Yes, a low-carb diet greatly lowers your insulin
Is “eat less and move more” really the only thing you need to know in order to lose weight?
Why is it then that most people lose weight on an LCHF diet, even when eating until satisfied and without even any increase in exercise?
The best explanation, in a simplified version, looks like this:
Carbohydrates – > insulin – > obesity
Thus more carbohydrates lead to more insulin which leads to more fat accumulation. With more details this can be written as follows:
Too many (bad) carbohydrates – > pathologically high insulin levels – > obesity
What constitutes “too many” varies from person to person depending on sensitivity and activity level (how much carbs you burn). Intensely exercising young men can often tolerate a fair amount of carbs, while heavily overweight older individuals with diabetes can only tolerate minimal amounts without problems.
The opposite is the following:
Less carbs – > lower insulin levels – > loss of excess fat
Insulin is a fat storing hormone. And the easiest way to increase your insulin levels is to eat more carbohydrates. The easiest way to lower insulin levels is to eat fewer carbohydrates.
This seems very straight forward. But some are still adamant opponents. Without being able to come up with any better explanation as to why a low-carbohydrate diet works (it does) they still don’t want to accept this explanation. They come up with all kinds of objections. Some don’t even want to recognize the most basic, that carbohydrates increase insulin levels or that a low-carb diet lowers insulin levels.
Their complicated objections don’t matter much in reality. The truth is clear in study after study on humans. Insulin levels are much higher when you eat a lot of carbohydrates and lower on a low-carb diet. The figure above (from Boden et al.) is one example.
Here are some more:
Much lower insulin levels on a low-carbohydrate diet
Figure from Noakes et al.
Figure from Hernandez et al.
Longer trials
The insulin-lowering effect of low-carb diets has also been demonstrated for fasting insulin levels, in longer RCTs like these: NEJM 2003, Lipids 2009.
Lower insulin, lower insulin, much lower insulin
Does a low-carbohydrate diet lower insulin? There is only one answer: Yes, insulin levels decrease greatly throughout the entire day.
One could only wish that the insulin deniers could at least accept something this basic.
Previously
The #1 cause of obesity: insulin
P.S.
Even fasting insulin levels have been shown to be lower on a low-carb diet (for example: Samaha et al., Volek et al.)
70 comments
I have no personal experience with fasting (except during sickness), but I have watched a couple of video lectures by Dr. Jason Fung about this treatment option and how it has helped many of his diabetic patients. A lot of common sense involved!
His blog: http://intensivedietarymanagement.com
Video: http://youtu.be/4oZ4UqtbB_g
All the best!
It altso rise glucagon proportionaly.. its a zero sum game!
And that is when insulin does its jobb.. let it do its jobb!
The thing to be afraid of is Hyperinsulinemia.. it is altso doing its jobb then.. but to coop whit a unnormal siuation!
Its this unnormal situation/metabolic state that one should avoid.. often its about high glycemic load, insulin resistances, metabolic syndrome, diabetes!
http://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/a1c-test/basics/results/pr...
But.. mayby you are not a diabetic.. or you are a prediabetic?
One sign of prediabetics is reactive hypoglycemia.
Anyhow.. let us see the truth.. your glucose metabolism is probably not healty?
And the signs of that is that you are overweight (?), reacts positvely on a low carb diet, get brain fog by eating bad carbs, get hypoglycemic symptomes.
Fasting blood sugar dont say that much.. A1c says more.. and a glucose loading test.
Anyhoo, I am not USUALLY hypoglycemic. This was an isolated incident. I was wondering if that nap played a part in that? It was just weird. Of course if it ever becomes a regular thing I will be convinced that I have a medical reason for the reactive hypoglycemia. Also YES obviously all my weight loss efforts are due to having about 50 extra pounds on my body. I would surely not try losing this blubber if I didn't have it! LOL! I have been trying to do some research for answers or related info. After I commented here I was able to find where it was mentioned that sometimes the body can have reactive hypoglycemia if a person who is insulin resistant goes on a low carb plan. That really makes sense to me.
It take at least 10-30 years to be a fully developed diabetic.
Can be other things to but they are rare.
In this 10-30 years FBG is normal or slightly elevated and altso A1c.
Suddenly one get to that level that ones pancreas cant produce enough insulin to handle all glucos.. bang.. you got diabets typ2.
And no.. its the oposite.. its less probably to get a reactive hypoglycemia whit low carb.. becuse you are not that dependant of glucose for fuel.
Doctors do what they have learned and what symptomes they detect.. they cant see in to the future.. but there are better and worse doctors, as in all profesions.
Heres an Yotube whit Dr Fung about the etiology of Diabets type 2.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FcLoaVNQ3rc
Fasting in the 60s. Frequent hypoglycemia no matter the carbohydrate level (no, low, high) with in a few minutes after eating.
(late /2+ hour hypoglycemia =insulin resistance; early/under 2 hours hypoglycemia =hyperinsulinemia with out resistance)
Labs show high fasting insulin.
Fasting is wonderful but "low carb"??
Not sure I'm following your logic. When someone fasts, they deplete their glycogen storage (first the liver, then muscles). This then follows with the body being encouraged to switch to ketosis, the other fuel-burning regime. If some maintains a ketogenic, or low carb regimen when not fasting, the process to switching into fasting ketosis is easier. And, from a hunger point of view, a person who is in ketosis or low carb eating when not fasting will not feel as hungry when they start the fast. People who eat higher levels of carbs burn out their glucose inventory and feel hungry within a couple of hours or so (and thus the "snacking epidemic" was born).
There are many many different potential causes of that level of fatigue, including thyroid medications. Please check in with your doctor who can do a more thorough analysis.
I am not aware of a link between the two; it may be worth monitoring your blood sugar for specific blood glucose levels and working with your doctor.