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Insulin and Aging
Michael Lam, MD, MPH
www.DrLam.com
(READING TIPS: For fast reading, scan through the topic headings in BOLD BLACK, important conclusions in BOLD
BLUE, and " Must Know " in BOLD RED. To jump to specific sections in this article, click on
the respective LINKS in the Contents.
| Before You Begin
Information presented here is for general
educational purposes only. Each one of us is biochemically and metabolically
different. If you have a specific health concern and wish my personalized
nutritional recommendation, write to me by clicking
here. |
Scientists have known that calorie restriction, when accompanied by optimum
nutrition ( also known as C.R.O.N.) can extend lifespan of animals 30 to 230
%, depending on the species. Primate studies are in process. It will be another
10 years before we known the final results, and no doubt, results will then
lead to even more questions. What we do know, from major studies of centenarians
already underway, is that the demographics have nothing much in common.
Many centenarians are smokers, for example. They come from all over the world
without a favoring any geographic location in particular. However,
there are 3 consistent blood metabolic indicators of
all centenarians that are relatively consistent: low sugar, low triglyceride,
and low insulin. All three are relatively low for age. Among these
three variables, insulin is
the common denominator. The level of insulin sensitivity of the cell is one of the
most important markers of lifespan.
Insulin
 When
we eat, the food we consume turns into sugar once inside the body. This is particularly
true of carbohydrates such as potato or rice. This sugar circulates within us,
and under the influence of insulin, is absorbed into the surrounding cells and
tissue where it is metabolized into energy, or in the case of excessive sugar,
stored for future use.
Insulin is commonly known as a hormone secreted by the beta cells of the pancreas
that lowers the blood sugar by promoting their transport from the blood stream
to the cell. Cells, in turn, use sugar as fuel to generate ATP, the energy currency
of the body. Insulin's real purpose in our body is to help the body store excess
nutrients.
When we take in excessive sugar and once the body sense that there is too
much, insulin is released to take the excess sugar out of the bloodstream
and store it by converting it into glycogen. The amount of glycogen stored in
the liver is small. The entire reserve cannot last more than a day of activity.
Excess sugar above and beyond what can be stored as glycogen is then stored
as palmitic acid, a saturated fatty acid. Now you see how excessive sugar (calorie) intake leads to extra fat
in the body.
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