Anyone taking/taken Inulin?

(Bob M) #1

So, because Nick Norwitz was agog about Inulin again, I decided I’d try it again. The last time I took it, I couldn’t tell any benefit.

This time, I’m taking about 10g/day. Something has caused lower blood sugar in the mornings (normally 100-110, now <100) and much higher ketones. My ketones this morning were 0.9 mmol/l, and that’s happened a few days in a row. They are usually about 1/3 of that.

Now, I’ve also started taking some copper around the same time. Read conflicting info about copper though.

If you’ve taken inulin, have you noticed lower morning blood sugar (and higher ketones)?

(B Creighton) #2

Hey Bob.
Inulin is of course a soluble fiber. For it to be useful, you must have the right microbiome to convert it into SCFAs. ie. this is mostly going to be Akkermansia muciniphila, but there are others. These will convert inulin into a SCFA - particularly acetate. To the extent that you have enough SCFAs to escape into the blood stream, they get used as fuel by endothelial cells, and any other cells that receive them. This means there will be less demand for sugar. How this gets communicated to the liver is another story, but yeah, then the liver is required to make less sugar. I believe this is what ultimately causes a drop in blood sugar. However, a study this year indicated that the metabolism of inulin ends up converting fructose into amino acids…
Foods like onions, leeks, garlic, asparagus and Jerusalem artichokes have inulin, although chicory root is by far the richest source. Of these I eat the most of onion and aparagus, although I have planted some Jerusalem artichokes.

Re: copper. I actually started taking 2 mg of copper x 4/wk for a total of 8 mg/wk. This is largely because I suspect I have overdone Zinc for a long time, which will have the effect of suppressing copper levels. My thinking is that the imbalance made my immune system a little too active, and possibly contributed to vitiligo I began having around my mouth. So, I recently began some copper to “rebalance” my system, and I have to say that the vitiligo on my face is much less noticeable, although it is still noticeable on my hands and elbows. Calcium, iron and copper are probably the 3 most oxidizing metals for the body, and you definitely do not want to overdo any of them. So, if you do supplement Cu, I would limit it to 8 mg/wk, and perhaps counterbalance it with some zinc if you don’t get much in your diet. Just a word of caution if you are not aware.

(Bob M) #3

Thanks. Yes, I also saw the zinc/copper issues and one of the studies I saw actually used the zinc/copper amount as a marker (take input of zinc, divide by input of copper).

I started at 2mg/copper/day, but then backed off that when I thought it might be giving me some negative effects. I have been taking zinc close to daily, then realized at 50mg/day, that was a lot of zinc. So I went to only 2-3 times per week. Now, I’m trying to align them, 2-3x/week.

That’s great that you at least have some feedback mechanism (amount of vitiligo), as I think that helps.

I know that – for whatever reason – my blood sugar is lower and my ketones are higher in the morning now, and have been for 1+ weeks. In the not too distant past, however, I’ve taken oral steroids for poison ivy, still used topical steroids, added copper, added Inulin, changed the type of Glutathione I was using (seems to help with allergies), and started backing off chocolate and dairy. The last too are very recent though. There are so many variables.

And, like you pointed out, assume that Inulin is the cause of lowered blood sugar and higher ketones in the morning. (1) It’s hard to know if that’s even a good thing; (2) if it is a good thing, could there also be something bad about what Inulin is doing?

I have taken Inulin in the past and couldn’t figure out if there was a benefit. But I also can’t test insulin, where there’s supposedly a benefit. And if the benefit is solely based on what happens in the biome, what happens if you stop taking Inulin? Does the biome change to no longer provide these benefits? (My guess: yes. The biome seems to be able to change almost instantly.)

Too many variables and questions.