Low-Carb Theory Regarding Meat/Insulin is Flawed

Hi Denise,

I'll give it a try...
Everything that is eaten and digested enters the blood stream and dissipates at a rate that can be plotted on a curve. The curve plots the rise rate, peak level and fall rate. When I say everything, I mean all the minerals, liquids, lipids, fats, proteins sugars, etc. Of interest in the passage of your question is glucose and insulin.

For me, insulin is injected subcutaneously and enters the bloodstream through capillaries in the skin. The rate of the injected insulin entering the vascular system and its effect on blood-sugar can also be plotted on a curve. Glucose entering the blood stream from digestion causes a blood-sugar rise. Insulin signals metabolic consumption ("burning") of the glucose (blood-sugar) causing it to fall. If the glucose and insulin curves were exactly matched, there would be no change in blood-sugar level. What I am saying is that the glucose curve from digesting potatoes more closely matches my insulin curve than most other foods.

The passage; "... low in fat keeping glucose, insulin and metabolism in sync" is referring to metabolisms set of complex balances. Metabolism is the "burning" of fuel (glucose) to produce energy. Metabolism is the most efficient when metabolic actions occur in step with the control signals. Control signals are a complex mix of signals from all organs of the body communicating metabolic requirements. Fat increases insulin resistance by congesting the glucose path through the cell walls which increases the time between the control signals and the resulting metabolic action. The shorter the delay, the more in sync the metabolism is. The more in sync, the greater the efficiency. The more efficient, the less insulin is required, and the more energy is produced per given glucose "burned". The more in-sync the metabolism, the tighter, more stable is the blood-sugar control as well as all other biological systems. It could be said that blood-sugar levels is a product of metabolism and any out of range blood-sugar means a compromised metabolic system. Maintaining a healthy (in sync) metabolism results in steady, normal blood-sugar. Imagine if you turned the steering wheel on your car, but the car turned sometime later. That's the effect of insulin resistance on metabolism. Delays causes all kinds of problems!

Note that it is possible to have "normal" blood-sugar levels even with a compromised metabolic system. For example; a low-carb diet will mask an insulin resistance condition. Much like a car with a delayed steering condition would be masked by only driving on straight roads. Likewise, a fasting blood-sugar test will not reveal insulin resistance, unless it is extreme. A glucose tolerance test would be a better indicator.

Please let me know if that answers your question and if not, what part needs more explanation. Hopefully, I didn't go off on a tangent!

Thanks,
Ken

Hi Denise,

To your question, "...do you find other diabetics who are not eating much fat have the same experience with white potatoes?" Yes, however, it should be clarified that type-1 diabetics (T1D) metabolic system is the same as any non-diabetic with the only exception of loss of ability to produce insulin. It would be like someone who has an amputated hand. All the rest of their body is completely normal, like everyone else's, but they may need to compensate for the missing hand. The only difference between a T1D and everyone else is that they must inject insulin that would otherwise be automatic. That means two important things: 1) insulin resistance presents the same issue for non-diabetics exactly the same as for T1D's. The only difference is that the T1D has to deal with it manually where the non-diabetic is oblivious because their system deals with it automatically. Non-diabetics are oblivious because the time-lag is beyond human's natural attention span. However, the detriment is exactly the same for both. 2) Since a T1D has lost a vital metabolic control signal (insulin) they must then provide that signal manually. Everything else is normal. That means that whatever a T1D's blood-sugar is at any time, whether it is what they intended or not - it is what they made it. This is why I do not believe that a T1D's management scheme can be successfully controlled by doctor's orders. Metabolic control is by the minute, variable by life. It is not something that can be prescribed every few months. The T1D must know how to manage it themselves in real time.

While I have known of some T1D's living on low-fat, they are very, very few. Most T1D's that I know are also type-2 because of the "prescribed" low-carb diet and fooled by the apparent benign-ness of fat. Trying to control T1D with the delays of insulin resistance is overwhelmingly difficult. Much like trying to drive through that crowded, complex and busy city of life in the car with delayed steering. I don't think a perfectly straight road of life is an option for anyone. This is why almost all T1D's leave their control up to a doctor and then assume the resulting issues is just because T1D is such a "devastating disease".

Thanks Denise,

Your question: "... is there a recommended range of insulin to shoot for that is enough but not too much?"

While that is indeed the goal of traditional medicine, it is not mine. The traditional approach is a focus on prescribed insulin dose and carbohydrate restriction. This is my "beef" with traditional medicine in T1D control. The problem is that metabolism is too variable for a "prescription" (Metabolism is really what is being managed. Blood-sugar is a side effect of metabolism). this is why I believe the individual must control their own metabolism (blood-sugar). There are far too many variables involved for any recommend insulin dose range. It should be noted that insulin is not a drug, it is a control hormone. It varies dramatically throughout a day, minute by minute.

To determine my insulin dose, I maintain a continuous running log. I enter data including each injection, everything I eat, the time and other related data. I use the log for pattern tracking. There are so many variables that determines the dose. For example, the previous insulin injection always has a percentage of effect overlapping the current one. It's also affected by the activity throughout the day. It's affected by foods eaten earlier in the day and even foods eaten weeks (or more) ago. The dose is affected by timing, expected activities, stored glycogen and current insulin resistance. The log data is used to determine the current dose against the food, time, activity and previous pattern. My interest is what is needed for that particular dose, never any standard recommendation. My goal is to maintain blood-sugar minimum and maximum peak levels (70 mg/dl to 100 mg/dl), at all times, as opposed to any target insulin level. Doses can vary from 3 units or less to 15 units or more. I take a minimum of five doses per day.

I hope this makes at least some sense. It is hard to condense my method into a comment or summary and it still make sense.

Because I have never known anyone else using this method and have never seen it presented from any source, I have decided to write it in a book. The title of the book is "Synchronous Push-Pull Type-1 Diabetes Control - The Non-Diabetic Diabetic Method". I am sad to say that it is taking much longer to finish the book than I ever imagined. I have given up on trying to predict its completion date. I'm just keeping at it and it will be done when it's done.