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- Insulin, an Undeserved Bad Reputation: The Biggest Insulin Myth, Continued…
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- Insulin…an Undeserved Bad Reputation
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Excellent article, very well researched and educational, Thanks a lot.
Thank you!
Science be dammed Everyone I know on low carb diets lost weight and everyone I know on higher carb diets gained weight. And all my vital blood statistics vastly improve on low carb. Results are what counts. Look at our people in America eating carbs and sugars in everything. It’s terrible
Science be dammed In other words, you completely reject the best way to gain knowledge in a controlled and systematic fashion. Everyone I know on low carb diets lost weight and everyone I know on higher carb diets gained weight. “Everyone you know” is not a representative sample. I know plenty of people who lost weight on higher carb diets and gained weight on low carb diets. So why should your anecdote have any more weight than mine? This is why anecdotes are not reliable evidence. And all my vital blood statistics vastly improve on low carb. I never said… Read more »
Of course they lose weight. That’s a ton of glycogen they’re no longer receiving in their muscles and glycogen is about 3/4 water that gets stored in the cells and liver (and other locations). I can eat carbs for 2 days after being carb free and gain 10 pounds.. but did I gain 10 pounds of fat? Not possible. When you cut carbs, you will always lose weight.. but that isn’t fat unless you eat less than you consume or exercise it off. This is the same process, rather you eat carbs or not. Too many carbophobes and paleotards in… Read more »
That’s not true. Glycogen/water does decrease in the first stage (usually a few days), but is not completely depleted. Muscle glycogen only goes down by a third even on the most hard-core keto WOE. A keto-adapted person preserves muscle glycogen much better under heavy load (proven by Dr. Phinney) and so that’s the optimal amount, actually. Liver glcogen (maybe about 1000g including water) is largely depleted per what you mentioned. That’s relevant for about a week in most cases. All weight loss after that is “real” and is almost exclusively FAT loss, unlike calorie deprivation which will tend more to… Read more »
You can’t deny science…… Insulin prevents fat loss. Eating low glycemic index foods and keeping insulin low is key to “unlocking” the locks on the fat stores and allowing them to break down. On a low calorie diet high protein all that is irrelevant, calories in calories out, assuming you are not over doing it with protein, you should lose fat. BUT for insulin insensitive people, that’s another issue. It is particularly more important for insulin insensitive obese people to combine exercise to low GI dieting to lose fat more so than a lean and fit person. Insulin can be… Read more »
You speak as if insulin is the only thing that causes weight gain or prevents fat loss and that’s simply not the case. People on high fat diets can still gain weight or fail to lose weight if they’re eating too many calories because even though dietary fat doesn’t require an insulin response, it will still be stored as body fat if eaten in too large a quantity. I don’t put your example down to insulin but rather the different metabolic rates and health that are determined by a variety of factors. I am only one example but when I… Read more »
You can’t deny science You are denying science right now. Did you even read the article? It pretty much refutes everything you are claiming here. Insulin prevents fat loss. False. If that were true, then people who consume large amounts of whey protein would never lose fat. Eating low glycemic index foods and keeping insulin low is key to “unlocking” the locks on the fat stores and allowing them to break down. There’s no scientific evidence that low glycemic foods enhance fat loss compared to higher glycemic foods. And fructose is low glycemic. So would that mean that you can… Read more »
FYI.. It is physiologically impossible to burn fat in the presence of insulin.
Actually you can when insulin remains high during fasting like over night you release a lot of cortisol adrenalin and glucagon when the brain is getting inadequate glucose and the organs are forced by fat cells to cont to use only fat to spare glucose for the brains exclusive use, high insulin due to resistance I figure the sugar is falling below set point due to some getting in brain while fat cells suck up a lot and insulin still being to high hence adrenalin response which I must say gives me the shakes anxiety and hunger and no sleeping… Read more »
If that were true, there would be no way for a well-controlled type 1 diabetic to ever lose weight.
You don’t back up your science fat ass. Everyone alive even that little troll Dr oz admits low carb is Jesus reincarnated. Grow up and learn some common sense fat fuck while me and my family or friends get fucking shredded eating McDonald’s cheeseburgers without bread and lost 50 lbs in 3 months you sit there losing 10 maturating to the worst hormone to modern humans (insulin)
You don’t back up your science fat ass. “Fat ass?” LOL. Care to back up your claim that I’m a “fat ass”? Everyone alive even that little troll Dr oz admits low carb is Jesus reincarnated. Everyone alive? Since when did people like Alan Aragon, Brad Schoenfeld, and other experts in the industry “admit” that “low carb is Jesus reincarnated?” LOLOLOLOL. I wouldn’t be using Dr Oz as an example, since he is one of the biggest quacks the medical establishment has ever seen. me and my family or friends get fucking shredded eating McDonald’s cheeseburgers So you and all… Read more »
Bahahahh….This article is so rediculous with the “Myth Busters” of the 80’s or anyone whose had their head in the sand about nutrional science. You’re making wildly presumptuous statements and backing them up nonetheless, with articles that don’t even agree necessarily with what you’re saying. One of them actually explained about how much PROTEIN versus carbs curbs your hunger later, therefore protein creates much more satiety. AND- of course Insulin spikes happen with protein too, duh- Insulin spikes with ALL food. And if your using like 10 grams of carbs against 52 grams of protein as example for insulin spike-… Read more »
All dairy gives me uncontrollable heartburn. I also type 2 diabetes so met form doesn’t work for me. Does whey cause acid production? The most common diabetic med. is Metforman which produces lactose. Is it the lactose that produces the acid?
Monica,
Whey does not cause acid production. Also, Metformin does not produce lactose…not sure where you got that information.
Hi, Thanks for the article. How does this apply to someone with PCOS? Running for four years. First 10K coming up. I still am just under, by a hair, of obesity. I can’t lose the weight no matter how many carbs I cut, no matter how much protein I eat, no matter what kind of diet. I’ve been to many endocrinologists, snake oil “experts,” spent *thousands* on supplements, everything you can think of. I will die from this if i can’t lose the weight. I take Metformin and tried various doses. I’m gluten free from a gluten intolrence, not getting… Read more »
Hi, Sissy,
Yes, there is hope. While people with PCOS have a more challenging time with fat loss (mainly appetite issues due to insulin resistance), it can be done. The corporate weight management program that I used to work for had success treating PCOS clients. But it took a team of people working with the individual…a physician, dietitian, behavioral therapist, and personal trainer.
Have you tried resistance training? It can really help with insulin sensitivity.
Hi James, First time I’ve visited your blog and this article is very interesting but boy am I confused! Everything I have read about insulin response (including the nutrition course I’m currently doing) says that simple carbs cause a major insulin spike followed by a fast drop leading to very low blood sugar and causing tiredness and hunger and mood disturbances. This is all wrong?? I can say that when I have eaten high amounts of simple carbs in a meal I get heart palitations and extreme feelings of lethargy, but not hunger just more carb cravings. Perhaps you can… Read more »
Oh, just to add to the first part, my course material states that simple carbs raise blood sugar and this causes insulin to be released to lower blood sugar. But if this is the case then it doesn’t explain the extreme rise in insulin from protein because protein doesn’t raise blood sugar levels in the same way simple carbs do so this adds more confusion for me…it seems that many sources say the responsibility of insulin is to lower blood sugar, so if that’s incorrect then what exactly IS it’s role? Sorry if I’m missing something or have gotten what… Read more »
Hi, Debbie,
Take a look at this article and this will help clarify insulin’s role in the body.
Hi, Debbie, Simple carbs do not always lead to insulin spikes. For example, fructose is a simple carb but causes very little insulin release. Lactose is a simple carb but does not cause big insulin surges. There is isn’t a lot of evidence that simple sugars will cause rapid rises in blood sugar, followed by rapid falls and hunger/mood disturbances. The reality is that appetite, mood, tiredness, etc are all complex issues affected by a variety of factors. Regarding people on low carb diets, the reality is that people in general are very bad at knowing how much they are… Read more »
Hi James, thanks for the reply. I’m aware that it’s glucose that affects blood sugar, I didn’t think about all the other simple carbs that don’t affect blood sugar. The thing is about blood sugar crashes that I mentioned only happens to me when I eat high carb foods. A meal with meat, veg and fat doesn’t affect me badly in that way. I also did a little experiment this week where I was eating mostly potatoes and I had awful hypoglycemic episodes – got shaky, sweaty, ravenously hungry, fatigued and it only improved when I ate something with glucose… Read more »
Debbie,
Other simple carbs do affect blood sugar. All digestible carbohydrates affect blood sugar…they just do so to varying degrees.
Yes, some people don’t deal with carbs as well as others, but this more relates to insulin sensitivity and resistance, not insulin itself. Chronically elevated insulin is a product of insulin resistance, not the other way around. Insulin resistance has many causes, but in general, too much sugar only significantly contributes to insulin resistance if calorie intake exceeds calorie expenditure, unless the sugar intake is insanely high.
Hi James, thanks for clarifying about IR. It’s obviously something I need to do a lot more research on because it’s something I clearly don’t understand fully yet. Of course many people who eat plenty of sugar but don’t gain weight don’t seem to automatically get IR or type 2 diabetes so it makes sense for it to be in the context of calorie consumption and weight gain. I’m not IR to my knowledge – I had a GTT done when I was diagnosed with PCOS a few years ago and it came back negative for IR – but I… Read more »
Hi james, Reading your article along with several others on the topic of insulin, a question comes to my mind which i can’t really decipher on my own. After my workout which is glycogen depleting, it lasts around 4hours(no training critiquing please), I consume around 50gms of whey protein. now this dose of whey protein Post workout will elicit an insulin spike i understand that, but since i’m consuming no carbs alongside it, what would be the situation with gluconeogenisis according to you?If I put it more simply, would the dose of protein be shuttled to my muscle cells as… Read more »
Mann, the consumption of purely whey protein, and little to no carbs, will cause insulin release along with simultaneous release of glucagon. This will stimulate gluconeogenesis in the liver to help prevent hypoglycemia, which would occur in the case of the insulin surge if you didn’t get the simultaneous gluconeogenesis.
You comment that “However, fat will also suppress HSL even when insulin levels are low. This means you will be unable to lose fat even when carbohydrate intake is low, if you are overeating on calories.”
But… when insulin levels are low activation of LPL is upgraded, which does not breakdown fat inside adipose tissue but releases it from the fat cells into the bloodstream where it is easily taken up into muscle cells and used as energy there. This is a much more efficient way of “losing” fat, wouldn’t you say so?
Adam, The activity of LPL does not exist in a vacuum. There is complex interplay between LPL, HSL, and various other hormones and other factors in the body that regulate fat metabolism (such as catecholamines). This is why it is a mistake to focus on a single hormone or enzyme. Also, keep in mind that LPL is only responsible for breaking down triglycerides into component fatty acids. This does NOT mean those fatty acids will be oxidized. In fact, those fatty acids will simply be repackaged back into triglycerides, unless they get oxidized due to the need to obtain energy… Read more »
Hi James, amaazing post, very interesting, i’d like to make you a question,
I’m 20 and i’m a fan of training using Kiefer’s Carb-Back Loading technique, which you surely know recommends eating fast-digesting carbs after exercise. I understand that this happens because the insulin spike caused by those carbs drives those carbs into muscle as glycogen after intense workout, are my thoughts right?
Another thing concerning fruit, what is “fructose” really? would it be a fast or slow-digesting type of carb? It would be great if you claryfied this for me.
PS thanks for all these info it really helps!!
Pablo,
While it is correct that your muscles are more sensitive to insulin after exercise, and will take up carbohydrate more quickly if you eat fast-digesting carbs after training, it’s not really relevant unless you are training multiple times per day. Most people don’t train the same muscles twice per day, and thus glycogen is easily replenished by the time the muscle is trained again. Thus, there is no need for “fast-acting” carbs after an intense workout.
Fructose is technically a slow-digesting carb, because it is metabolized by the liver first.
Thank you for the info James!
HI James love your stuff Quick question re insulin : I’m playing around with dextrose in my water while i weight train. And some times, not every time, i get the symptoms of low blood sugar post workout. Its usually after my shake ( 40g whey protein in water ) and before my next meal i get the trembles, get very irritated and hangry (hungry / angry )… It goes away about 15 mins after i eat carbs. Currently im using 60g of dextrose in my drink. I’m 85kg and about 8-10% body fat so i’m quite insulin sensitive My… Read more »
Brad, Insulin secretion is usually suppressed during training so you really won’t be getting too much of an insulin spike anyway from the dextrose. But, the dextrose is likely being taken up my muscles fairly quickly because of your training. Whey protein mixed with water will also be absorbed quickly as well. My thought is that you are consuming two “fast-acting” substances…dextrose, and whey…and thus there’s nothing to help maintain blood sugar and suppress hunger for an extended period of time before your next meal. My suggestion would be to include some slower acting protein along with your whey (like… Read more »
Waaaaait a second … when we drink workout shakes YOUR muscles get the calories?! Well I suppose that explains how you got so buff …
The real question: what slower acting carb would you recommend? Would maltodextrin do the trick?
And what if the goal is to eat more calories, i.e., what if being hungry after would be considered a win? Would we still want to go for more slowly digested sources of protein and carbs?
My best,
Shane
p.s. Amazing post – pumped to read through the rest of the series!
Hi, Shane,
Maltodextrin is actually not a slower acting carb. Slower acting carbs would be ones that contain some fiber, and come from whole food sources. Oatmeal would be one example.
Yes, if your goal is to ingest more calories, and you are an individual with appetite issues (meaning you have trouble eating enough to gain muscle), then getting hungry definitely would be a win.
Ah great, thank you James!