Insulin Management

[Space]

I have read a number of articles highlighting the importance of managing insulin during weight loss. Ketogenic diets in particular appear to focus on keeping insulin as low as possible.

But isn't insulin anti-catabolic and useful for preserving muscle? Is keeping insulin low really necessary for weight loss?

 

[SuppKnight]

I have read a number of articles highlighting the importance of managing insulin during weight loss. Ketogenic diets in particular appear to focus on keeping insulin as low as possible.

But isn't insulin anti-catabolic and useful for preserving muscle? Is keeping insulin low really necessary for weight loss?

It is not necessary, it is just one of many options, albeit the best option for people like me (carb-sensitives and carb-addicts).

Yes, insulin is useful for preserving and gaining muscle, but on the Targeted and Cyclical Ketogenic Diets there are periods in which you consume carbs to create a rapid and helpful insulin response that allows you to preserve muscle mass. In other words, these diets do not remove insulin from the diet, or even keep it low as much as possible, they simply manage it in the optimal way for fat loss.

 

[russy_russ]

I have read a number of articles highlighting the importance of managing insulin during weight loss. Ketogenic diets in particular appear to focus on keeping insulin as low as possible.

But isn't insulin anti-catabolic and useful for preserving muscle? Is keeping insulin low really necessary for weight loss?

During low-intensity, prolonged exercise, blood levels of epinephrine rise, which increases lipase activity and thus promotes lipolysis. However, mobilization of FFA into the blood is inhibited by insulin and high blood levels of lactic acid. Insulin inhibits lipolysis by directly inhibition of lipase activity.

 

[Dyou]

However, mobilization of FFA into the blood is inhibited by insulin and high blood levels of lactic acid..

hmm what are considered HIGH levels of lactic acid? correct me if im wrong but isnt this what happens every time you lift weights?

 

[badfish51581]

Insulin management bows in comparison to caloric restriction when it comes to weight loss. Keto diets specifically are able to help with feelings of satiation and allow the user to stick to the diet (reduced calories). Alan Aragon has written some pretty interesting stuff on the subject.

 

[russy_russ]

hmm what are considered HIGH levels of lactic acid? correct me if im wrong but isnt this what happens every time you lift weights?

Depending on the person (training history etc..) the lactate threshold is different. This is the point where lactate accumulation is no longer linear and increases exponentially and performance decreases (typically 65 - 85% VO2 max) and typically the lactate concentration at this point is between 2 - 4 milimoles / liter.

Lactic acid occurs when oxygen is not available to accept the hydrogens from NADH and FADH in the mitochondria, pyruvic acid can accept the hydrogens which forms lactic acid; lactate dehydrogenase catalyzes this reaction. During high-intensity exercise, skeletal muscle can produce large amounts of lactic acid which quickly releases hydrogen ions; the remaining molecule is lactate. This release of hydrogens decreases blood pH which causes the burning sensation in the skeletal muscle.

 

[Nitrox]

Insulin management bows in comparison to caloric restriction when it comes to weight loss. Keto diets specifically are able to help with feelings of satiation and allow the user to stick to the diet (reduced calories). Alan Aragon has written some pretty interesting stuff on the subject.

:goodpost:

What people seem to have a hard time understanding is that insulin management basically comes from energy (calorie) management. So just forget about the insulin. Eat whole foods (easier on insulin requirements) and track portions.

 

[badfish51581]

:goodpost:

What people seem to have a hard time understanding is that insulin management basically comes from energy (calorie) management. So just forget about the insulin. Eat whole foods (easier on insulin requirements) and track portions.

The testament for me was a study done where they used drugs to suppress insulin (which is way more potent than food selection) and saw no difference in terms of weight loss.

No effect of inhibition of insulin secretion by diazoxide on weight loss in hyperinsulinaemic obese subjects during an 8-week weight-loss diet.
Due A, Flint A, Eriksen G, Møller B, Raben A, Hansen JB, Astrup A.

Department of Human Nutrition, The Royal Veterinary and Agricultural University, DK-1958 Frederiksberg C, Denmark. [email protected]

AIM: Obesity is positively associated with hyperinsulinaemia, and it has been suggested that hyperinsulinaemia may contribute to maintain the obese state in insulin-resistant obese individuals. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of inhibition of insulin secretion by diazoxide on weight loss in obese, normoglycaemic (fasting plasma glucose of > or =6.1 mmol/l), hyperinsulinaemic (fasting plasma insulin of > or =100 pmol/l) adults during a 2.5 MJ/day energy-deficient diet. METHODS: In an 8-week, double-blind, placebo-controlled parallel design, 35 overweight and obese subjects (age: 23-54 years, body mass index: 27-66 kg/m(2)) were randomized either to 2 mg/kg/day (maximum 200 mg/day) of oral diazoxide or to placebo. Body composition and resting energy expenditure (REE) were measured before and after the intervention. Blood samples, and appetite sensations by visual analogue scales, were collected during fasting, during an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) and 4 h postprandially after a test meal. Subsequently, an ad libitum meal was given. RESULTS: Thirty-one subjects completed the protocol. Eight weeks of diazoxide decreased incremental area under the response curve (iAUC) for insulin (iAUC(insulin)) and for C-peptide (iAUC(C-peptide)) and increased iAUC for glucose (iAUC(glucose)) during the OGTT and the test meal compared with the use of placebo (p < 0.003). No differences in changes between the groups in body weight, body fat, REE or appetite were observed during the 8-week trial. CONCLUSION: These findings do not suggest that hyperinsulinaemia per se contributes to maintenance of the obese state, and insulin secretion inhibition seems not a promising drug target.