Welcome To Anne's Natural Health Supplements Website
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Supplement Advisor
Not sure which product is right for you? Use the Supplement Advisor to find the right product for you.
Not sure which product is right for you? Use the Supplement Advisor to find the right product for you.
This website designed & created by Anne Rogers www.annerogers.net/arwdh/
All content © 2007 - 2010 by Anne Rogers all rights reserved.
All content © 2007 - 2010 by Anne Rogers all rights reserved.
Vanadium DESCRIPTION Vanadium is a metallic element with atomic number 23 and atomic symbol V. Vanadium is a transition element that exists in several oxidation states, including +2, +3, +4 and +5. Vanadium compounds are striking for their varied colors. For this reason, vanadium was first named panchromium. The element chromium, another colorful element, is vanadium's next-door neighbor to the left in the periodic table. Vanadium is widely found in nature in the form of minerals, as well as in living matter, such as the human body. In living matter, vanadium is found mainly as the tetravalent vanadyl cation and the pentavalent vanadate form. Nutritional essentiality for humans has not been established for vanadium. Vanadium-deficiency states have been reported in some animals. Goats fed diets deficient in vanadium had an elevated spontaneous abortion rate and depressed milk production, and approximately 40% of kids from these goats died between days 7 and 91 of life, with some deaths preceded by convulsions. Only 8% of kids from vanadium-supplemented goats died during the same period. Rats fed vanadium-deficient diets were found to have decreased growth. Vanadyl and vanadate compounds act as insulin-mimetics and are being studied as potentially orally active replacements for insulin. However, these substances are poorly absorbed from the gastrointestinal tract, and the amounts needed for an effective oral dose are likely to be toxic. Vanadium-containing compounds are being developed for the treatment of diabetes with higher therapeutic-to-toxicity ratios. Such compounds include peroxovanadiums, bis(picolinato) oxovanadium and the vanadium ligand L-glutamic acid gamma-monohydroxamate. Typical diets supply less than 30 micrograms of vanadium daily. The average daily dietary intake of vanadium is approximately 15 micrograms. Foods rich in vanadium include black pepper, mushrooms, shellfish, parsley, dill seed and some prepared foods. Foods low in vanadium include fresh fruits and vegetables, oils and beverages. Tetravalent vanadium compounds are sometimes designated as vanadium (IV) and pentavalent vanadium compounds are designated as vanadium (V). ACTIONS AND PHARMACOLOGY ACTIONS Vanadium salts have insulin-mimetic activity, and vanadium compounds are being studied as potentially orally active replacements for insulin. The doses of supplemental vanadium that may affect blood glucose levels are potentially toxic, and supplemental vanadium is not recommended for the management of diabetes, hyperglycemia, hypoglycemia or insulin resistance. MECHANISM OF ACTION Vanadium salts mimic most of the effects of insulin in vitro and also induce normoglycemia and improve glucose homeostasis in insulin-deficient and insulin-resistant diabetic rodents in vivo. Vanadium salts appear to have these effects via alternative pathways not involving insulin receptor tyrosine kinase activation or phosphorylation of insulin receptor substrate. Vanadium's mechanisms of action appear to involve inhibition of protein-phosphotyrosine phosphatase and activation of nonreceptor protein-tyrosine kinases. PHARMACOKINETICS The absorption of dietary vanadium and supplemental vanadium (usually vanadyl sulfate) is poor, and most ingested vanadium is excreted in the feces. It is estimated that less than 5% of dietary vanadium is absorbed. Most ingested vanadium appears to be converted to tetravalent vanadyl in the stomach. Any absorbed vanadate is converted to cationic vanadyl in the blood. The vanadyl cation complexes with transferrin and ferritin in plasma and other body fluids. Vanadium is removed from the plasma and is found in highest amounts in the kidney, liver, testes, bone and spleen. Absorbed vanadium is mainly excreted in the urine in both high- and low-molecular weight complexes. Some absorbed vanadium may be excreted via the bile. INDICATIONS The use of supplemental vanadium is not indicated for any purpose at this time. Vanadium is showing promise in the treatment of both type 1 and type 2 diabetes, but this work is still preliminary and utilizes pharmacological doses of vanadium with unknown long-term safety consequences. Claims that vanadium increases muscle mass have no research support. RESEARCH SUMMARY Both experimental and clinical trials indicate that vanadium has significant insulin-mimetic properties in pharmacological doses. In vitro, vanadium salts have most of the major effects of insulin itself on insulin-sensitive tissues. Favorable results are seen, as well, in animal models of insulin deficiency, where vanadium significantly reduces blood glucose levels, and in insulin-resistant diabetic animals, where vanadium improves glucose homeostasis. In in vivo animal studies examining the relationship between hyperinsulinemia, insulin resistance and hypertension, vanadium compounds produce significant, sustained decreases in both plasma insulin concentration and blood pressure. Restoring plasma insulin levels reversed the blood-pressure effect. Clinical trials with vanadium compounds have produced benefits in both type 1 and type 2 diabetic patients. Results have been better, however, in type 2 patients. Six type 2 diabetic subjects treated with 100 milligrams of vanadyl sulfate daily for four weeks had significant reductions in fasting plasma glucose; beneficial effects on insulin sensitivity persisted for up to four weeks after vanadium treatment ended. Recently, new vanadium compounds have been developed that are reportedly less toxic and more effective. Animal studies are underway, and clinical trials are planned. Reports that vanadium promotes muscle-mass development are refuted by research. CONTRAINDICATIONS, PRECAUTIONS, ADVERSE REACTIONS CONTRAINDICATIONS None known. PRECAUTIONS Those with diabetes or hyperglycemia are cautioned not to use supplemental vanadium to manage their diabetes or hyperglycemia. Those with hypoglycemia should avoid using vanadium supplements. ADVERSE REACTIONS The amount of vanadium in typical diets (less than 30 micrograms daily) appears to have low toxicity. In one study, 12 subjects were given 13.5 milligrams of vanadium daily for two weeks, followed by 22.5 milligrams daily for five months, Five subjects experienced gastrointestinal symptoms - nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, cramps - and five subjects developed green tongues. In another study, six subjects receiving daily doses of 4.5 to 18 milligrams of vanadium for six to 10 weeks developed green tongues, diarrhea and cramps at the higher doses. INTERACTIONS Chromium, ferrous ion, chloride, aluminum hydroxide and EDTA may decrease absorption of vanadium. OVERDOSAGE Overdosage with supplemental vanadium in humans has not been reported. DOSAGE AND ADMINISTRATION No recommended dosage. Vanadium, usually as the tetravalent vanadyl sulfate, is available in some vitamin and mineral preparations. Doses range from 10 micrograms to about 10 milligrams (expressed as vanadium). Tetravalent bis (maltolato) oxovanadium (BMOV) is available in some nutritional supplements as is bis-glycinato oxovanaduim (BGOV). Colloidal or liquid vitamins also may contain vanadium.
Cinnamon may significantly help regulate blood sugar
Cinnamon may significantly help people with type 2 diabetes improve their ability to regulate their blood sugar. As a matter of fact, this study found that it increased glucose metabolism 20-fold.
In a test tube and in animal studies, the spice appeared to increase glucose metabolism by about 20 times.
Clinical trials using a cinnamon extract on humans are due to begin in 6 months.
Researchers maintain that this could be a good means of lowering or controlling blood glucose levels at very little cost and could prove helpful to millions of people.
Approximately 16 million Americans suffer from diabetes with 95% of them having type 2 diabetes, where the body's cells fail to recognize insulin.
As a result, the amount of sugar in the blood remains high, leading to fatigue, blurred vision, and other problems. Over the long term, excess blood glucose can increase the risk of heart disease, kidney failure and blindness.
Diabetes is the seventh-leading cause of death in the US, according to the American Diabetes Association. Yet, because of its influence in raising the risk of other problems, particularly heart disease, diabetes may be responsible for many more deaths than is attributed to it.
Dr. Richard A. Anderson, lead scientist at the Beltsville, Maryland-based Human Nutrition Research Center, a branch of the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), explained that his mostly unpublished research shows that a compound in cinnamon called methylhydroxy chalcone polymer (MHCP) makes fat cells more responsive to insulin by activating an enzyme that causes insulin to bind to cells and inhibiting the enzyme that blocks this process.
While it is too soon to recommend the spice as a regular treatment for type 2 diabetes, Dr. Anderson said patients could try adding 1/4 - 1 teaspoon of cinnamon to their food. "The worst that will happen is it won't do any good and the best is that it will help dramatically," he stated.
Preliminary Findings Announced by the USDA August, 2000.
In a test tube and in animal studies, the spice appeared to increase glucose metabolism by about 20 times.
Clinical trials using a cinnamon extract on humans are due to begin in 6 months.
Researchers maintain that this could be a good means of lowering or controlling blood glucose levels at very little cost and could prove helpful to millions of people.
Approximately 16 million Americans suffer from diabetes with 95% of them having type 2 diabetes, where the body's cells fail to recognize insulin.
As a result, the amount of sugar in the blood remains high, leading to fatigue, blurred vision, and other problems. Over the long term, excess blood glucose can increase the risk of heart disease, kidney failure and blindness.
Diabetes is the seventh-leading cause of death in the US, according to the American Diabetes Association. Yet, because of its influence in raising the risk of other problems, particularly heart disease, diabetes may be responsible for many more deaths than is attributed to it.
Dr. Richard A. Anderson, lead scientist at the Beltsville, Maryland-based Human Nutrition Research Center, a branch of the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), explained that his mostly unpublished research shows that a compound in cinnamon called methylhydroxy chalcone polymer (MHCP) makes fat cells more responsive to insulin by activating an enzyme that causes insulin to bind to cells and inhibiting the enzyme that blocks this process.
While it is too soon to recommend the spice as a regular treatment for type 2 diabetes, Dr. Anderson said patients could try adding 1/4 - 1 teaspoon of cinnamon to their food. "The worst that will happen is it won't do any good and the best is that it will help dramatically," he stated.
Preliminary Findings Announced by the USDA August, 2000.
33 Secrets to a Good Night's Sleep
If you are having sleep problems, whether you are not able to fall asleep, wake up too often, don't feel well-rested when you wake up in the morning, or simply want to improve the quality and quantity of your sleep, try as many of the following techniques below as possible:
My current favorite for insomnia is Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT). http://www.mercola.com/2002/dec/7/eft_sleep.htm Most people can learn this gentle tapping technique in several minutes.
EFT can help balance your body's bioenergy system and resolve some of the emotional stresses that are contributing to the insomnia at a very deep level. The results are typically long lasting and the improvement is remarkably rapid.
Listen to white noise or relaxation CDs. Some people find the sound of white noise or nature sounds, such as the ocean or forest, to be soothing for sleep. An excellent relaxation/meditation option to listen to before bed is the Insight audio CD <http://www.mercola.com/forms/insight_focus.htm>.
Avoid before-bed snacks, particularly grains and sugars. This will raise blood sugar and inhibit sleep. Later, when blood sugar drops too low (hypoglycemia), you might wake up and not be able to fall back asleep.
Sleep in complete darkness or as close as possible. If there is even the tiniest bit of light in the room it can disrupt your circadian rhythm and your pineal gland's production of melatonin and seratonin. There also should be as little light in the bathroom as possible if you get up in the middle of the night. Please whatever you do, keep the light off when you go to the bathroom at night. As soon as you turn on that light you will for that night immediately cease all production of the important sleep aid melatonin.
No TV right before bed. Even better, get the TV out of the bedroom or even out of the house, completely. It is too stimulating to the brain and it will take longer to fall asleep. Also disruptive of pineal gland function for the same reason as above.
Wear socks to bed. Due to the fact that they have the poorest circulation, the feet often feel cold before the rest of the body. A study has shown that this reduces night wakings (Click Here <http://www.mercola.com/1999/archive/warm_feet.htm>).
Read something spiritual or religious. This will help to relax. Don't read anything stimulating, such as a mystery or suspense novel, as this may have the opposite effect. In addition, if you are really enjoying a suspenseful book, you might wind up unintentionally reading for hours, instead of going to sleep.
Avoid using loud alarm clocks. It is very stressful on the body to be awoken suddenly. If you are regularly getting enough sleep, they should be unnecessary. I gave up my alarm clock years ago and now use a sun alarm clock. The Sun Alarm・SA-2002 http://www.mercola.com/forms/sun_alarm_clock.htm provides an ideal way to wake up each morning if you can't wake up with the REAL sun. Combining the features of a traditional alarm clock (digital display, AM/FM radio, beeper, snooze button, etc) with a special built-in light that gradually increases in intensity, this amazing clock simulates a natural sunrise. It also includes a sunset feature where the light fades to darkness over time - ideal for anyone who has trouble falling asleep.
Journaling. If you often lay in bed with your mind racing, it might be helpful keep a journal and write down your thoughts before bed. Personally, I have been doing this for 15 years, but prefer to do it in the morning when my brain is functioning at its peak and my coritsol levels are high (CLICK HERE)
Melatonin and its precursors. If behavioral changes do not work, it may be possible to improve sleep by supplementing with the hormone melatonin. However, I would exercise extreme caution in using it, and only as a last resort, as it is a powerful hormone. Ideally it is best to increase levels naturally with exposure to bright sunlight in the daytime (along with full spectrum fluorescent bulbs in the winter) and absolute complete darkness at night. One should get blackout drapes so no light is coming in from the outside. One can also use one of melatonin's precursors, L-tryptophan or 5-hydroxytryptophan (5-HTP). L-tryptophan is the safest and my preference, but must be obtained by prescription only. However, don't be afraid or intimidated by its prescription status. It is just a simple amino acid.
Get to bed as early as possible. Our systems, particularly the adrenals, do a majority of their recharging or recovering during the hours of 11 p.m. and 1 a.m. In addition, your gallbladder dumps toxins during this same period. If you are awake, the toxins back up into the liver which then secondarily back up into your entire system and cause further disruption of your health. Prior to the widespread use of electricity, people would go to bed shortly after sundown, as most animals do, and which nature intended for humans as well.
Check your bedroom for electro-magnetic fields (EMFs). These can disrupt the pineal gland and the production of melatonin and seratonin, and may have other negative effects as well. To purchase a gauss meter to measure EMFs try Cutcat at 800-497-9516. They have a model for around $40. One doctor even recommends that people pull their circuit breaker before bed to kill all power in the house (Dr. Herbert Ross, author of "Sleep Disorders").
Keep the temperature in the bedroom no higher than 70 degrees F. Many people keep their homes and particularly the upstairs bedrooms too hot.
Eat a high-protein snack several hours before bed. This can provide the L-tryptophan need to produce melatonin and serotonin.
Also eat a small piece of fruit. This can help the tryptophan cross the blood-brain barrier.
Reduce or avoid as many drugs as possible. Many medications, both prescription and over-the-counter may have effects on sleep. In most cases, the condition, which caused the drugs to be taken in the first place, can be addressed by following the guidelines elsewhere on this web site.
Avoid caffeine. A recent study showed that in some people, caffeine is not metabolized efficiently and therefore they can feel the effects long after consuming it. So an afternoon cup of coffee (or even tea) will keep some people from falling asleep. Also, some medications, particularly diet pills contain caffeine.
Alarm clocks and other electrical devices. If these devices must be used, keep them as far away from the bed as possible, preferably at least 3 feet.
Avoid alcohol. Although alcohol will make people drowsy, the effect is short lived and people will often wake up several hours later, unable to fall back asleep. Alcohol will also keep you from falling into the deeper stages of sleep, where the body does most of its healing.
Lose weight. Being overweight can increase the risk of sleep apnea, which will prevent a restful nights sleep. CLICK HERE http://www.mercola.com/nutritionplan/index.htm for my diet recommendations.
Avoid foods that you may be sensitive to. This is particularly true for dairy and wheat products, as they may have effect on sleep, such as causing apnea, excess congestion, gastrointestinal upset, and gas, among others.
Don't drink any fluids within 2 hours of going to bed. This will reduce the likelihood of needing to get up and go to the bathroom or at least minimize the frequency.
Take a hot bath, shower or sauna before bed. When body temperature is raised in the late evening, it will fall at bedtime, facilitating sleep,
Remove the clock from view. It will only add to your worry when constantly staring at it... 2 a.m. ...3 a.m. ... 4:30 a.m. ...
Keep your bed for sleeping. If you are used to watching TV or doing work in bed, you may find it harder to relax and to think of the bed as a place to sleep.
Have your adrenals checked by a good natural medicine clinician. Scientists have found that insomnia may be caused by adrenal stress http://www.mercola.com/2001/aug/29/insomnia.htm (Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, August 2001; 86:3787-3794).
If you are menopausal or perimenopausal, get checked out by a good natural medicine physician. The hormonal changes at this time may cause problems if not properly addressed.
Don't change your bedtime. You should go to bed, and wake up, at the same times each day, even on the weekends. This will help your body to get into a sleep rhythm and make it easier to fall asleep and get up in the morning.
Make certain you are exercising regularly. Exercising http://www.mercola.com/nutritionplan/exercise.htm for at least 30 minutes everyday can help you fall asleep. However, don't exercise too close to bedtime or it may keep you awake. Studies show exercising in the morning is the best if you can do it.
Establish a bedtime routine. This could include meditation, deep breathing, using aromatherapy or essential oils http://www.mercola.com/2004/mar/13/essential_oils.htm or indulging in a massage from your partner. The key is to find something that makes you feel relaxed, then repeat it each night to help you release the day's tensions.
Go to the bathroom right before bed. This will reduce the chances that you'll wake up to go in the middle of the night.
Wear an eye mask to block out light. As said above, it is very important to sleep in as close to complete darkness as possible. That said, it's not always easy to block out every stream of light using curtains, blinds or drapes, particularly if you live in an urban area (or if your spouse has a different schedule than you do). In these cases, an eye mask can help to block out the remaining light.
Put your work away at least one hour (but preferably two or more) before bed. This will give your mind a chance to unwind so you can go to sleep feeling calm, not hyped up or anxious about tomorrow's deadlines.
My current favorite for insomnia is Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT). http://www.mercola.com/2002/dec/7/eft_sleep.htm Most people can learn this gentle tapping technique in several minutes.
EFT can help balance your body's bioenergy system and resolve some of the emotional stresses that are contributing to the insomnia at a very deep level. The results are typically long lasting and the improvement is remarkably rapid.
Listen to white noise or relaxation CDs. Some people find the sound of white noise or nature sounds, such as the ocean or forest, to be soothing for sleep. An excellent relaxation/meditation option to listen to before bed is the Insight audio CD <http://www.mercola.com/forms/insight_focus.htm>.
Avoid before-bed snacks, particularly grains and sugars. This will raise blood sugar and inhibit sleep. Later, when blood sugar drops too low (hypoglycemia), you might wake up and not be able to fall back asleep.
Sleep in complete darkness or as close as possible. If there is even the tiniest bit of light in the room it can disrupt your circadian rhythm and your pineal gland's production of melatonin and seratonin. There also should be as little light in the bathroom as possible if you get up in the middle of the night. Please whatever you do, keep the light off when you go to the bathroom at night. As soon as you turn on that light you will for that night immediately cease all production of the important sleep aid melatonin.
No TV right before bed. Even better, get the TV out of the bedroom or even out of the house, completely. It is too stimulating to the brain and it will take longer to fall asleep. Also disruptive of pineal gland function for the same reason as above.
Wear socks to bed. Due to the fact that they have the poorest circulation, the feet often feel cold before the rest of the body. A study has shown that this reduces night wakings (Click Here <http://www.mercola.com/1999/archive/warm_feet.htm>).
Read something spiritual or religious. This will help to relax. Don't read anything stimulating, such as a mystery or suspense novel, as this may have the opposite effect. In addition, if you are really enjoying a suspenseful book, you might wind up unintentionally reading for hours, instead of going to sleep.
Avoid using loud alarm clocks. It is very stressful on the body to be awoken suddenly. If you are regularly getting enough sleep, they should be unnecessary. I gave up my alarm clock years ago and now use a sun alarm clock. The Sun Alarm・SA-2002 http://www.mercola.com/forms/sun_alarm_clock.htm provides an ideal way to wake up each morning if you can't wake up with the REAL sun. Combining the features of a traditional alarm clock (digital display, AM/FM radio, beeper, snooze button, etc) with a special built-in light that gradually increases in intensity, this amazing clock simulates a natural sunrise. It also includes a sunset feature where the light fades to darkness over time - ideal for anyone who has trouble falling asleep.
Journaling. If you often lay in bed with your mind racing, it might be helpful keep a journal and write down your thoughts before bed. Personally, I have been doing this for 15 years, but prefer to do it in the morning when my brain is functioning at its peak and my coritsol levels are high (CLICK HERE)
Melatonin and its precursors. If behavioral changes do not work, it may be possible to improve sleep by supplementing with the hormone melatonin. However, I would exercise extreme caution in using it, and only as a last resort, as it is a powerful hormone. Ideally it is best to increase levels naturally with exposure to bright sunlight in the daytime (along with full spectrum fluorescent bulbs in the winter) and absolute complete darkness at night. One should get blackout drapes so no light is coming in from the outside. One can also use one of melatonin's precursors, L-tryptophan or 5-hydroxytryptophan (5-HTP). L-tryptophan is the safest and my preference, but must be obtained by prescription only. However, don't be afraid or intimidated by its prescription status. It is just a simple amino acid.
Get to bed as early as possible. Our systems, particularly the adrenals, do a majority of their recharging or recovering during the hours of 11 p.m. and 1 a.m. In addition, your gallbladder dumps toxins during this same period. If you are awake, the toxins back up into the liver which then secondarily back up into your entire system and cause further disruption of your health. Prior to the widespread use of electricity, people would go to bed shortly after sundown, as most animals do, and which nature intended for humans as well.
Check your bedroom for electro-magnetic fields (EMFs). These can disrupt the pineal gland and the production of melatonin and seratonin, and may have other negative effects as well. To purchase a gauss meter to measure EMFs try Cutcat at 800-497-9516. They have a model for around $40. One doctor even recommends that people pull their circuit breaker before bed to kill all power in the house (Dr. Herbert Ross, author of "Sleep Disorders").
Keep the temperature in the bedroom no higher than 70 degrees F. Many people keep their homes and particularly the upstairs bedrooms too hot.
Eat a high-protein snack several hours before bed. This can provide the L-tryptophan need to produce melatonin and serotonin.
Also eat a small piece of fruit. This can help the tryptophan cross the blood-brain barrier.
Reduce or avoid as many drugs as possible. Many medications, both prescription and over-the-counter may have effects on sleep. In most cases, the condition, which caused the drugs to be taken in the first place, can be addressed by following the guidelines elsewhere on this web site.
Avoid caffeine. A recent study showed that in some people, caffeine is not metabolized efficiently and therefore they can feel the effects long after consuming it. So an afternoon cup of coffee (or even tea) will keep some people from falling asleep. Also, some medications, particularly diet pills contain caffeine.
Alarm clocks and other electrical devices. If these devices must be used, keep them as far away from the bed as possible, preferably at least 3 feet.
Avoid alcohol. Although alcohol will make people drowsy, the effect is short lived and people will often wake up several hours later, unable to fall back asleep. Alcohol will also keep you from falling into the deeper stages of sleep, where the body does most of its healing.
Lose weight. Being overweight can increase the risk of sleep apnea, which will prevent a restful nights sleep. CLICK HERE http://www.mercola.com/nutritionplan/index.htm for my diet recommendations.
Avoid foods that you may be sensitive to. This is particularly true for dairy and wheat products, as they may have effect on sleep, such as causing apnea, excess congestion, gastrointestinal upset, and gas, among others.
Don't drink any fluids within 2 hours of going to bed. This will reduce the likelihood of needing to get up and go to the bathroom or at least minimize the frequency.
Take a hot bath, shower or sauna before bed. When body temperature is raised in the late evening, it will fall at bedtime, facilitating sleep,
Remove the clock from view. It will only add to your worry when constantly staring at it... 2 a.m. ...3 a.m. ... 4:30 a.m. ...
Keep your bed for sleeping. If you are used to watching TV or doing work in bed, you may find it harder to relax and to think of the bed as a place to sleep.
Have your adrenals checked by a good natural medicine clinician. Scientists have found that insomnia may be caused by adrenal stress http://www.mercola.com/2001/aug/29/insomnia.htm (Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, August 2001; 86:3787-3794).
If you are menopausal or perimenopausal, get checked out by a good natural medicine physician. The hormonal changes at this time may cause problems if not properly addressed.
Don't change your bedtime. You should go to bed, and wake up, at the same times each day, even on the weekends. This will help your body to get into a sleep rhythm and make it easier to fall asleep and get up in the morning.
Make certain you are exercising regularly. Exercising http://www.mercola.com/nutritionplan/exercise.htm for at least 30 minutes everyday can help you fall asleep. However, don't exercise too close to bedtime or it may keep you awake. Studies show exercising in the morning is the best if you can do it.
Establish a bedtime routine. This could include meditation, deep breathing, using aromatherapy or essential oils http://www.mercola.com/2004/mar/13/essential_oils.htm or indulging in a massage from your partner. The key is to find something that makes you feel relaxed, then repeat it each night to help you release the day's tensions.
Go to the bathroom right before bed. This will reduce the chances that you'll wake up to go in the middle of the night.
Wear an eye mask to block out light. As said above, it is very important to sleep in as close to complete darkness as possible. That said, it's not always easy to block out every stream of light using curtains, blinds or drapes, particularly if you live in an urban area (or if your spouse has a different schedule than you do). In these cases, an eye mask can help to block out the remaining light.
Put your work away at least one hour (but preferably two or more) before bed. This will give your mind a chance to unwind so you can go to sleep feeling calm, not hyped up or anxious about tomorrow's deadlines.
Vanadium Can Lower Blood Glucose Levels
Insulin and Its Metabolic Effects
Part 2 of 4
By Ron Rosedale, M.D.
To read the whole article go to http://www.mercola.com/2001/jul/14/insulin.htm
Presented at Designs for Health Institute's BoulderFest August 1999 Seminar
Intracellular magnesium relaxes muscles. What happens when you can't store magnesium because the cell is resistant? You lose magnesium and your blood vessels constrict.
This causes an increase in blood pressure and a reduction in energy since intracellular magnesium is required for all energy producing reactions that take place in the cell.
But most importantly, magnesium is also necessary for the action of insulin and the manufacture of insulin. When you raise your insulin, you lose magnesium, and the cells become even more insulin resistant. Blood vessels constrict and glucose and insulin can't get to the tissues, which makes them more insulin resistant, so the insulin levels go up and you lose more magnesium. This is the vicious cycle that begins even before you were born.
Insulin sensitivity starts to be determined the moment the sperm combines with the egg. If a pregnant woman eats a high-carbohydrate diet, which turns into sugar, animal studies have shown that the fetus will become more insulin resistant.
Worse yet, researchers have used sophisticated measurements and found that if that fetus happens to be a female, the eggs of that fetus are more insulin resistant. Does that mean it is genetic? No, you can be born with something and it doesn't mean that it is genetic. Diabetes is not a genetic disease as such. You can have a genetic predisposition, but it should be an extremely rare disease.
Sodium Retention: Congestive Heart Failure
We mentioned high blood pressure; if your magnesium levels go down or your blood vessels constrict you get high blood pressure. Insulin also causes the retention of sodium, which causes the retention of fluid, which causes high blood pressure and fluid retention: congestive heart failure.
One of the strongest stimulants of the sympathetic nervous system is a high level of insulin. What does all of this do to the heart? Not very good things.
There was a solid study done a couple of years ago that showed that heart attacks are two to three times more likely to happen after a high-carbohydrate meal and are specifically NOT likely after a high-fat meal.
Why is that?
Because the immediate effects of raising your blood sugar from a high-carbohydrate meal is a raise in insulin. This immediately triggers the sympathetic nervous system, which will cause arterial spasm, or constriction of the arteries. If you or anyone is prone to a heart attack, this is when they are going to get it.
Blood Lipids
Insulin mediates blood lipids. For that patient mentioned earlier who had a triglyceride level of 2200, one of the easiest things we can do is lower triglyceride levels. It is so simple. There was just an article in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) saying that the medical profession doesn't know how to reduce triglycerides dietarily, that drugs still need to be used.
This is so ridiculous because you will find that it is the easiest thing to do. There is an almost direct correlation between triglyceride levels and insulin levels, though in some people more than others.
The gentleman who had a triglyceride level of 2200 while on all the drugs only had an insulin level of 14.7. That is only slightly elevated, but it doesn't take much in some people. All we had to do was get his insulin level down to 8 initially and then it went down to six and that got his triglycerides down to under 200.
The way you control blood lipids is by controlling insulin.
LDL cholesterol comes in several fractions, and it is the small, dense LDL that plays the largest role in initiating plaque, as it's the most oxidizable, and it’s the most able to actually fit through the small cracks in the endothelium. And this is the cholesterol that insulin actually raises the most. When I say insulin, I should say insulin resistance. It is insulin resistance that is causing this.
Cells become insulin resistant because they are trying to protect themselves from the toxic effects of high insulin. They down regulate their receptor activity and number of receptors so that they don't have to listen to that noxious stimuli all the time. It is like having this loud, disgusting music played and you want to turn the volume down.
You might think of insulin resistance as similar to sitting in a smelly room and pretty soon you don't smell it anymore because you get desensitized.
You can think about it, it’s not that you are not thinking about it anymore. But if you walk out of the room and then come back in, the smell is back, which means you get resensitized.
If your cells are exposed to insulin at all, they get a little bit more resistant to it. So the pancreas just puts out more insulin. I saw a patient today whose blood sugar was 102 and her insulin was 90! She wasn't sure if she was fasting or not, but I've seen other patients where their blood sugar was under 100 and their fasting insulin has been over 90.
That is a fasting insulin. I'm not sure how many people are familiar with seeing fasting insulins, but if I drank all the glucose I could possibly drink my insulin would never go above probably 40. So she was extremely insulin resistant.
What was happening was that she was controlling her blood sugar. Statistically she was not diabetic or even impaired glucose tolerant. Her glucose is supposedly totally normal. But her cells aren't listening to insulin; she just has an exceptionally strong pancreas.
Her islet cells that produce insulin are extremely strong and are able to compensate for that insulin resistance by producing thirty times more insulin than what my fasting insulin is. And just by mass action her pancreas is yelling so loud that her cells are able to listen, but they are not going to listen forever. Her pancreas is not going to be able keep up that production forever.
Once her production of insulin starts slowing down, or her resistance goes up any more, then her blood sugar goes up and she becomes a diabetic. For many years, decades before that, her insulin levels have been elevated but have never been checked.
That insulin resistance is associated with the hyperinsulinemia that produces all of the so-called chronic diseases of aging, or at least contributes to them. As far as we know in many venues of science, this is the main cause of aging in virtually all life.
Insulin is that important.
So controlling insulin sensitivity is extremely important.
Insulin and Cardiovascular Disease
Insulin is a so-called mytogenic hormone. It stimulates cell proliferation and cell division. If all of the cells were to become resistant to insulin we wouldn't have that much of a problem, but all of the cells don't become resistant.
Some cells are incapable of becoming very resistant. The liver becomes resistant first, then the muscle tissue, then the fat. When the liver becomes resistant it suppresses the production of sugar.
The sugar floating around in your body at any one time is the result of two things, the sugar that you have eaten and how much sugar your liver has made. When you wake up in the morning it is more of a reflection of how much sugar your liver has made. If your liver is listening to insulin properly it won't make much sugar in the middle of the night. If your liver is resistant, those brakes are lifted and your liver starts making a bunch of sugar, so you wake up with a bunch of sugar.
The next tissue to become resistant is the muscle tissue. What is the action of insulin in muscles? It allows your muscles to burn sugar for one thing. So if your muscles become resistant to insulin it can't burn that sugar that was just manufactured by the liver. So the liver is producing too much, the muscles can't burn it, and this raises your blood sugar.
Well the fat cells become resistant, but not for a while as it takes them longer. So for a while your fat cells retain their sensitivity.
What is the action of insulin on your fat cells? To store that fat. It takes sugar and it stores it as fat. So until your fat cells become resistant you get fat. As people become more and more insulin resistant, their weight goes up and up.
But eventually they plateau. They might plateau at 300 pounds, 220 pounds, 150 pounds, but they will eventually plateau as the fat cells protect themselves and become insulin resistant.
As all these major tissues, your liver, muscles and fat, become resistant your pancreas is putting out more insulin to compensate, so you are hyperinsulinemic and you've got insulin floating around all the time, 90 units or more.
But there are certain tissues that aren't becoming resistant such as your endothelium; the lining of the arteries doesn’t become resistant very readily, so all that insulin is affecting the lining of your arteries.
If you drip insulin into the femoral artery of a dog, there was a Dr. Cruz who did this in the early 70s by accident, the artery will become almost totally occluded with plaque after about three months.
The contra lateral side was totally clear, just contact of insulin in the artery caused it to fill up with plaque. That has been known since the 70s and has been repeated in chickens and in dogs; it is really a well-known fact that insulin floating around in the blood causes a plaque build-up. They didn't know why, but we know that insulin causes endothelial proliferation. This is the first step as it causes a tumor, an endothelial tumor.
Insulin also causes the blood to clot too readily and causes the conversion of macrophages into foam cells, which are the cells that accumulate the fatty deposits. Every step of the way, insulin is causing cardiovascular disease. It fills the body with plaque, it constricts the arteries, it stimulates the sympathetic nervous system, it increases platelet adhesiveness and coaguability of the blood.
Insulin is a part of any known cause of cardiovascular disease. It influences nitric oxide synthase; you produce less nitric oxide in the endothelium. We know that helps mediate vasodilatation and constriction, i.e. angina.
I mentioned that insulin increases cellular proliferation, what does that do to cancer? It increases it. And there are some pretty strong studies that show that one of the strongest correlations to breast and colon cancers are levels of insulin.
Hyperinsulinemia causes the excretion of magnesium in the urine. What other big mineral does it cause the excretion of? Calcium. People walking around with hyperinsulinemia can take all the calcium they want by mouth and it's all going to go out in their urine.
Insulin-like Growth Factors (IgFs)
Insulin is one of the first hormones that any organism ever developed, and as I mentioned in genetics, things are built upon what was there before. So all the other hormones we have in our body were actually built upon insulin. In other words, insulin controls growth hormone.
The pituitary produces growth hormone, and then it goes to the liver and the liver produces what are called IgF 1 thru 4, there are probably more. What does IgF stand for? Insulin-like growth factor. They are the active ingredients. Growth hormone has some small effects on its own, but the major growth factors are the IgFs that then circulate throughout the body.
Why are they called IgF's or insulin-like growth factors? Because they have an almost identical molecular structure to insulin. When I said that insulin promotes cellular proliferation, it is because it cross-reacts with IgF receptors. So somewhere in the evolutionary tree, IgFs diverged from insulin. Insulin can work very well by itself; it doesn't need growth hormone, but growth hormone can't do anything without insulin.
Thyroid
The thyroid produces mostly T4. T4 goes to mostly to the liver and is converted to T3. We are getting the idea that insulin controls a lot of what goes on in the liver, and the liver is the primary organ that becomes insulin resistant.
When the liver can no longer listen to insulin, you can't convert T4 to T3 very well. In people who are hyperinsulinemic with a thyroid hormone that comes back totally normal, it is important to measure their T3. Just as often as not, their free T3 will be low, but get their insulin down and it comes back up.
Insulin helps control sex hormones estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone as well. Insulin helps control the manufacture of cholesterol and where do all the sex hormones come from? All the stearic hormones are originally derived from cholesterol, so that's one way. Dr Nestler from the University of Virginia who has spent the last eight years doing multiple studies to show that DHEA levels are directly correlated with insulin levels, or I should say insulin resistance.
The more insulin resistant you are, the lower your DHEA levels. He firmly believes, and has a lot of studies to back it up, that the decline in DHEA is strictly due to the increase in insulin resistance with age. If you reduce the insulin resistance, the DHEA rises.
And how are these sex hormones carried around the body? Something called sex hormone binding globulins. The more that is bound, the less free, active hormone you have. Sex hormone binding globulin is controlled by what? Insulin. There is not a hormone in the body that insulin doesn't affect, if not directly control.
Osteoporosis
You take a bunch of calcium. The medical profession just assumes that it has a homing device and it knows to go into your bone. What happens if you have high levels of insulin and you take a bunch of calcium? Number one, most of it is just going to go out in your urine. You would be lucky if that were the case because that part that doesn't does not have the instructions to go to your bone because the anabolic hormones aren't working.
This is first of all because of insulin, then because of the IGFs from growth hormone, also testosterone and progesterone. They are all controlled by insulin and when they are insulin resistant they can't listen to any of the anabolic hormones. Your body doesn't know how to build tissue anymore so while some of the calcium may end up in your bone, a good deal of it will end up everywhere else--leading to metastatic calcifications, including in your arteries.
Diseases are a result of a lack of communication. There are certain things that your cells need to be healthy. If you learn nothing else today, you should know that everything is at the cellular and molecular level and we are nothing but a community of cells. We are a commune of cells; a metropolis of cells that have been given instructions to cooperate.
When you have a large number of cells, like we have ten trillion or so, there must be proper communication so that there will be proper division of labor. You can take most any cell in your body, put it in a petrie dish and under the right conditions it can live all on its own. They each have a life of their own.
You can manipulate the genetics of a cell, and we've now made a blood cell into a nerve cell. Pretty soon we are going to be able to take any cell we want and make it into any other cell, because every cell in your body has the identical genetics, all derived from that egg and that sperm that came together. Why is one cell different from another? Because they are reading different parts of the same library.
You can influence which part of that genetic library that every cell reads by the environment of that cell. The environment of that cell is going to be very much dictated by hormones and what you eat. Eating is just internalizing the external environment. That is what you have circulation for, to bring that external environment to each and every one of those cells that is inside of you.
I hope that by now you have gotten the idea that high insulin resistance is not very good for you. So now let's talk about what causes insulin resistance.
What Causes Insulin Resistance?
Any time your cell is exposed to insulin it is going to become more insulin resistant. That is inevitable; we cannot stop that, but the rate we can control. An inevitable sign of aging is an increase in insulin resistance.
That rate is the variable. If you can slow down that rate, you can become a centenarian, a healthy one. You can slow the rate of aging. Not even just the rate of disease, but the actual rate of aging itself can be modulated by insulin. We talked about some of the lower animals and there is some pretty good evidence that even in humans we still retain the capacity to control lifespan at least partially. We should be living to be 130 to 140 years old routinely.
Let's talk about carbohydrates. We talk about simple and complex carbohydrates, this is totally irrelevant, it means absolutely nothing. Carbohydrates are fiber or non-fiber. Few things in life are as clear-cut as this. Fiber is good for you, and a non-fiber carb is bad for you. You can bank on that.
There is not a whole lot of middle ground. If you have a carbohydrate that is not a fiber it is going to be turned into a sugar, whether it be glucose or not. It may be fructose and won't necessarily raise your blood glucose. Fructose is worse for you then glucose so if you just go by blood sugar, which is just glucose, it doesn't mean that you are not raising your blood fructose, or your blood galactose which is the other half of lactose.
All of those sugars are as bad or worse for you than glucose. You can't just go by so-called blood sugar because we just don't measure blood fructose or blood galactose, but they are all bad for you.
Why are they bad? Well number one we know that it provokes insulin and every time you provoke insulin it exposes your body to more insulin and just like walking in a smelly room your body is going to become more resistant to insulin.
So every time you have a surge of sugar and you have a surge of insulin, you get more and more insulin resistant and risk all of the problems we've talked about.
By Ron Rosedale, M.D.
To read the whole article go to http://www.mercola.com/2001/jul/14/insulin.htm
Presented at Designs for Health Institute's BoulderFest August 1999 Seminar
Intracellular magnesium relaxes muscles. What happens when you can't store magnesium because the cell is resistant? You lose magnesium and your blood vessels constrict.
This causes an increase in blood pressure and a reduction in energy since intracellular magnesium is required for all energy producing reactions that take place in the cell.
But most importantly, magnesium is also necessary for the action of insulin and the manufacture of insulin. When you raise your insulin, you lose magnesium, and the cells become even more insulin resistant. Blood vessels constrict and glucose and insulin can't get to the tissues, which makes them more insulin resistant, so the insulin levels go up and you lose more magnesium. This is the vicious cycle that begins even before you were born.
Insulin sensitivity starts to be determined the moment the sperm combines with the egg. If a pregnant woman eats a high-carbohydrate diet, which turns into sugar, animal studies have shown that the fetus will become more insulin resistant.
Worse yet, researchers have used sophisticated measurements and found that if that fetus happens to be a female, the eggs of that fetus are more insulin resistant. Does that mean it is genetic? No, you can be born with something and it doesn't mean that it is genetic. Diabetes is not a genetic disease as such. You can have a genetic predisposition, but it should be an extremely rare disease.
Sodium Retention: Congestive Heart Failure
We mentioned high blood pressure; if your magnesium levels go down or your blood vessels constrict you get high blood pressure. Insulin also causes the retention of sodium, which causes the retention of fluid, which causes high blood pressure and fluid retention: congestive heart failure.
One of the strongest stimulants of the sympathetic nervous system is a high level of insulin. What does all of this do to the heart? Not very good things.
There was a solid study done a couple of years ago that showed that heart attacks are two to three times more likely to happen after a high-carbohydrate meal and are specifically NOT likely after a high-fat meal.
Why is that?
Because the immediate effects of raising your blood sugar from a high-carbohydrate meal is a raise in insulin. This immediately triggers the sympathetic nervous system, which will cause arterial spasm, or constriction of the arteries. If you or anyone is prone to a heart attack, this is when they are going to get it.
Blood Lipids
Insulin mediates blood lipids. For that patient mentioned earlier who had a triglyceride level of 2200, one of the easiest things we can do is lower triglyceride levels. It is so simple. There was just an article in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) saying that the medical profession doesn't know how to reduce triglycerides dietarily, that drugs still need to be used.
This is so ridiculous because you will find that it is the easiest thing to do. There is an almost direct correlation between triglyceride levels and insulin levels, though in some people more than others.
The gentleman who had a triglyceride level of 2200 while on all the drugs only had an insulin level of 14.7. That is only slightly elevated, but it doesn't take much in some people. All we had to do was get his insulin level down to 8 initially and then it went down to six and that got his triglycerides down to under 200.
The way you control blood lipids is by controlling insulin.
LDL cholesterol comes in several fractions, and it is the small, dense LDL that plays the largest role in initiating plaque, as it's the most oxidizable, and it’s the most able to actually fit through the small cracks in the endothelium. And this is the cholesterol that insulin actually raises the most. When I say insulin, I should say insulin resistance. It is insulin resistance that is causing this.
Cells become insulin resistant because they are trying to protect themselves from the toxic effects of high insulin. They down regulate their receptor activity and number of receptors so that they don't have to listen to that noxious stimuli all the time. It is like having this loud, disgusting music played and you want to turn the volume down.
You might think of insulin resistance as similar to sitting in a smelly room and pretty soon you don't smell it anymore because you get desensitized.
You can think about it, it’s not that you are not thinking about it anymore. But if you walk out of the room and then come back in, the smell is back, which means you get resensitized.
If your cells are exposed to insulin at all, they get a little bit more resistant to it. So the pancreas just puts out more insulin. I saw a patient today whose blood sugar was 102 and her insulin was 90! She wasn't sure if she was fasting or not, but I've seen other patients where their blood sugar was under 100 and their fasting insulin has been over 90.
That is a fasting insulin. I'm not sure how many people are familiar with seeing fasting insulins, but if I drank all the glucose I could possibly drink my insulin would never go above probably 40. So she was extremely insulin resistant.
What was happening was that she was controlling her blood sugar. Statistically she was not diabetic or even impaired glucose tolerant. Her glucose is supposedly totally normal. But her cells aren't listening to insulin; she just has an exceptionally strong pancreas.
Her islet cells that produce insulin are extremely strong and are able to compensate for that insulin resistance by producing thirty times more insulin than what my fasting insulin is. And just by mass action her pancreas is yelling so loud that her cells are able to listen, but they are not going to listen forever. Her pancreas is not going to be able keep up that production forever.
Once her production of insulin starts slowing down, or her resistance goes up any more, then her blood sugar goes up and she becomes a diabetic. For many years, decades before that, her insulin levels have been elevated but have never been checked.
That insulin resistance is associated with the hyperinsulinemia that produces all of the so-called chronic diseases of aging, or at least contributes to them. As far as we know in many venues of science, this is the main cause of aging in virtually all life.
Insulin is that important.
So controlling insulin sensitivity is extremely important.
Insulin and Cardiovascular Disease
Insulin is a so-called mytogenic hormone. It stimulates cell proliferation and cell division. If all of the cells were to become resistant to insulin we wouldn't have that much of a problem, but all of the cells don't become resistant.
Some cells are incapable of becoming very resistant. The liver becomes resistant first, then the muscle tissue, then the fat. When the liver becomes resistant it suppresses the production of sugar.
The sugar floating around in your body at any one time is the result of two things, the sugar that you have eaten and how much sugar your liver has made. When you wake up in the morning it is more of a reflection of how much sugar your liver has made. If your liver is listening to insulin properly it won't make much sugar in the middle of the night. If your liver is resistant, those brakes are lifted and your liver starts making a bunch of sugar, so you wake up with a bunch of sugar.
The next tissue to become resistant is the muscle tissue. What is the action of insulin in muscles? It allows your muscles to burn sugar for one thing. So if your muscles become resistant to insulin it can't burn that sugar that was just manufactured by the liver. So the liver is producing too much, the muscles can't burn it, and this raises your blood sugar.
Well the fat cells become resistant, but not for a while as it takes them longer. So for a while your fat cells retain their sensitivity.
What is the action of insulin on your fat cells? To store that fat. It takes sugar and it stores it as fat. So until your fat cells become resistant you get fat. As people become more and more insulin resistant, their weight goes up and up.
But eventually they plateau. They might plateau at 300 pounds, 220 pounds, 150 pounds, but they will eventually plateau as the fat cells protect themselves and become insulin resistant.
As all these major tissues, your liver, muscles and fat, become resistant your pancreas is putting out more insulin to compensate, so you are hyperinsulinemic and you've got insulin floating around all the time, 90 units or more.
But there are certain tissues that aren't becoming resistant such as your endothelium; the lining of the arteries doesn’t become resistant very readily, so all that insulin is affecting the lining of your arteries.
If you drip insulin into the femoral artery of a dog, there was a Dr. Cruz who did this in the early 70s by accident, the artery will become almost totally occluded with plaque after about three months.
The contra lateral side was totally clear, just contact of insulin in the artery caused it to fill up with plaque. That has been known since the 70s and has been repeated in chickens and in dogs; it is really a well-known fact that insulin floating around in the blood causes a plaque build-up. They didn't know why, but we know that insulin causes endothelial proliferation. This is the first step as it causes a tumor, an endothelial tumor.
Insulin also causes the blood to clot too readily and causes the conversion of macrophages into foam cells, which are the cells that accumulate the fatty deposits. Every step of the way, insulin is causing cardiovascular disease. It fills the body with plaque, it constricts the arteries, it stimulates the sympathetic nervous system, it increases platelet adhesiveness and coaguability of the blood.
Insulin is a part of any known cause of cardiovascular disease. It influences nitric oxide synthase; you produce less nitric oxide in the endothelium. We know that helps mediate vasodilatation and constriction, i.e. angina.
I mentioned that insulin increases cellular proliferation, what does that do to cancer? It increases it. And there are some pretty strong studies that show that one of the strongest correlations to breast and colon cancers are levels of insulin.
Hyperinsulinemia causes the excretion of magnesium in the urine. What other big mineral does it cause the excretion of? Calcium. People walking around with hyperinsulinemia can take all the calcium they want by mouth and it's all going to go out in their urine.
Insulin-like Growth Factors (IgFs)
Insulin is one of the first hormones that any organism ever developed, and as I mentioned in genetics, things are built upon what was there before. So all the other hormones we have in our body were actually built upon insulin. In other words, insulin controls growth hormone.
The pituitary produces growth hormone, and then it goes to the liver and the liver produces what are called IgF 1 thru 4, there are probably more. What does IgF stand for? Insulin-like growth factor. They are the active ingredients. Growth hormone has some small effects on its own, but the major growth factors are the IgFs that then circulate throughout the body.
Why are they called IgF's or insulin-like growth factors? Because they have an almost identical molecular structure to insulin. When I said that insulin promotes cellular proliferation, it is because it cross-reacts with IgF receptors. So somewhere in the evolutionary tree, IgFs diverged from insulin. Insulin can work very well by itself; it doesn't need growth hormone, but growth hormone can't do anything without insulin.
Thyroid
The thyroid produces mostly T4. T4 goes to mostly to the liver and is converted to T3. We are getting the idea that insulin controls a lot of what goes on in the liver, and the liver is the primary organ that becomes insulin resistant.
When the liver can no longer listen to insulin, you can't convert T4 to T3 very well. In people who are hyperinsulinemic with a thyroid hormone that comes back totally normal, it is important to measure their T3. Just as often as not, their free T3 will be low, but get their insulin down and it comes back up.
Insulin helps control sex hormones estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone as well. Insulin helps control the manufacture of cholesterol and where do all the sex hormones come from? All the stearic hormones are originally derived from cholesterol, so that's one way. Dr Nestler from the University of Virginia who has spent the last eight years doing multiple studies to show that DHEA levels are directly correlated with insulin levels, or I should say insulin resistance.
The more insulin resistant you are, the lower your DHEA levels. He firmly believes, and has a lot of studies to back it up, that the decline in DHEA is strictly due to the increase in insulin resistance with age. If you reduce the insulin resistance, the DHEA rises.
And how are these sex hormones carried around the body? Something called sex hormone binding globulins. The more that is bound, the less free, active hormone you have. Sex hormone binding globulin is controlled by what? Insulin. There is not a hormone in the body that insulin doesn't affect, if not directly control.
Osteoporosis
You take a bunch of calcium. The medical profession just assumes that it has a homing device and it knows to go into your bone. What happens if you have high levels of insulin and you take a bunch of calcium? Number one, most of it is just going to go out in your urine. You would be lucky if that were the case because that part that doesn't does not have the instructions to go to your bone because the anabolic hormones aren't working.
This is first of all because of insulin, then because of the IGFs from growth hormone, also testosterone and progesterone. They are all controlled by insulin and when they are insulin resistant they can't listen to any of the anabolic hormones. Your body doesn't know how to build tissue anymore so while some of the calcium may end up in your bone, a good deal of it will end up everywhere else--leading to metastatic calcifications, including in your arteries.
Diseases are a result of a lack of communication. There are certain things that your cells need to be healthy. If you learn nothing else today, you should know that everything is at the cellular and molecular level and we are nothing but a community of cells. We are a commune of cells; a metropolis of cells that have been given instructions to cooperate.
When you have a large number of cells, like we have ten trillion or so, there must be proper communication so that there will be proper division of labor. You can take most any cell in your body, put it in a petrie dish and under the right conditions it can live all on its own. They each have a life of their own.
You can manipulate the genetics of a cell, and we've now made a blood cell into a nerve cell. Pretty soon we are going to be able to take any cell we want and make it into any other cell, because every cell in your body has the identical genetics, all derived from that egg and that sperm that came together. Why is one cell different from another? Because they are reading different parts of the same library.
You can influence which part of that genetic library that every cell reads by the environment of that cell. The environment of that cell is going to be very much dictated by hormones and what you eat. Eating is just internalizing the external environment. That is what you have circulation for, to bring that external environment to each and every one of those cells that is inside of you.
I hope that by now you have gotten the idea that high insulin resistance is not very good for you. So now let's talk about what causes insulin resistance.
What Causes Insulin Resistance?
Any time your cell is exposed to insulin it is going to become more insulin resistant. That is inevitable; we cannot stop that, but the rate we can control. An inevitable sign of aging is an increase in insulin resistance.
That rate is the variable. If you can slow down that rate, you can become a centenarian, a healthy one. You can slow the rate of aging. Not even just the rate of disease, but the actual rate of aging itself can be modulated by insulin. We talked about some of the lower animals and there is some pretty good evidence that even in humans we still retain the capacity to control lifespan at least partially. We should be living to be 130 to 140 years old routinely.
Let's talk about carbohydrates. We talk about simple and complex carbohydrates, this is totally irrelevant, it means absolutely nothing. Carbohydrates are fiber or non-fiber. Few things in life are as clear-cut as this. Fiber is good for you, and a non-fiber carb is bad for you. You can bank on that.
There is not a whole lot of middle ground. If you have a carbohydrate that is not a fiber it is going to be turned into a sugar, whether it be glucose or not. It may be fructose and won't necessarily raise your blood glucose. Fructose is worse for you then glucose so if you just go by blood sugar, which is just glucose, it doesn't mean that you are not raising your blood fructose, or your blood galactose which is the other half of lactose.
All of those sugars are as bad or worse for you than glucose. You can't just go by so-called blood sugar because we just don't measure blood fructose or blood galactose, but they are all bad for you.
Why are they bad? Well number one we know that it provokes insulin and every time you provoke insulin it exposes your body to more insulin and just like walking in a smelly room your body is going to become more resistant to insulin.
So every time you have a surge of sugar and you have a surge of insulin, you get more and more insulin resistant and risk all of the problems we've talked about.