Best Diet for Insulin Resistance (+ Extra Tips) • Dr Benjamin Bikman


#1

(Bob M) #2

No synopsis, even a sentence or two?


#3

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(Bob M) #4

Sorry, don’t watch many videos.


#5

Then don’t watch it, your loss.


(Nola) #6

Well that was interesting… something to think about because I limit protein myself. Thx for posting.


#7

You should definitely keep an eye out for Bikman’s interviews - I learn something new every time & I’ve been at this for over 4 years.


(Running from stupidity) #8

Same, my ADHD brain struggles.


#9

Yeah. Me too.
Auditary learning ain’t my thing.
I find podcasts very tedious.

Articles, studies, etc. written visual stuff, now that sinks in effortlessly.


(Running from stupidity) #10

I like podcasts when I’m walking or doing housework, but not otherwise. Video is a rare thing for me to cope with.


#11

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(less is more, more or less) #12

This morning was the rare morning where my podcast queue was exhausted. So, knowing that @newtoketonot had posted this, and had sufficiently piqued my interest, this was my listening on my dreadmill this morning. This could have been a podcast, unless you like staring at two talking heads. Very little in the way of visuals, dense on audio, though.

I cannot recommend this interview enough, particularly for this follower of Dr. Westman. My protein intake is higher than the “recommended” levels, and I’ve done fine despite this. Bikman helps me to better understand why, and why we may misunderstand protein in LCHF.


#13

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(Bacon is a many-splendoured thing) #14

I restored the link in the original post to Prof. Bikman’s interview on Bio-Hackers’ Lab.

Here is a more recent interview with Prof. Bikman, which expands and illuminates his ideas.


(Megan) #15

Thanks Paul, listening to this at the moment. At 24:30 he starts talking about what he thinks is the most sensitive marker to tell if you are insulin sensitive or not. It’s probably been mentioned here a thousand times but talk about ratios of this and that have gone over my head (I have a terrible time with numbers). Also, has it been talked about in respect to insulin sensitivity? Anyway, he is saying if one’s triglycerides and HDL are roughly the same amount where it’s a 1 to 1 balance of them, that’s a very good sign. And if triglycerides are lower than HDL the person is very insulin sensitive, and their metabolic health is very sound.

I looked at my last blood test results. September 2022, 4 months into carnivore. I did a few weeks of keto 1st before moving into carni and before that I was eating very high carb and fat aka very unhealthy western type foods.
Triglyceride: 0.9 mmol/L (< 2.0 )
HDL Cholesterol: 1.08 mmol/L (> 1.00 )

I’m like wow, I am insulin sensitive!! I am metabolically healthy!!

In 2019 they were:
Triglyceride: 1.8 mmol/L (< 2.0 )
HDL Cholesterol: 0.87 mmol/L (>1.00 ) L

In 2018 they were:
Triglyceride: 3.0 mmol/L (< 2.0 ) H
HDL Cholesterol: 1.05 mmol/L (> 1.00 )

Am I hearing what he’s saying correctly? I’m actually doing really well as far as metabolic health and insulin sensitivity goes??

The full lipid test results he ordered in Sept 2022 were:
Fasting status: Fasting

Cholesterol: 5.3 mmol/L (< 5.0 ) H

Triglyceride: 0.9 mmol/L (< 2.0 )

HDL Cholesterol: 1.08 mmol/L (> 1.00 )

LDL cholesterol: 3.8 mmol/L (< 3.4 ) H

Chol/HDL Ratio: 4.9 (< 4.5 ) H

P.S. I’m excited about this because my GP refuses to order a fasting insulin b/c my blood glucose has never been high. He, like most GPs, are still stuck in the glucose centric paradigm.


(Megan) #16

Looking at the 5 markers for insulin resistance (waist measurement, blood glucose, blood pressure, triglycerides, HDL) I only have one now - I’m still way too big around the middle, but I’m working on it!


(Bacon is a many-splendoured thing) #17

Yes, things are definitely moving in the right direction. It will be interesting to see what your next test results will show.

In the units your numbers are given in, any ratio below 0.9 is an indication of minimal risk for cardiovascular disease (under 2.0 in the U.S.), and your ratio is 0.83. You probably have a bit further to go to reach full insulin-sensitivity, since in the units Prof. Bikman is accustomed to, your ratio is 1.91. However, you are already in very good shape.

Your physician is quite reasonably following the current standard of care. As Dr. Robert Lustig, in an interview I recently watched, points out, the American Diabetes Association actually discourages physicians from testing their patients’ insulin levels. He says the organisation’s two main objections are that (a) insulin tests are not identical from lab to lab, and (b) the test can pick up the level of proto-insulin along with the insulin. He goes into the ADA’s reasoning on both counts and dismisses it as specious.

But note that, as august a body as the ADA may be, its major corporate sponsors are pharmaceutical companies that supply insulin and other diabetes drugs. A dietary change profits no one, and so is not on their agenda.

The Dudes have two dogmata: (1) Show us the science, and (2) Find out what works for you. I’d like to propose a third dogma, based on a phrase Richard often uses: (3) Follow the money.


(Megan) #18

Hi @PaulL

My triglycerides are lower than my HDL, so according to Bikman I am very insulin sensitive and my metabolic health is very sound.

What do you mean by “since in the units Prof. Bikman is accustomed to, your ratio is 1.91.”?


(Bacon is a many-splendoured thing) #19

In the U.S., cholesterol and triglycerides are measured in mg/dL, whereas in the rest of the world, the units are in mmol/L. So your recent triglyceride measurement was 0.9 mmol/L, and your HDL was 1.08 mmol/L. That gives a ratio of 0.83, and you want 0.9 or less. In the U.S., your triglycerides would be 0.9 × 88.5740 = 79.7166, and your HDL would be 1.08 × 38.6698 = 41.7634. That gives a ratio of 1.91, and you want 2.0 or less. In both measurements, your numbers are good.

The point of a ratio under 0.9 or 2.0 is that it indicates minimal cardiovascular risk. Dr. Bikman is saying that when your ratio is under 1.0 in U.S. units, that goes even further and indicates insulin-sensitivity. A ratio of 1.0 in U.S. units is, assuming I divided properly, 0.437 when the amounts are in mmol/dL. In other words, your cardiovascular risk is minimal, and you are getting there with the insulin-sensitivity. You’ve only been carnivore for a few months, so I look forward to seeing what further improvements you make.

Note that, so far as I understand, our lipid numbers do not cause either insulin-resistance or cardiovascular disease, but they serve as markers for those conditions. The reason is that the same hyperinsulinaemia that causes cardiovascular disease and insulin-resistance also messes with our lipids. There is an association between our lipids and our other metabolic conditions, but not a causal link, if that makes sense.


(Chuck) #20

So my ratio of 1.12 sounds really good to me even though I would like to see my HDL a little higher.