Diabetes, Dangerous Fat, and Protective Sugar -
Andrew Kim Blog
So in summary, it’s my contention that the excessive mobilization and oxidation of fatty acids—a signature of sorts of the diabetic metabolism— impairs insulin actions, primarily by way of inhibiting the PDH complex (Koves et al., 2005). Simply put, when free fatty acid levels are elevated, the metabolism of glucose to carbon dioxide becomes impaired, and glucose is rerouted to lactate instead. This has important implications for the cardiovascular disease—of which, to recap, diabetics have an increased risk of.
So, in my roundabout way, how does this translate to recommendations that you could start applying now if you are diabetic or trending towards it? This isn’t my area of expertise and, really, others elsewhere have done a good job in this regard.
Nonetheless, tentatively, I would recommend, in no particular order, to :
(1) supplement with vitamin B1 (cofactor of the PDH complex) and
(2) magnesium (helps retain ATP in the cell),
(3) eat sugar as in fruit in preference to starches as in grains and tubers,
(3a) reduce excess body fat if you have it, and replace it with muscle, which serve as sinks for free fatty acids,
(4) reduce the fat in the diet and replace them with carbohydrates and protein, keeping calories more or less the same.1 (I’ve found, and most dieters knows, that the loss of muscle occurs long before the fat stores become depleted, which is why carbohydrates are superior to fat during periods of weight loss, as carbohydrates are strongly anabolic),
(5) opt for small meals over large ones in order to maintain steadier blood glucose levels over the course of a day, and
(6) de-stress as much as possible by, for instance, getting into the habit of creating and writing down plans for how you will get an A on an upcoming exam, cope with a major life change, complete a paper, win an argument, etc. This can be more powerful than executing the plan itself…it has been for me at least.2
(2) magnesium (helps retain ATP in the cell),
(3) eat sugar as in fruit in preference to starches as in grains and tubers,
(3a) reduce excess body fat if you have it, and replace it with muscle, which serve as sinks for free fatty acids,
(4) reduce the fat in the diet and replace them with carbohydrates and protein, keeping calories more or less the same.1 (I’ve found, and most dieters knows, that the loss of muscle occurs long before the fat stores become depleted, which is why carbohydrates are superior to fat during periods of weight loss, as carbohydrates are strongly anabolic),
(5) opt for small meals over large ones in order to maintain steadier blood glucose levels over the course of a day, and
(6) de-stress as much as possible by, for instance, getting into the habit of creating and writing down plans for how you will get an A on an upcoming exam, cope with a major life change, complete a paper, win an argument, etc. This can be more powerful than executing the plan itself…it has been for me at least.2
