18 months keto and A1c is going up!? Need encouragement

(Shelley) #1

I’ve been keto since December 2016, and mostly carnivore the past few months. My HgbA1c has gone from 5.6 to 5.9 since last years annual labs. I presume this is due to stress as I have been the primary caregiver to my elderly mother for the past 2 years. I just need some encouragement, thanks.

(cheryl) #2

Hang in there… Do any facilities near you offer respite care ? Sounds like you may be in need of a little break.

(Shelley) #3

Thanks Cheryl,
Yes, I’m looking into that today. I guess it took seeing the numbers to push me to ask for more help!

(Keto Victory) #4

The A1c test is not infallible. Far from it!

First, it’s subject to false readings (values that don’t accurately reflect your actual glucose history) from a variety of causes.

Second, it says nothing about the volatility of your BG over time, nor the degree to which your lowest BG levels have affected the supposed “average” that the A1c test is said to represent.

Also, differences between labs can affect the results.

While the A1c test is unquestionably better than an annual fasting BG reading, it can’t hold a candle to continuous BG monitoring or frequent, diligent BG testing.

(Shelley) #5

Well, that’s encouraging. I also need to manage my stress, I’m sure it’s contributing. Thanks for your input😊

(Keto Victory) #6

It sounds like you’re on the right track, doing what you can under trying circumstances.

Stress/elevated cortisol and lack of quality sleep often affect my BG. I haven’t discovered a magic wand; social support and long walks are as close as I’ve found.

(Sandra) #7

I want to follow this thread. My hub and I first had our A1c tested after 3 months keto. We had a new test a year later after 9 months carnivore and both of ours went up! (Mine from 5.5 to 5.8; his from 5.7 to 5.9) also our fasting BG was higher, and our fasting insulin, though still in the low range, was higher. I am a bit concerned - is this a trend or will this regulate and eventually settle lower as we adjust to ZC? Or should we monitor our protein intake? Our weight, energy levels and BP are great! Joint pain gone and other markers of increasing good health are evident, so I want to continue ZC. I’m interested in any input! Thanks.

(Bunny) #8

If this is the case I personally would opt for various genetic genotype SNP testing to see if it is a possible dietary issue with saturated fat (SFA), monounsaturated fat (MUFA), polyunsaturated fat (PUFA) from fish or plants!

Example:

FTO - rs17817449(G;T): “Saturated fat may have a negative effect on blood glucose and insulin levels and increases type 2 diabetes risk in individuals with this genotype.”

References:

  1. Effects of Saturated Fat, Polyunsaturated Fat, Monounsaturated Fat, and Carbohydrate on Glucose-Insulin Homeostasis: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Randomised Controlled Feeding Trials Conclusions: This meta-analysis of randomised controlled feeding trials provides evidence that dietary macronutrients have diverse effects on glucose-insulin homeostasis. In comparison to carbohydrate, SFA, or MUFA, most consistent favourable effects were seen with PUFA, which was linked to improved glycaemia, insulin resistance, and insulin secretion capacity.
High sugar
(Solomom A) #9

The last time Dr. Baker made his results public, fasting blood glucose and HgA1C were on the high side. I guess we don’t have any historical data to compare with. Is it healthy or otherwise in a carnivore?

(Keto Victory) #10

Any thoughts of trying a Freestyle Libre in order to get 24/7 BG data?

(FYI, in contrast to the anemic official Reader device from Abbott, you can calibrate smartphone apps used to read the Libre sensors with the same glucometer you’ve been using.)

(Shelley) #11

I just got my health results back from 23&Me, but I don’t see any explanation of results?? How do I find this?

(Bunny) #12

See this post:

(Bob M) #13

I don’t know where to start with this study. My general rule: Any study whose best outcome is PUFA is complete crap. For instance, the ACTUAL decrease in HbA1c according to table 2 is -0.15 when going from SFA to PUFA. That’s so small to be meaningless. Glucose went down a shocking 0.04 mmol/L, or less than 1 mg/dL.

Then they make this statement: “Biologic plausibility of these findings is supported by experimental evidence that PUFA suppresses oxidative stress, hepatic lipogenesis and steatosis, pancreatic lipotoxicity, and insulin resistance”. PUFA lowers IR?

I guess that’s true, in that PUFA causes fat cells to have lower insulin resistance. But, guess what? That CAUSES you to be fat.

So, you lower your HbA1c while getting fatter? I’m not sure that’s a compromise I want to make.

(Bunny) #14

Depends on your roots, the closer to the equator your ancestors lived, the more you may need PUFA’s and/or MUFA’s; monounsaturated fats (olive oil[1])!

There maybe a few peeps, where saturated fats may not be such a good thing (at least not in large amounts; higher ratio of poly and mono unsaturated fat to saturated fat inake, in order to lower their type 2 diabetes risk[1]) and where PUFA’s and MUFA’s; monounsaturated fats maybe in their best interests and more beneficial, but I would not cook with plant oils, as such; fish or marine life does not need much heat to cook!

Thermal application of heat (inhibits reverse electron transport) on plant fats/oils seem to be the significant factor besides rancid oxidation or shelf time and the virginess of the bottled PUFA’s or MUFA’s used; e.g. chemically extracted, heat processed vs. cold pressed!

I did a post here about Dr. Michael Eades… As Dr. Eades points out most of the plant oils used to cook with in more upscale restaurants are soybean oils and rancid at that?

For example amongst the people’s of Finland; they have very high rates of centurians and little to no obesity and the reason for that is because they eat less sugar or no sugary foods; eat more fish (PUFA’s); they are exposed to colder conditions which means more brown fat (BAT) or more iron rich mitochondria in their fat cells…

References:

  1. Peter had one patient, whom this happened to, here’s what he did:
  • He cut his patient’s saturated fat intake to very low levels (20-25 grams a day)
    • 65% of his fat calories were being consumed from mono unsaturated fat (this is very hard to do, an easy way to get this much mono unsaturated fat is to consume lots of olive oil) *

People with certain SNPs (pronounced snips – these are basically single gene variants) on PPAR alpha and PPAR gamma, just don’t do well with saturated fat, like Peter’s patient

  • People with these SNPs, should have a higher ratio of poly and mono unsaturated fat to saturated fat inake, in order to lower their type 2 diabetes risk
    • If they consume too much saturated fat, they’ll see effects similar to what was observed with Peter’s patient
  • Why some people have trouble entering ketosis
    • From an evolutionary perspective, you should have been selected out really quickly if you can’t make ketones efficiently
    • It’s not all about generating ketones, first you have to deplete your glycogen (stored liver glucose) – once our body depletes its stored glucose, then it starts running on ketones …” …More
  1. APOE4 – THE GENE THAT CAN’T HAVE SATURATED FATS
Need help understanding fat cell size vs. number of cells, weight loss and maintenance
Panic has set in. Need advice!
My bio numbers went wacky disappointed
DNA-test Ancestry
(Sandra) #15

I have not heard of that - thanks! I am not super concerned at the moment - but it is rather interesting. That all said, I do feel wonderfully fit and well!

(Shelley) #16

Update: I had more blood work done with my new naturopath and my A1C was 5.5! Could be a difference in labs and instruments, but I’ll take it, one less thing to stress about. All my other labs were good, so at least the chronic stress has not been affecting my overall health as much as I was afraid it was. I haven’t gotten my cortisol, insulin, etc results back yet.
Gratefully,
Shelley

(Madge Boldt) #17

I searched the forum for “FTO and saturated fat” and ended up here. @atomicspacebunny you seem to know a few things about FTO, which is a few things more than me!
I sent my raw 23andMe data to FoundMyFitness/Rhonda Patrick. I have 5 FTO SNPs. That doesn’t surprise me. I was a fat kid even in the 60s, when it was less common. I spent two decades at around 400 pounds. The only way I have ever been able to lose weight successfully is with variations of low carb (Atkins in the 90s, etc)
My only concern is that the report states for each FTO SNP something along these lines “… gene is associated with obesity particularly in the context of a high saturated fat and low polyunsaturated fat intake ratio.”
It took a while for me to embrace the safety of saturated fat, and now I have to re-think it. I am very disappointed!
I wonder if this negative association of FTO and saturated fat is a generally accepted concept, or if it is one that is mostly the opinion of Rhonda Patrick.
Any other FTO folks out there? I know there is one that I just listened to on the Keto Woman podcast, Karen Parrott.

(Bunny) #18

All nutrigenomics is based on the GWAS research not Dr. Patrick’s opinion:

Your ancestors probably ate more plants and/or marine life (fish) but that does not mean you have too exclusively eat more raw polyunsaturated fats just eat more of them along with lower monounsaturated and saturated fats…at least try it and see what happens?

But here is the other factor that the GWAS may not take into consideration (sugar burners vs. ketobolic metabolism; you?): you have cut down your sugar (carbohydrate) intake which is going effect how your body processes any kind of fats so GWAS may not apply?

EXAMPLE: GWAS

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(Madge Boldt) #19

Thanks for that info, it all makes sense. Knowledge is always good. Some of the other SNPs made so much sense. I’ve been supplementing with 5000mg Vit D for years because my levels were low when only supplementing with 1000mg. My doctor had no answer for that. The report showed I have two SNPs that can account for low vit D levels. It’s a win! For FTO, I will now keep my saturated fat intake in mind.

(Bunny) #20

Always mix it up when it comes to meat (beef, fish, pork, chicken) because they have different fatty acid and nutrient configurations that way you have varieties in nutrient densities?

And as for vitamin D get some more sunlight on the birthday suit? …lol