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| If you're eating cheese to trim your insulin response, cheese spikes insulin levels the same extant as carbs do. |
If you’ve read any of the low-carb books written by Dr. Eades or Dr. Atkins, you might have developed a serious dislike for insulin.
For those with metabolic issues, such as insulin resistance, pre-diabetes, or diabetes, insulin often sits at the heart of the dysfunction.
Because of this, you might believe that high insulin levels cause the carbohydrates you eat to be stored as body fat. Lower your insulin levels, and your body will burn your fat stores instead.
Unfortunately, that isn’t how insulin works.
Here's the truth about the role that insulin plays in weight loss:
How Insulin Works
Insulin is a hormone secreted by the pancreas for a
variety of reasons. The need to encourage your body cells to pull glucose in faster and, thereby, return
your blood sugar level back to normal is only one of them.
Many low carbers refer to insulin as a nutrient-storage or fat-storage hormone because it encourages the body to use any toxic levels of alcohol or glucose first, and stores the fats and amino acids you eat for use later on.
If you eat a high-carbohydrate meal, the glucose the body
doesn’t immediately need is turned into glycogen and stored in your liver and muscles.
How large your storage capacity is depends on:
- how much lean body mass you have
- how full your glycogen stores already are
- your body structure
When you eat, blood sugar rises according to the
amount of glucose produced as food is broken down into its usable
forms in the stomach and absorbed through the walls of the upper small
intestine.
If your blood glucose level rises above 100 mg/dl, the pancreas releases the insulin it has already stored to handle the rise.
This is known as first stage insulin release.
The storage amount is determined by the amount of insulin it took to deal with your previous meal, and not what you're currently eating.
If your blood glucose level rises above 100 mg/dl, the pancreas releases the insulin it has already stored to handle the rise.
This is known as first stage insulin release.
The storage amount is determined by the amount of insulin it took to deal with your previous meal, and not what you're currently eating.
Receptors are proteins that live on the surface of your
cells. When insulin is secreted, the insulin binds to or attaches itself to these
receptors. The attachment turns the receptor cells on and alerts your
muscles and liver that glucose is available for use or storage.
When you are insulin sensitive, it only takes a small amount of insulin to get the body cells to pick up speed and pull the glucose that is in your bloodstream into themselves faster. This keeps your glucose level from rising too high.
In most people, blood sugar level after eating remains below 100 mg/dl most of the time, and it never rises above 120 ever.
When you are insulin resistant, however, it takes a much larger dose of insulin to activate those insulin receptors, so glucose rises higher. How high your blood sugar goes depends on how insulin resistant you are.
When you are insulin sensitive, it only takes a small amount of insulin to get the body cells to pick up speed and pull the glucose that is in your bloodstream into themselves faster. This keeps your glucose level from rising too high.
In most people, blood sugar level after eating remains below 100 mg/dl most of the time, and it never rises above 120 ever.
When you are insulin resistant, however, it takes a much larger dose of insulin to activate those insulin receptors, so glucose rises higher. How high your blood sugar goes depends on how insulin resistant you are.
Once the glucose passes into the body’s cells, insulin
levels return to normal.
If the glucose doesn’t move quickly enough, the body will release additional insulin to help. This occurs between 15 and 30 minutes after eating and is called second phase insulin release.
This second phase release is what most low carbers are referring to when they talk about an insulin spike. It's also what you're looking for when you measure your blood glucose an hour after eating.
In a normal metabolism, this process works smoothly and efficiently. Even those who have:
If the glucose doesn’t move quickly enough, the body will release additional insulin to help. This occurs between 15 and 30 minutes after eating and is called second phase insulin release.
This second phase release is what most low carbers are referring to when they talk about an insulin spike. It's also what you're looking for when you measure your blood glucose an hour after eating.
In a normal metabolism, this process works smoothly and efficiently. Even those who have:
- slight metabolic irregularities
- hereditary defects
- mild insulin resistance
Role of Basal Insulin
Beta-cells are the cells inside the pancreas that make and secrete
insulin.
Throughout the day, these beta-cells release a tiny burst of insulin to keep the body primed to handle glucose when it arrives. This continuous drip is known as basal insulin, and the insulin level that actually drops when you first go low carb.
The constant steady stream of insulin helps the liver determine when the glucose level in the blood has dropped too low.
The liver can't tell how much sugar you have flowing in your bloodstream. It doesn't see the glucose in your blood. It uses your insulin level to determine that.
When basal insulin levels dip down, the liver converts glycogen into glucose and releases it into the blood to keep blood sugar levels steady. It doesn't wait for you to eat. It reacts to the presence of insulin instead.
When glycogen stores get too low, which is typical on a low-carb diet, the liver has other ways of refilling its glycogen stores, such as essential and non-essential amino acids like glutamine. It also uses glycerol, the backbone of fatty acids, pyruvate, and other forms of glucose recycling.
Throughout the day, these beta-cells release a tiny burst of insulin to keep the body primed to handle glucose when it arrives. This continuous drip is known as basal insulin, and the insulin level that actually drops when you first go low carb.
The constant steady stream of insulin helps the liver determine when the glucose level in the blood has dropped too low.
The liver can't tell how much sugar you have flowing in your bloodstream. It doesn't see the glucose in your blood. It uses your insulin level to determine that.
When basal insulin levels dip down, the liver converts glycogen into glucose and releases it into the blood to keep blood sugar levels steady. It doesn't wait for you to eat. It reacts to the presence of insulin instead.
When glycogen stores get too low, which is typical on a low-carb diet, the liver has other ways of refilling its glycogen stores, such as essential and non-essential amino acids like glutamine. It also uses glycerol, the backbone of fatty acids, pyruvate, and other forms of glucose recycling.
How Insulin Affects Weight Loss
When insulin response is sluggish or not effective, it can
take two to four hours, or more, for the body to produce enough insulin to get
the glucose levels in the blood back to normal.
While glucose is elevated, body fat stores cannot be mobilized for fuel because glucose is always utilized first.
In addition, when the body doesn’t recognize circulating insulin, due to insulin resistance, the liver can interpret the missing insulin as low blood sugar and dump even more glucose into the bloodstream that the pancreas then has to deal with.
While glucose is elevated, body fat stores cannot be mobilized for fuel because glucose is always utilized first.
In addition, when the body doesn’t recognize circulating insulin, due to insulin resistance, the liver can interpret the missing insulin as low blood sugar and dump even more glucose into the bloodstream that the pancreas then has to deal with.
As long as your blood glucose stays above 100 ml/dl, insulin
secretion continues until it can correct the situation.
For many insulin-resistant or pre-diabetic individuals, blood glucose and insulin levels never return to normal until the middle of the night.
While those who go on low-carb diets understand that carbohydrate restriction lowers basal insulin levels, most dieters focus on the state of ketosis rather than how their body reacts to insulin.
For many insulin-resistant or pre-diabetic individuals, blood glucose and insulin levels never return to normal until the middle of the night.
While those who go on low-carb diets understand that carbohydrate restriction lowers basal insulin levels, most dieters focus on the state of ketosis rather than how their body reacts to insulin.
Carbohydrates are broken down into glucose during digestion.
This raises your blood sugar and requires insulin to be secreted as the food is broken down. The amount of
insulin you need in addition to your basal insulin level depends on the amount
of carbohydrates you eat.
When you eat fewer carbohydrates, less glucose is produced during digestion, so less insulin is required to process it. The more normal your insulin response is, the more carbs you can eat, and the more body fat you can mobilize and use for fuel.
When you eat fewer carbohydrates, less glucose is produced during digestion, so less insulin is required to process it. The more normal your insulin response is, the more carbs you can eat, and the more body fat you can mobilize and use for fuel.
Low Carb Diets, Ketosis, and Insulin
When you have insulin resistance and consistently consume a
high level of carbohydrates almost every day, your basal insulin level will
increase.
The higher your basal insulin level, the more difficult it is to lose weight on a standard diet.
The Atkins Diet starts you off at 20-net carbohydrates per day. The Protein Power Life Plan uses 30. Both of these carbohydrate levels will cause your basal insulin level to fall quickly.
The higher your basal insulin level, the more difficult it is to lose weight on a standard diet.
The Atkins Diet starts you off at 20-net carbohydrates per day. The Protein Power Life Plan uses 30. Both of these carbohydrate levels will cause your basal insulin level to fall quickly.
With Atkins, you add back carbohydrates gradually until you
find your carbohydrate tolerance level that will allow you to lose weight at
the rate you want. At your critical carbohydrate level for losing, you stay
just below the threshold where your insulin level ceases to function
adequately.
This is very different from the state of ketosis.
This is very different from the state of ketosis.
Originally, Dr. Atkins defined ketosis as the presence of
ketones in the breath and urine. He believed that when the urine testing strips
turned purple, that meant his patients were burning their body fat stores for
fuel.
Today, we know that what the test strips actually show is that you are not ketone adapted. Ketones are being lost, but they are not the type of ketones the brain, heart, and kidneys prefer and can use efficiently.
For that reason, most low-carb dieters begin to spill fewer ketones into their urine as the diet continues. At which time, many dieters also stall because they have been brought up to believe that ketosis drives weight loss.
Today, we know that what the test strips actually show is that you are not ketone adapted. Ketones are being lost, but they are not the type of ketones the brain, heart, and kidneys prefer and can use efficiently.
For that reason, most low-carb dieters begin to spill fewer ketones into their urine as the diet continues. At which time, many dieters also stall because they have been brought up to believe that ketosis drives weight loss.
Generally people thinks that the insulin controls the sugar level in our blood but I was unaware of there are so many roles of insulin.
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