrition, and is the author of the fantastic, amazing book, Fight Cancer with a Ketogenic Diet. Her most recent project was a collaboration with Keith Runyan, MD, on Conquer Type 2 Diabetes with a Ketogenic Diet.)

Okay. Now that we’re done with the preliminaries, let’s get down to business!

Metabolic Theory of Cancer: Speculation on the Causes of Cancer (Pt.1)

Those of us who are steeped in the ancestral health paradigm sometimes get a little too big for our britches. Because we know a little more about the care and feeding of the human body than the average guy or gal on the street, we tend to think we have an explanation for just about every health-related issue there is. When someone we know is diagnosed with a chronic illness, it’s easy for us to say to ourselves, “If only he had done x, y, and z, this wouldn’t have happened.” Or, “If only she hadn’t done a, b, and c, she wouldn’t have ended up like this.”

And, sure, when it comes to things like type 2 diabetes, heart disease, obesity, difficulty conceiving, and the like, we do have plenty of answers. (Or think we do, anyway.) So we play the blame game. The afflicted individuals brought their conditions upon themselves by engaging in certain behaviors and/or not engaging in others. It’s not that we think they “deserve” whatever conditions they have; it’s just that we can readily identify things they did or did not do, that eventually brought those conditions about. (And in my opinion, in some cases, ignorant doctors hold just as much responsibility as the patients.)

But what about cancer? Anyone out there gutsy enough to say that someone with cancer had it comin’? I’m sure as heck not.