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One of the first things to GO, is insulin clearance
Slower insulin removal results in more insulin entering the circulation. Since more insulin is getting up to mischief, this leads to metabolic mayhem….
In metabolic syndrome / type 2 diabetes the focus is always on INSULIN PRODUCTION.
We’re trying to get cells to RESPOND to the insulin, specifically, we want them to open the glucose gates, so that sugar molecules can be cleared from the blood.
But, THEY RESIST………….
We call it insulin resistance and it is the biochemical problem, that underpins metabolic syndrome. People with insulin resistance are NOT short of insulin, they’re swimming in the stuff. And, this is what drives ALL their health problems.
So why are they swimming in insulin ?
Insulin excess is a plumbing problem
Maybe it’s happened to you, you’ve come round the corner, to find dirty smelly water oozing out….
THE DRAIN IS BLOCKED
Now, if you can calm down sufficiently to analyse the situation, the problem is not as a result of too much water, going down…….
An obstruction in the pipe, is causing the water to NOT LEAVE.
So it starts to accumulate.
And………….. you end up with a plumbing disaster.
Could this be what happens in hyperinsulinemia ?
Creating hyperinsulinemia
Mindful of the connection between too much insulin (hyperinsulinemia) and fatness, a team of German researchers set about making 10 skinny guys “fat”.
Not enough to be considered overweight, but enough to change their biochemistry.
This is a little unconventional. They chose this approach, because they wanted to see what happens, before EVERYTHING gets broken. Which is often the state of play, when you’ve turned into an overweight couch potato.
Breaking Adonis
10 healthy, physical active, non-smoking, medication free twenty something males, with good pedigrees (none of their relatives had metabolic syndrome), signed up to become……….. BLOBS.
They took to eating 300 – 500 extra kilocalories a day.
They were considered SUCCESSFUL, when they had managed to bump up their BMI by 2 points and keep it there for at least 4 weeks. This saw them go from a BMI of 21.8 ± 0.7 (20.4 – 23.2) to 23.8 ± 0.8 (22.2 – 25.4).
NOTE : To be considered overweight, you need to have a BMI of more than 25, to be obese, this figure jumps to, more than 30. So these guys were not exactly BLOBS, even at their heaviest.
But, their biochemistry changed.
More insulin, more fat
The extra calories changed their post meal curves – A LITTLE.
They were all still 100 % normal, but the spike in insulin was marginally higher, while glucose levels remained pretty much the same, every time they tested.
And they were tested on three different occasions, in three different ways
- The first test was to see how they handled a standard meal (marmalade on toast)
- The second test was 75 g of glucose dissolved in 300 ml of water (this is aglucose tolerance test)
- The third test was a glucose infusion
Emerging insulin resistance
The bump in insulin, seen in the after meal curves, implied a decrease in insulin sensitivity i.e. they had become a little insulin resistant.
Using the results from the glucose infusion, the team deduced….
Insulin was not cleared fast enough
When the team crunched the numbers, they found that the extra insulin floating through the system, was as a result of the insulin that was being produced, hanging around for longer.
Insulin clearance was not happening timeously.
Clearing insulin ?
You have to remove the insulin ?
Yes. Your body is constantly making and breaking stuff.
Cells that respond to insulin, put him in their trash can, once he’s delivered his message. But, when the pancreas pumps out insulin, thanks to the arrangement of the blood vessel “wiring”, it first goes to the liver.
Now, the liver vets the entry of all chemicals into the body……… ALL.
Even though insulin is “home-made”, it doesn’t get a clear pass through passport control. Estimates vary, but somewhere between 50 – 75 % of the insulin, doesn’t MAKE IT.
It gets destroyed, by insulin degrading enzyme.
Less insulin degradation, more insulin
In the newbie “chubbies” – this process of insulin clearance, was less efficient. This research estimated, it was around 50 % less efficient.
Resulting in more insulin entering the circulation.
More insulin in circulation, means more insulin is available to get up to mischief. The liver must be “ loafing”, allowing the “drain” to be blocked……
Time to blame the liver ?
Maybe. Maybe not.
As with all things biological, it’s probably a lot more complicated.
It turns out, insulin clearance in the liver,
- depends on how much zinc is packaged in the insulin granules,
- which depends on the activity of a zinc transporter,
- which depends on your genes and how many yellow vegetables you eat.
The plot thickens……………..
To “win” the battle, you must rein in insulin. Decreasing insulin production can help, but it’s not enough if the drain is blocked.
Unblock your drain – by eating your yellows.
Further reading
Insulin has your body’s fire chief on speed dial
Low grade inflammation, is responsible for the metabolic upheavals of insulin resistance. Putting the fire out, should be our body’s priority, but it’s not….
You want LESS insulin, NOT MORE, if you have type 2 diabetes
Normal mice, fed a normal diet but given, EXCESS insulin, develop type 2 diabetes. More insulin is NOT the cure for type 2 diabetes.
The diabetes timeline doesn’t start with TOO MUCH FAT
The story of diabetes is always written like this…. you put on weight, become insulin resistant, then eventually diabetic. But, this diabetes timeline is WRONG.
