Paleo Diet and Paleolithic Diet Questions & Answers

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In my opinion I think it is very well established that insulin doesn't necessarily cause fat gain, at least in my case it doesn't. However, I was wondering if there are any other benefits to keeping insulin low throughout the day, and consuming the majority of my carbs post workout. Better skin, mood, teeth?

John Berardi also states many times that elevated insulin in the presence of fat elevates "blood fat" levels. Paul Jaminet, in his book, states that saturated fat is benign in the presence of low insulin, and that elevated insulin levels are bad for infections and longevity. However, in this study http://phys.org/news203180020.html, researchers found that insulin reduced several inflammatory pathways induced by bacterial infections.

If insulin is beneficial for bacterial infections and doesn't necessarily cause weight gain, what other reasons are there for keeping it low?

flag	asked Aug 1 at 18:44 ROB 3,451●9●31

I've had my insulin resistance measured for the last two years, but I've never had a test for insulin itself. Have you? – thhq Aug 2 at 12:07

Mscott · Accepted Answer · 2012-08-01 19:35:50Z UTC

My answer is not really an answer to your question, so sorry about that. It's more of a counter argument against demonizing insulin, especially since:

Insulin reduces high blood sugar levels.

Insulin increases the production of glyoxalase-1, which detoxifies methylglyoxal.

Insulin is an anabolic hormone and inhibits muscle protein breakdown.

Insulin decreases appetite.

Attempting lowering blood insulin levels by increasing insulin sensitivity is probably a good idea. Attempting to lower blood insulin levels via restriction of carbs and maybe protein if you have diabetes, particularly type 1 is also probably a good idea. And I think lowering blood insulin by cutting back on crappy food like refined grains and sugar is also good idea, though not because it lowers insulin, but because those foods are crappy.

But trying to lower blood insulin levels beyond that? Don't expect good things to happen. Insulin, irrespective of healthy food choices, is not bad. It has important functions in the body and I don't think your average person should try to lower it unless they're doing so inadvertently by eating healthier.

Potato Avenger · Answer 2 · 2012-08-01 18:47:00Z UTC

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I think that there might be reason to not eat 10 meals a day in bird-like fashion and have the system working constantly, but I'm not so sure the pulsated doses after your 2-4 separated meals is going to cause any sort of problem.

answered Aug 1 at 18:47

Potato Avenger
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Yeah I am referring more to 2-4 pulsated doses. – ROB Aug 1 at 18:59

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I find comments like "10 meals a day in bird-like fashion and have the system working constantly" very interesting. Specifically because it shows you how little people know about certain aspects of the suggestions they make. Birds, for example, have extraordinarily high metabolisms and that is the reasoning behind their constant stream of eating. Their whole existence is based on eating, pretty much. – jackson Aug 1 at 20:38

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It's an expression often used to describe the "stoke your metabolism" diet coined by bodybuilders of old. I'm not speaking to actual bird physiology; cool your jets. – Potato Avenger Aug 1 at 23:32

RaiseFitness · Answer 3 · 2012-08-01 18:46:47Z UTC

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Glucose causes insulin release, and cellular glycation is caused by burning and using glucose. Fat is generally a cleaner burning fuel.

answered Aug 1 at 18:46

RaiseFitness
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What makes fat a cleaner burning fuel than carbs? It has higher energy density and a different metabolic pathway, but in terms of % energy released in metabolism and % indigestibles could you share a study that compares them? – thhq Aug 2 at 12:17

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Because fat does not lead to glycation. And saturated fat, in particular, is very difficult to oxidize. It burns cleaner in the body with less waste products. – RaiseFitness Aug 2 at 12:26

What waste products? We usually waste materials we can't digest, not the ones we can. The direct products from fat and carb digestion are the triglycerides sorbed in the lower gut and the glucose sorbed earlier on. Once in the body metabolism results in waste water and carbon dioxide from both. In digestion, I would expect the slower digesting fats and indigestible fiber to generate fecal matter, with carbohydrates contributing the most. But what difference does that make, if the indigestible fat residues are more harmful (seared or charred fat carcinogens for instance) than the plant fiber? – thhq Aug 2 at 16:08

Maybe this will provide some balance, since glycation is a buzz word in the LC community. m.diabetes.diabetesjournals.org/content/56/7/… It looks like the surrogate test for glycation is A1C, and therefore you could measure reduced glycation by lowering A1C. I still don't see how this is related to waste products, but whatever Jack Lalanne did to live to a healthy 96 years is my model. Lots of exercise and a high carb diet. – thhq Aug 2 at 16:29

To Jack's diet I add a lot more meat to make his partially paleo approach perfect. – thhq Aug 2 at 16:32

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Are there any other benefits to keeping insulin low?

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