What is always amazing to me is how little we know about how drugs work. Metformin, for instance, they really don’t know how it works. They figured out it works in part my interfering with the mitochondria in cells:
It supposedly does this by targeting certain cells. It’s a bit complex, though:
I’ve always thought that interfering with mitochondria is bad, but this appears to be be good, at least from a cancer and glucose standpoint.
But the latest research also suggests that Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s may be caused by sluggish energy production in mitochondria, leading to reduced efficiency of the brain’s cleaning cycle and accumulation of waste.
So statins and Metformin may be problematic as the both interfere with energy production in our mitochondria.
Yeah, hard to imagine this can be a good thing … at least in a healthy person.
This is complicated by the fact that, while some insulin is required in order for the brain cells to metabolise glucose, too much insulin (say, from eating a high-carb diet) actually prevents the brain cells from taking in glucose. Mitochondrial ketolysis thus becomes a good alternative to supplying those cells with energy So interfering with mitochondrial function is bad from the point of view of brain energy.
Another datum is that Thomas Seyfried is convinced that mitochondrial damage is the cause of all forms of cancer. I don’t know what interfering with complex I does to a mitochondrion, but I suspect that looking at that in depth will suggest that the result is not beneficial over the long term.
Still, people would much rather take a pill and eat their glazed doughnuts than alter their diet.
This never ceases to amaze me. I have stopped trying to advise anyone any more,all the info is out there. I just casually told a friend about my great BP drop in keto, how I got rid of meds -and he replied, “good but I´m fine with two pills in the morning and two pills in the evening.”
Oh and another high BP friend saw my ribs pic in Facebook: “Now all that needs is a big portion of good,sweet barbeque sauce”!
Sugar is a hell of a drug.
I am a lay person but I remember reading that one of the theories related to Dementia and parkinsons is that the brain is insulin resistant and cannot process glucose properly which is why some people have experimented with ketones for those conditions. It does not seem to cure them but anecdotally people claim it helps with some symptoms (no first hand knowledge). Perhaps if the brain becomes more insulin sensitive that is a good thing but I have no idea
Ketones (exogenous or from MCT oils) do seem to help with dementia. They also seem to help with migraines. One theory is the different energy source theory (the ketones provide energy that’s not glucose), but when you look into ketones, they do a lot.
This is an interesting figure from a study:
The green lines/arrows are where they think BHB (beta-hydroxybutarate, a blood ketone) helps in the brain. Here’s the link:
It’s a bit too long for me to read during lunch, so I’ll have to bookmark it.
That’s literally what mitochondrial uncouplers do, pretty much used only in Cancer treatment forever. Also how the “worlds deadliest fat burner” works LOL. We interfere with our mitochondria and biology when we take Tylenol for a headache and it chemically blocks the COX3 pathway and dampens the pain signal to our central nervous system. Just nobody thinks about what’s happening on the back end.
