Re: Non-dietary causes of high blood sugar?

[Guest guest]

> My father has been testing borderline high for fasting blood glucose

> over the past 12 months. He is perplexed by this because he has been

> on a very low carb diet for a few years now. He eats no refined sugar

> of any kind, no flour and less than 60g of carbs per day. He

> exercises regularly and has for years. He also takes CLO and butter

> oil every day.

That sounds like a great diet, and 60g of carbs is low enough that it

should not be affecting his fasting blood sugar. However, if he ate a

poor diet for many years he may have already developed insulin

resistance. I don't know how quickly and to what extent insulin

resistance can be reduced by a proper diet, but it should help.

> His mother and grandmother were both diabetics, so he's concerned

> about this. What else could be causing his high blood sugar levels if

> it's not his diet or lack of exercise?

Do you know what his fasting blood gluocose is exactly? Were his

mother and grandmother type 1 or type 2 diabetics? Type 1 can in fact

develop later in life, so it might be wise to have blood/urine tests

done specifically to check for both types.

> One possibility that occurs to me is that he's under a lot of stress

> and has been for some time. I know that during stress the adrenals

> produce adrenaline, adrenaline increases glucagon production which in

> turn releases more sugar into the blood.

You're right about adrenaline, although under chronic stress cortisol

is more of a factor than adrenaline, which is a fast-acting hormone

that is released under acute stress (fight-or-flight response). Like

adrenaline, cortisol increases blood glucose, so there is a definite

connection between stress and elevated blood sugar. Cortisol induces a

minor insulin resistant state, which is fine when it's released

normally, but when levels are chronically high that's obviously a bad

thing.

Tom

[Guest guest]

--- Tom Jeanne <tjeanne@...> wrote:

> You're right about adrenaline, although under chronic stress cortisol

> is more of a factor than adrenaline, which is a fast-acting hormone

> that is released under acute stress (fight-or-flight response). Like

> adrenaline, cortisol increases blood glucose, so there is a definite

> connection between stress and elevated blood sugar. Cortisol induces a

> minor insulin resistant state, which is fine when it's released

> normally, but when levels are chronically high that's obviously a bad

> thing.

Caffeine may aggravate the stress response. That's why I broke my

addiction to it. I feel more relaxed in stressful situations now.

[Guest guest]

Definitely, stress can cause high blood glucose readings.

What about medications? Some meds can also raise blood sugar.

-PattyT

>

> My father has been testing borderline high for fasting blood glucose

> over the past 12 months...What else could be causing his high blood

sugar levels if

> it's not his diet or lack of exercise?

>

[Guest guest]

--- In , " Tom Jeanne " <tjeanne@...>

> That sounds like a great diet, and 60g of carbs is low enough that it

> should not be affecting his fasting blood sugar. However, if he ate a

> poor diet for many years he may have already developed insulin

> resistance. I don't know how quickly and to what extent insulin

> resistance can be reduced by a proper diet, but it should help.

Thanks for your reply, Tom. He has been on the low-carb diet for at

least four years, maybe more. Seems that would be long enough to

shift his blood sugar, but I'm not sure about this.

> Do you know what his fasting blood gluocose is exactly? Were his

> mother and grandmother type 1 or type 2 diabetics? Type 1 can in fact

> develop later in life, so it might be wise to have blood/urine tests

> done specifically to check for both types.

I think his fasting blood glucose is going back and forth between 90

and 115, which is only borderline high. But he's concerned because of

the family history I mentioned. I'm pretty certain that his mother

and grandmother had Type 2.

> You're right about adrenaline, although under chronic stress cortisol

> is more of a factor than adrenaline, which is a fast-acting hormone

> that is released under acute stress (fight-or-flight response). Like

> adrenaline, cortisol increases blood glucose, so there is a definite

> connection between stress and elevated blood sugar. Cortisol induces a

> minor insulin resistant state, which is fine when it's released

> normally, but when levels are chronically high that's obviously a bad

> thing.

>

Yeah, makes sense that cortisol is more involved with chronic stress

patterns. He's aware of the harmful effects of stress and exercise

helps with that somewhat. He also meditates occasionally, but he is

just really stressed out with work and he finds it hard to manage that

stress. It's much easier IMO to make dietary changes than it is to

re-frame one's relationship to themselves and the world. That's what

he needs to do.

[Guest guest]

>

> Definitely, stress can cause high blood glucose readings.

> What about medications? Some meds can also raise blood sugar.

>

> -PattyT

Thanks, Patty. He's not on any medications.

[Guest guest]

> Thanks, Patty. He's not on any medications.

>

Oops. Just occurred to me that I think he's taking medication to

lower his blood pressure. Not sure if it's an ACE-inhibitor or ARB or

diuretic or what. I'll have to find out.

Can any of these meds affect blood sugar?

[Guest guest]

--- chriskjezp <chriskresser@...> wrote:

> I think his fasting blood glucose is going back and forth between 90

> and 115, which is only borderline high. But he's concerned because

> of the family history I mentioned. I'm pretty certain that his

> mother and grandmother had Type 2.

take a read at what on his Hyperlipid blog says about

marginally high BG on a low-carb diet.

http://high-fat-nutrition.blogspot.com/2008/08/physiological-insulin-resistance.\

html

====================================================

A LC eater has a FBG of 5.5mmol/l, technically pre diabetic, but blood

insulin is 3.5 IU/ml. This is VERY low. Glucose is in very short

supply but blood glucose is maintained by physiological insulin

resistance, ie the muscles are full of triglycerides assembled from

free fatty acids (NEFA) from lipolysis. The LC eater has breakfast,

with enough protein from his eggs or particularly casein from his

yoghurt to raise insulin from 3.5 IU/ml to 5.0IU/ml. This inhibits

lipolysis enough to reduce NEFA in the bloodstream, intramuscular

triglycerides fall and muscle insulin sensitivity returns. There's

minimal glucose coming from the gut and so plasma glucose drops to

between 4.0 and 5.0mmol/l, probably nearer 4.0mmol/l. It fluctuates

between 4.0 and 5.0 after and between each LC meal. In the early hours

of the morning there is a growth hormone surge and NEFA from lipolysis

peak early morning to give insulin resistant muscles and an elevated FBG.

====================================================

Might want to check the fasting insulin to see if the FBG is really a

problem or not.

[Guest guest]

Chris-

> His mother and grandmother were both diabetics, so he's concerned

> about this. What else could be causing his high blood sugar levels if

> it's not his diet or lack of exercise?

Does your dad drink coffee or smoke?

-

[Guest guest]

> Does your dad drink coffee or smoke?

>

> -

Yes to coffee (2 cups a day?) and no to smoking.

[Guest guest]

> > I think his fasting blood glucose is going back and forth between 90

> > and 115, which is only borderline high. But he's concerned because

> > of the family history I mentioned. I'm pretty certain that his

> > mother and grandmother had Type 2.

>

> take a read at what on his Hyperlipid blog says about

> marginally high BG on a low-carb diet.

>

>

http://high-fat-nutrition.blogspot.com/2008/08/physiological-insulin-resistance.\

html

> ====================================================

> A LC eater has a FBG of 5.5mmol/l, technically pre diabetic, but blood

> insulin is 3.5 IU/ml. This is VERY low. Glucose is in very short

> supply but blood glucose is maintained by physiological insulin

> resistance, ie the muscles are full of triglycerides assembled from

> free fatty acids (NEFA) from lipolysis. The LC eater has breakfast,

> with enough protein from his eggs or particularly casein from his

> yoghurt to raise insulin from 3.5 IU/ml to 5.0IU/ml. This inhibits

> lipolysis enough to reduce NEFA in the bloodstream, intramuscular

> triglycerides fall and muscle insulin sensitivity returns. There's

> minimal glucose coming from the gut and so plasma glucose drops to

> between 4.0 and 5.0mmol/l, probably nearer 4.0mmol/l. It fluctuates

> between 4.0 and 5.0 after and between each LC meal. In the early hours

> of the morning there is a growth hormone surge and NEFA from lipolysis

> peak early morning to give insulin resistant muscles and an elevated

FBG.

> ====================================================

>

> Might want to check the fasting insulin to see if the FBG is really a

> problem or not.

>

>

Thanks a lot for this, . Makes a lot of sense.

Do you think a post-prandial glucose test would be valuable as well to

see if his BG levels are indeed dropping after meals as one would

expect if the hypothesis above is true?

[Guest guest]

--- chriskjezp <chriskresser@...> wrote:

> Do you think a post-prandial glucose test would be valuable as well to

> see if his BG levels are indeed dropping after meals as one would

> expect if the hypothesis above is true?

I'm sure that would be revealing, but from what I've read, the

fasting insulin level is the best overall marker for proper glucose

metabolism (except perhaps for type 1 diabetes).

[Guest guest]

> My father has been testing borderline high for fasting blood glucose

> over the past 12 months. He is perplexed by this because he has been

> on a very low carb diet for a few years now. [snip]

> Any other ideas?

Aside from the factors everyone else mentioned, what type of fat does he eat?

Chris

[Guest guest]

It's possible. Ask a pharmacist. Doctors don't always know.

-PattyT

>

> Oops. Just occurred to me that I think he's taking medication to

> lower his blood pressure. Not sure if it's an ACE-inhibitor or ARB or

> diuretic or what. I'll have to find out.

>

> Can any of these meds affect blood sugar?

>

[Guest guest]

> Aside from the factors everyone else mentioned, what type of fat

does he eat?

>

He's been thoroughly schooled in WAPF principles of nutrition (by

yours truly) and I think his intake of PUFA has been much lower over

the past few months than it was previously. He now understands that

PUFA is very dangerous for his health and he does his best to minimize

it. At home he doesn't eat any vegetable oil (aside from olive oil in

homemade salad dressing), but unfortunately I think he still eats out

fairly frequently. Obviously he's getting PUFA that way.

What is the mechanism by which PUFA intake increases blood glucose?

[Guest guest]

Chris-

> Yes to coffee (2 cups a day?) and no to smoking.

Caffeine can significantly reduce insulin sensitivity, which can have

different effects in different people depending on a variety of other

factors. (In some people it results in a vicious cycle of increased

insulin secretion and increased insulin resistance.) In your dad's

case, it could possibly be depressing his body's response to insulin

without causing any meaningful extra insulin secretion. It could also

be contributing to increased gluconeogenesis.

It's one possibility to think about, anyway.

-

[Guest guest]

> What is the mechanism by which PUFA intake increases blood glucose?

I'm away from my notes for a bit so I can get more details some time

next week, but in short, PUFAs are much more effective at promoting

glycation than glucose, so they are a significant contributor to the

oxidative damage and inflammation that underlies insulin resistance.

Chris

[Guest guest]

I remember a few years ago reading about a study that said people

who'd had military vaccinations had a much greater chance of

developing diabetes than the general US population... This right after

I quit taking chondroitin/glucosamine because it made me feel just not

right (and I had the military vaccines). Might be worth looking into.

Joy

>

> My father has been testing borderline high for fasting blood glucose

> over the past 12 months. He is perplexed by this because he has been

> on a very low carb diet for a few years now. He eats no refined sugar

> of any kind, no flour and less than 60g of carbs per day. He

> exercises regularly and has for years. He also takes CLO and butter

> oil every day.

>

> His mother and grandmother were both diabetics, so he's concerned

> about this. What else could be causing his high blood sugar levels if

> it's not his diet or lack of exercise?

>

> One possibility that occurs to me is that he's under a lot of stress

> and has been for some time. I know that during stress the adrenals

> produce adrenaline, adrenaline increases glucagon production which in

> turn releases more sugar into the blood.

>

> Any other ideas?

>

> Thanks,

> Chris

>