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Improve sugar uptake with a little heat shock

A gin & tonic is a great way to DE-STRESS after a HOT and busy day. Heat shock proteins help muscle cells unwind a little and this improves insulin sensitivity

If you’re suffering from type 2 diabetes or are prediabetic i.e. seriously insulin resistant, then lots of things in your body, are “off”.

Heat shock proteins are “missing”

So, if I told you that heat shock protein levels are reduced in people who are insulin resistant – you’d probably not really be surprised.

More than likely, your reaction to this piece of news, would be…………….

HEAT SHOCK PROTEINS ?

What do they do ? And, why does this matter ?

The quick answer – they deliver a gin and tonic to a stressed out cell.   They take the edge off…..

It’s about oxidative stress

At the cellular level, insulin resistance, is an oxidative stress problem.

The simplistic view of oxidative stress is that there are too many oxygen radicals and not enough antioxidants on the ground, mopping up. The abundance of oxygen radicals zooting around disrupts THINGS.

• Holes are poked in membranes,
• Vital proteins get disrupted and the protein manufacturing machinery, gets jammed up
• Bits of DNA, get “re-arranged”, creating harmful mutations.

This leads to cells having melt downs……………..

Cell meltdowns

Just like us, individual cells handle melt downs differently,

• Some commit suicide (apotosis)
• Some become aggressive and nasty (cancer)
• Some struggle on, doing the best they can under the circumstances (dysfunction)

Most alert the “authorities”, the arrival of the immune system, escalates the situation, creating a low grade inflammation…………….

Which in and of itself is STRESSFUL.   Eish !

A gin & tonic takes the edge off

Mother Nature UNDERSTANDS……………

So, she has arranged for stressed out cells to unwind a little, with a gin and tonic.

The drink is delivered by HEAT SHOCK PROTEINS.   Proteins with an S. There are a whole lot. It’s complicated, but just like the gin and tonic, heat shock proteins, bring relief, quickly !

They take the edge off, helping the cell calm down and return to NORMAL.

In the case of cells with sugar regulating problems, taking the edge off means insulin sensitivity is improved.

This is what a team of researchers, from the University of Kansas Medical Centre discovered, when they arranged for rats to be “served” by heat shock proteins.

Improving sugar delivery

The team served a little gin and tonic to a couple of geriatric rats, showing signs of being insulin resistant.

To “enjoy” their gin and tonic sundowner, the rats had to be “put” down. The team anaesthetized the rats and then wrapped the bottom half of their body’s in a thermal blanket.  The blanket was heated up to a toasty 112 F, under the covers, the animal’s body temperature shifted to a rather “HOT” 41°C.

Once 41°C had been reached, the rats were left to enjoy a 20 min siesta.

Control mice, also visit dreamland, but, their body temperature was not manipulated.

Hot dreams and sugar treats

The team awoke their charges and allowed them to feast and drink for 24 hours……………… before they passed to the other side.   Being a laboratory rat is a tough job L.

The scientists removed the animal’s soleus muscle and began testing.

They confirmed, the thermal blanket had indeed caused the rat’s skeletal muscle cells to be served a gin and tonic. Bottoms up !   But, more significantly, the “gin and tonic” improved the ability of the skeletal muscle to take up sugar, when it was exposed to insulin i.e. insulin sensitivity was BETTER.

Improved insulin sensitivity………………….serve me a glass of that gin and tonic !

Enjoying your gin and tonic

Gin and tonics are typically served as a sundowner, after a HOT busy day ! So how do you “create” HOT and busy in your cells ?

A bout of strenuous exercise. Mmmm……. not your style ?

Actually, there are a few ways to mimic the effect without the work. You do still need to SWEAT. They’re not called HEAT shock proteins for nothing.

Burning down the sugar gates

Just like the rats, you could wrap yourself in an electric blanket and sweat it out. This method will work, but you could burn yourself or the house down.

I far more pleasant option…………..which is also a lot safer

15 minutes in a sauna, once or twice a week.

Go on, give it a try – moving more sugar into your skeletal muscle will improve glycemic control and this, will help create BETTER BODY CHEMISTRY.

NOTE : Just one word of caution, if you are pregnant, you should avoid gin & tonics PERIOD.  Both alcohol and HOT are not good for a developing baby.

Further reading