I seem to remember an episode of the 2 keto dudes where Richard mentioned that the true evolutionary function of insulin seemed to be something other than blood glucose control.
Does any one else remember this?
Thanks in advance,
John
The true function of insulin?
jgicking
(John Gicking)
#3
Yes! That is what he said! Thank you. I thought that was it, but I could not remember exactly.
EZB
(Ethan)
#4
I believe it is about the cycle of store->use->store, etc. Basically, we are meant to eat during eating time (even if that is just every day during the daytime), but be able to use much later what we ate earlier when we are not eating. Ingested fat breakdown takes a lot longer than ingested carbohydrate breakdown. I think this is critical for why fat is better than carbohydrates. A normal body can go either way though. With carbohydrate breakdown, the body turns carbs into glucose. Since more glucose is ingested than required, the glucose has to be stored away as fat–and relatively quickly. When we are not eating later (perhaps overnight, but could be longer), the body breaks that fat back down and uses it. It’s a great system when it works. Fat breakdown takes a lot longer, and so it really provides a better longterm use. It doesn’t need to be stored so quickly as body fat, so this is much preferred.
PaulL
(You've tried everything else; why not try bacon?)
#5
Dr. Phinney describes the presence of glucose in the bloodstream as a “metabolic emergency” (apparently glucose toxicity is a very serious issue), which is why the body mobilizes insulin to get it out of the bloodstream. Apparently this is also why the body can switch very quickly to glucose-burning mode but takes a while to become fat-adapted again afterward.