Diabetes Talking

Question:

Sleep deprivation is known to exacerbate insulin resistance. Can’t quote any references, but I saw a 20:20 about it and also can quote the following from an Awake magazine (pun purely coincidental): "Our brain interprets a lack of sleep as a lack of food.  While we sleep, our organism secretes leptin, the hormone that normally lets our body know that we have eaten enough.  When we stay awake longer than we  should, our body produces less leptin, and we feel a craving for more carbohydrates.  So sleep deprivation can lead to increased carbohydrate consumption which in "… scientists have recently discovered a protein called hypocretin, or orexin, that is produced in the brain and helps keep us awake….. When we eat, the body produces leptin to give us the impression that we are full. But leptin inhibits the production of hypocretin. In other words, the more leptin there is in the brain, the less hypocretin and the greater the feeling of drowsiness." So from that I gather that there is a viscious circle going on here. Staying up too late = less leptin = more hypocretin = hunger and wakefulness. Try getting an extra hour of sleep each night and see if that helps. This will only be my 4th night of doing it so it’s too soon for me to say Brenda

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I have been reading about medications that lower insulin resistance. I have also heard that daily exercise helps to lower insulin resistance naturally. I was curious, does anyone know of any other natural ways to lower insulin resistance?  For instance, taking a vitamin, eating certain foods, that sort of thing, drinking green tea, I don’t know. If what I have read about insulin resistance is correct, aparently many of us have this problem, and might perhaps be helped in our diets if we could incorporate both exercise and some other natural approach to lowering insu lin resistance. Thank you very much in advance for any insight or answers you might have. Cheers, Isis

Response:

There are natural herbs and amino acids that will help. Do some research on the following: Vanadyl Sulfate N-acetyl Cysteine (NAC) Galega Officinalis (goats rue) Bitter Melon Extract Galega Officinalis is actually the plant that the main ingredient of Glucophage (Metformin) is made of. There are others but those are the ones I can think of off the top of my head.

One of the items I looked up about Goat’s Rue stated that it was held to be too toxic for clinical use while metformin has been found to be relatively safe. How much of this is true and how much is pharmaceutical co. influenced, I could not say. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Make sure you read as much as you can about these things before you start your own regimen since they are still medicinal even though natural. NAC must be taken in conjunction with zinc, copper, and Vitamin C for instance to make sure that it does not throw your amino acids out of balance. I hope that helps. Erika RollerGirl I have been reading about medications that lower insulin resistance.   I have also heard that daily exercise helps to lower insulin resistance naturally. I was curious, does anyone know of any other natural ways to lower insulin resistance?  For instance, taking a vitamin, eating certain foods, that sort of thing, drinking green tea, I don’t know. If what I have read about insulin resistance is correct, aparently many of us have this problem, and might perhaps be helped in our diets if we could incorporate both exercise and some other natural approach to lowering insulin resistance. Thank you very much in advance for any insight or answers you might have. Cheers, Isis

Response:

One of the items I looked up about Goat’s Rue stated that it was held to be too toxic for clinical use while metformin has been found to be relatively safe. How much of this is true and how much is pharmaceutical co. influenced, I could not say.

I am unfamiliar with that statement but perhaps that is why it is only available (from what I have seen) in homeopathic tinctures. Homeopathy relies on using an inconceivably small amount of the herb with medicinal properties in a tincture usually of alcohol.The medicine is so thinned out that it can barely be detected in the mixture but over a long course of use it can have good results, comparable to western medicine. I’m not that familiar with homeopathy but that’s at least a tiny snippet of how I think it may work. I don’t know about Goats Rue toxicity and haven’t heard that yet, but I’ll check it out. Thanks Erika RollerGirl

Response:

I thought chromium was supposed to help.  Either GTF chromium or chromium picolinate. Dorothy

Response:

This makes SO much sense to me.  I have two autistic children, and regular sleep is something I haven’t had since the oldest one was born (he’s now 14).  I could never figure out why I HAD to eat something when I’d be up with them all night.  And even when I didn’t eat during the night, I’d be much hungrier for carbs the next day.  This is a great excuse to get my husband to stay up with the boys!! Miriam. Atkins since 8/02 220/188/130

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Sleep deprivation is known to exacerbate insulin resistance. Can’t quote any references, but I saw a 20:20 about it and also can quote the following from an Awake magazine (pun purely coincidental): "Our brain interprets a lack of sleep as a lack of food.  While we sleep, our organism secretes leptin, the hormone that normally lets our body know that we have eaten enough.  When we stay awake longer than we  should, our body produces less leptin, and we feel a craving for more carbohydrates. So sleep deprivation can lead to increased carbohydrate consumption which in "… scientists have recently discovered a protein called hypocretin, or orexin, that is produced in the brain and helps keep us awake….. When we eat, the body produces leptin to give us the impression that we are full. But leptin inhibits the production of hypocretin. In other words, the more leptin there is in the brain, the less hypocretin and the greater the feeling of drowsiness." So from that I gather that there is a viscious circle going on here. Staying up too late = less leptin = more hypocretin = hunger and wakefulness. Try getting an extra hour of sleep each night and see if that helps. This will only be my 4th night of doing it so it’s too soon for me to say Brenda I have been reading about medications that lower insulin resistance. I have also heard that daily exercise helps to lower insulin resistance naturally. I was curious, does anyone know of any other natural ways to lower insulin resistance?  For instance, taking a vitamin, eating certain foods, that sort of thing, drinking green tea, I don’t know. If what I have read about insulin resistance is correct, aparently many of us have this problem, and might perhaps be helped in our diets if we could incorporate both exercise and some other natural approach to lowering insu lin resistance. Thank you very much in advance for any insight or answers you might have. Cheers, Isis

Response:

Miriam, I dug out my hard copy of the article, and typed in the url…lo and behold, the page still exists. This is very interesting. http://www.abcnews.go.com/sections/2020/2020/2020_010330_sleep.html Well it’s gone 11:30 so I must away to bed!! Just HAD to get on here and post the web address in this thread! Brenda 277/268/240 (first goal) (PS I think my weight is doing good things since I started forcing myself to bed earlier! Like, I was 272 on Friday and had been there for WEEKS.)

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – This makes SO much sense to me.  I have two autistic children, and regular sleep is something I haven’t had since the oldest one was born (he’s now 14).  I could never figure out why I HAD to eat something when I’d be up with them all night.  And even when I didn’t eat during the night, I’d be much hungrier for carbs the next day.  This is a great excuse to get my husband to stay up with the boys!! Miriam. Atkins since 8/02 220/188/130 Sleep deprivation is known to exacerbate insulin resistance. Can’t quote any references, but I saw a 20:20 about it and also can quote the following from an Awake magazine (pun purely coincidental): "Our brain interprets a lack of sleep as a lack of food.  While we sleep, our organism secretes leptin, the hormone that normally lets our body know that we have eaten enough.  When we stay awake longer than we  should, our body produces less leptin, and we feel a craving for more carbohydrates. So sleep deprivation can lead to increased carbohydrate consumption which in "… scientists have recently discovered a protein called hypocretin, or orexin, that is produced in the brain and helps keep us awake….. When we eat, the body produces leptin to give us the impression that we are full. But leptin inhibits the production of hypocretin. In other words, the more leptin there is in the brain, the less hypocretin and the greater the feeling of drowsiness." So from that I gather that there is a viscious circle going on here. Staying up too late = less leptin = more hypocretin = hunger and wakefulness. Try getting an extra hour of sleep each night and see if that helps. This will only be my 4th night of doing it so it’s too soon for me to say Brenda I have been reading about medications that lower insulin resistance. I have also heard that daily exercise helps to lower insulin resistance naturally. I was curious, does anyone know of any other natural ways to lower insulin resistance?  For instance, taking a vitamin, eating certain foods, that sort of thing, drinking green tea, I don’t know. If what I have read about insulin resistance is correct, aparently many of us have this problem, and might perhaps be helped in our diets if we could incorporate both exercise and some other natural approach to lowering insu lin resistance. Thank you very much in advance for any insight or answers you might have. Cheers, Isis

Response:

this is a great site, THANKS! i am a firm believer in naps, for "good mental health"! — read and post daily, it works! rosie  "To announce that there must be no criticism of the president, or that  we are to stand by the president right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic  and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public."  http://www.unitedforpeace.org BLESS AND PROTECT OUR TROOPS! http://www.redcross.org/services/afes/ – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Miriam, I dug out my hard copy of the article, and typed in the url…lo and behold, the page still exists. This is very interesting. http://www.abcnews.go.com/sections/2020/2020/2020_010330_sleep.html Well it’s gone 11:30 so I must away to bed!! Just HAD to get on here and post the web address in this thread! Brenda 277/268/240 (first goal) (PS I think my weight is doing good things since I started forcing myself to bed earlier! Like, I was 272 on Friday and had been there for WEEKS.) This makes SO much sense to me.  I have two autistic children, and regular sleep is something I haven’t had since the oldest one was born (he’s now 14).  I could never figure out why I HAD to eat something when I’d be up with them all night.  And even when I didn’t eat during the night, I’d be much hungrier for carbs the next day.  This is a great excuse to get my husband to stay up with the boys!! Miriam. Atkins since 8/02 220/188/130 Sleep deprivation is known to exacerbate insulin resistance. Can’t quote any references, but I saw a 20:20 about it and also can quote the following from an Awake magazine (pun purely coincidental): "Our brain interprets a lack of sleep as a lack of food.  While we sleep, our organism secretes leptin, the hormone that normally lets our body know that we have eaten enough.  When we stay awake longer than we  should, our body produces less leptin, and we feel a craving for more carbohydrates. So sleep deprivation can lead to increased carbohydrate consumption which in "… scientists have recently discovered a protein called hypocretin, or orexin, that is produced in the brain and helps keep us awake….. When we eat, the body produces leptin to give us the impression that we are full. But leptin inhibits the production of hypocretin. In other words, the more leptin there is in the brain, the less hypocretin and the greater the feeling of drowsiness." So from that I gather that there is a viscious circle going on here. Staying up too late = less leptin = more hypocretin = hunger and wakefulness. Try getting an extra hour of sleep each night and see if that helps. This will only be my 4th night of doing it so it’s too soon for me to say Brenda I have been reading about medications that lower insulin resistance. I have also heard that daily exercise helps to lower insulin resistance naturally. I was curious, does anyone know of any other natural ways to lower insulin resistance?  For instance, taking a vitamin, eating certain foods, that sort of thing, drinking green tea, I don’t know. If what I have read about insulin resistance is correct, aparently many of us have this problem, and might perhaps be helped in our diets if we could incorporate both exercise and some other natural approach to lowering insu lin resistance. Thank you very much in advance for any insight or answers you might have. Cheers, Isis

Response:

Chromium only helps if you are chromium deficient which most people in the US aren’t. It has no effect on most people’s insulin resistance. The claims made for many of the other herbs are similarly NOT borne out by experience. There’s a whole industry devoted to preying on people with diabetes who hawk these things. If you are insulin resistant and exercise and low carbing don’t help, you’d do much better with a doctor-prescribed medicine whose dosage is known and can be controlled than with self-prescribed substances where you have no real idea what is in the pill or what effect it is having on your body. I’m not a big fan of the medical establishment, but the diabetes newsgroups are full of people who have tried all these various supplements and no one has ever reported them to work who wasn’t actively selling them. — Jenny 168.5/146/145 Second Goal 9/1998 – 8/2001 and 11/10/02 – Now http://www.geocities.com/jenny_the_bean How to calculate your need for protein * How much people really lose each month *  Water Weight Gain & Loss * The "Two Gram Cure" for Hunger Cravings * Characteristics of Successful Dieters * Indispensible Low Carb Treats * Should You Count that Low Impact Carb? * Curing Ketobreath

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I have also heard that daily exercise helps to lower insulin resistance naturally. Yes, especially anerobic exercise – weights, bowflex, nautilus, etc – even sprinting. I was curious, does anyone know of any other natural ways to lower insulin resistance?  For instance, taking a vitamin, eating certain foods, that sort of thing, American Ginseng can reduce post-prandial blood glucose levels by about 20% in people with Type II diabetes/insulin resistance. Chromium improves insulin sensitivity and reduces blood sugar in Type II diabetes/insulin resistance – 500 mcg twice daily using chromium polynicotinate or picolinate for maximum effectiveness. Alpha Lipoic Acid can also improve insulin sensitivity. drinking green tea The epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG)  in green tea can increase insulin activity, and can mimic insulin by moving glucose into blood cells. And green tea is loaded with antioxidants. Most of the above is from the hubby’s stash of information.  Here’s a couple of his links:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&… ds=10761967&dopt=Abstract http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/htbin-post/Entrez/query?db=m&form=6&dopt=… =yes&uid=98016104 – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Nancy

Response:

Thank you all so much for these wonderful responses!   I have looked up information on all of these herbal products (esp. Goat’s Rue) and have written them down as items to find in the health food store. I do think that I will help my body the most by losing weight and exercising, but I don’t mind giving my body a little extra help here and there with some herbs. I do not appear to have a problem (yet) with blood glucose levels, but diabetes runs in my family and I am hoping if I do everything just right I might not become diabetic.   Cheers, Isis

Response:

I’ve tried every vitamin/herbal product mentioned here and many more, none of them reduced my insulin resistance. It was reduced by losing 20 pounds. Before the weight loss, 10g carbs would cause a 2 hour post-pyramidal BG spike to 160 – 180. Now after losing 20 pounds, BG only spikes to 130 – 140. Work with your BG meter to find your own limits.

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I have been reading about medications that lower insulin resistance. I have also heard that daily exercise helps to lower insulin resistance naturally. I was curious, does anyone know of any other natural ways to lower insulin resistance?  For instance, taking a vitamin, eating certain foods, that sort of thing, drinking green tea, I don’t know. If what I have read about insulin resistance is correct, aparently many of us have this problem, and might perhaps be helped in our diets if we could incorporate both exercise and some other natural approach to lowering insulin resistance. Thank you very much in advance for any insight or answers you might have. Cheers, Isis

Response:

Not just exercise, but muscle building exercise helps better than aerobic (but don’t forget aerobic exercise for your heart!) Muscle is better sensitized to insulin that fat. And it doesn’t mean you have to "pump" up… but weight resistant training helps  a lot! Jennifer – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I have been reading about medications that lower insulin resistance.   I have also heard that daily exercise helps to lower insulin resistance naturally. I was curious, does anyone know of any other natural ways to lower insulin resistance?  For instance, taking a vitamin, eating certain foods, that sort of thing, drinking green tea, I don’t know. If what I have read about insulin resistance is correct, aparently many of us have this problem, and might perhaps be helped in our diets if we could incorporate both exercise and some other natural approach to lowering insulin resistance. Thank you very much in advance for any insight or answers you might have. Cheers, Isis      

Response:

says… – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -I have been reading about medications that lower insulin resistance.   I have also heard that daily exercise helps to lower insulin resistance naturally. I was curious, does anyone know of any other natural ways to lower insulin resistance?  For instance, taking a vitamin, eating certain foods, that sort of thing, drinking green tea, I don’t know. If what I have read about insulin resistance is correct, aparently many of us have this problem, and might perhaps be helped in our diets if we could incorporate both exercise and some other natural approach to lowering insulin resistance. Thank you very much in advance for any insight or answers you might have. Cheers, Isis      

I believe I’ve read insulin resistance improves over time when insulin levels are controlled by a low carb diet.  Another reason to make this a WOL. Or you could ignore it and follow the philosophy of two Type 2 diabetics I traveled with a couple weeks ago.  The whole trip they munched candy bars, ate starchy foods, and criticized my low carb eating .  They weren’t worried about the foods they ate, they told me.  They had medications for that.  I decided arguing with them wasn’t worth the trouble. BillJ

Response:

There are natural herbs and amino acids that will help. Do some research on the following: Vanadyl Sulfate N-acetyl Cysteine (NAC) Galega Officinalis (goats rue) Bitter Melon Extract Galega Officinalis is actually the plant that the main ingredient of Glucophage (Metformin) is made of. There are others but those are the ones I can think of off the top of my head. Make sure you read as much as you can about these things before you start your own regimen since they are still medicinal even though natural. NAC must be taken in conjunction with zinc, copper, and Vitamin C for instance to make sure that it does not throw your amino acids out of balance. I hope that helps. Erika RollerGirl – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -I have been reading about medications that lower insulin resistance.   I have also heard that daily exercise helps to lower insulin resistance naturally. I was curious, does anyone know of any other natural ways to lower insulin resistance?  For instance, taking a vitamin, eating certain foods, that sort of thing, drinking green tea, I don’t know. If what I have read about insulin resistance is correct, aparently many of us have this problem, and might perhaps be helped in our diets if we could incorporate both exercise and some other natural approach to lowering insulin resistance. Thank you very much in advance for any insight or answers you might have. Cheers, Isis

Response:

I have also heard that daily exercise helps to lower insulin resistance naturally.

Yes, especially anerobic exercise – weights, bowflex, nautilus, etc – even sprinting. I was curious, does anyone know of any other natural ways to lower insulin resistance?  For instance, taking a vitamin, eating certain foods, that sort of thing,

American Ginseng can reduce post-prandial blood glucose levels by about 20% in people with Type II diabetes/insulin resistance. Chromium improves insulin sensitivity and reduces blood sugar in Type II diabetes/insulin resistance – 500 mcg twice daily using chromium polynicotinate or picolinate for maximum effectiveness. Alpha Lipoic Acid can also improve insulin sensitivity. drinking green tea

The epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG)  in green tea can increase insulin activity, and can mimic insulin by moving glucose into blood cells. And green tea is loaded with antioxidants. Most of the above is from the hubby’s stash of information.  Here’s a couple of his links: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&… http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/htbin-post/Entrez/query?db=m&form=6&dopt=… Nancy

Response:

I have been reading about medications that lower insulin resistance.   I have also heard that daily exercise helps to lower insulin resistance naturally. I was curious, does anyone know of any other natural ways to lower insulin resistance?  For instance, taking a vitamin, eating certain foods, that sort of thing, drinking green tea, I don’t know. If what I have read about insulin resistance is correct, aparently many of us have this problem, and might perhaps be helped in our diets if we could incorporate both exercise and some other natural approach to lowering insulin resistance. Thank you very much in advance for any insight or answers you might have. Cheers, Isis      

Response: