Ep. 305: Why Insulin is Important & Awesome!

In this episode, Stacy and Sarah tell you about how awesome insulin is and why you shouldn't be trying to go very low carb.

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If you enjoy the show, please review it in iTunes! The Paleo View (TPV), Episode 305: Why Insulin is Important & Awesome!

• Intro (0:00)
• News and Views (0:40)
  • Sarah is on single-parent duty this week and is feeling the effects!
    • Kudos to all you single parents out there who do it all.
  • Stacy is in her busy season at work.
  • Stacy wants to mention something that has been on her mind this week: it is easy to get wrapped up in wanting what someone else has- which is partly human nature.
    • If this looks like jealous, anger, and frustration... those are not good feelings.
    • Have patience and compassion, and consider reaching out and giving a compliment or asking for mentorship if you're having these feelings.
  • Sarah has become a regular contributor for Paleo Magazine.
    • She wrote an article coming in the Aug/Sept issue about the case for more carbohydrates.
      • This was spurred by the editor of the magazine noticing Sarah isn't a supporter of very low carb diets.
• Insulin as a Super Hormone: Thyroid
  • There are insulin receptors in just about every cell type.
    • It isn't always about shuttling glucose into the cells.
  • Insulin is important for thyroid function.
    • There are 3 different variations of the same enzyme that convert "inactive" T4 to "active" T3.
      • This can happen in the thyroid or all over the body.
      • The Type 2 Deiodase is the most active form.
        • It is stimulated by insulin.
          • This is how insulin feeds into thyroid function.
          • With insulin resistance and diabetes there is a higher risk of hypothyroidism.
    • A recent paper looked at ketogenic diets in epileptics.
      • 120 participants followed a mediterranean style ketogenic diet.
      • 1 in 6 participants developed hypothyroidism requiring medication within the first 6 months.
      • 8 of these participants developed hypothyroidism within the first month.
      • The ketogenic community counter-argues that any weight loss diet causes suppression of the thyroid.
        • The difference is the magnitude, and their hypothyroidism requiring medication.
    • We want to maintain proper insulin signaling because insulin is important!
      • You do want some insulin.
        • Don't eat all the sugar.
        • Slow burning carbs like root vegetables and fruits are generally low glycemic load.
        • It's not about ditching all carbohydrates at all costs.
  • Stacy knows the low carb does not work for her- it caused her to have major health crash.
  • Sarah has been a loud voice of decent for the ketogenic diet.
    • Most people who are recommending this diet are not presenting a balanced look at what science tells us.
    • Ketogenic diet can be therapeutic in people with neurologic and neurodegenerative disease.
    • Ketogenic diet is not a healthy way to lose weight.
      • The cost/benefit for this vs. someone with a neurological disease is very different.
    • When you take out large amounts of vegetables from your diet, as keto or very low carb does, it is hard to be healthy.
      • It would be difficult to eat the recommended amount of vegetables and still be very low carb.
• Insulin as a Super Hormone: Other roles not related to blood glucose.
  • Insulin is important for muscle growth and repair.
    • It helps bring amino acids into muscle tissue, including BCAA.
    • It stimulates muscle protein synthesis.
    • It suppresses protein break down.
    • We see this reflected in insulin resistance, diabetes, and ketogenic diets.
      • A side effect of diabetes is poor muscle strength and function with age compared to healthy individuals.
      • One study compared weight loss in a balanced macronutrient diet vs. ketogenic.
        • It showed there was no metabolic advantage to a ketogenic diet.
        • Ketogenic diet group lost more muscles mass than the balanced macronutrient group.
    • 2 things important for maintaining lean muscle mass during weight loss.
      • 1. High protein intake: 20-30% of calories.
      • 2. Physical activity helps stimulate muscle growth and repair.
  • Insulin is important for bone mineralization.
    • Bone is constantly turning over- breaking down and rebuilding itself.
      • This is driven by osteoclasts (break down bone) and osteoblast (build bone).
        • As we age, osteoclast activity remains more constant and osteoblast activity slows.
        • Insulin is important for signaling osteoblasts and drives its activity.
    • Bone cells are signaling to the pancreas, helping to control insulin sensitivity.
      • There is growing research suggesting that osteoporosis is like "bone diabetes."
        • This might be driven by insulin resistance in our bones.
        • Similarly, Alzheimers disease is thought to be driven by insulin resistance in our brain.
      • Type 2 Diabetics have 69% increase bone fracture rate.
• The Case for More Carbs can be found here.
  • There is a lot more detail in this article that Sarah wrote, but here are some highlights:
    • Insulin is important for cognitive health, promoting learning and memory.
    • Insulin has an impact on neuro-inflamation.
      • Insulin is important for turning off these inflammatory cells.
      • This could be why insulin resistance in the brain is linked with other neurological diseases.
    • There is impact on cognitive performance in diabetics and ketogenic diets.
      • Mood problems, psychological adjustment in kids.
      • Ketogenic diet caused adults to be less motivated to exercise in one study.
    • A study in young, healthy men showed short-term ketogenic diets caused reduced concentration, slower memory retrieval, and slower processing of visual information.
    • Insulin is a happy medium hormone. If it gets too high or low, the wheels fall off the cart.
    • Every single thing in human health is designed around a happy-medium range in which it functions.
    • Yes, you can see physical results short-term from a very low carb diet, but that doesn't mean it's supporting your health.

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