Some carbohydrates start digesting as soon as they enter into your mouth. One noted example is white bread, which starts breaking down into sugar as soon as it mixes with saliva. Bread will actually start tasting sweet if you leave it in your mouth for long enough. Besides a small amount of digestion that takes place in the mouth, carbohydrate digestion doesn’t fully begin until they pass into the small intestines. In the small intestines all digestible carbohydrates are broken down into their simplest form, pass through the intestinal wall and then into the bloodstream.
Insulin
The pancreas senses this rise in blood sugar and secretes the hormone insulin. Insulin drives blood sugar down by signaling muscle, fat and liver cells to begin absorbing sugar from the bloodstream. As the sugar enters these cells, blood sugar levels return towards normal levels.
MUSCLE CELL
Insulin increases the metabolism in muscle cells by stimulating the uptake of glucose and amino acids into muscle cells. For this reason insulin is called “the spoon that feeds the body.”
FAT CELL
Elevated insulin immediately triggers the uptake of glucose and fats into fat cells. The only known simulator of fat storage is the hormone insulin.
METABOLIC EFFECTS OF INSULIN
The metabolic effects of insulin are considered both good and bad. The key is balance. Too much insulin (from carbohydrates) will cause a net storage of fat and not enough insulin, as seen with extreme low carb diets and will cause an ultimate breakdown of muscle.
MUSCLE CELLS
Insulin increases protein anabolism in muscle cells by stimulating the uptake of glucose and amino acids into muscle cells. The glucose is used for immediate energy or stored as glycogen. The energy produced by the glucose provides the energy needed for protein anabolism. If energy is not needed at that time, the glucose will be stored as glycogen.
FAT CELLS
Fat cells readily absorb glucose in the presence of insulin. Most of this glucose is used to provide the glycerol unit that is required during triglyceride synthesis. Fat cells store fat best when there is elevated levels of both insulin and glucose. Elevated insulin immediately triggers the uptake of fatty acids into fat cells.
LIVER CELLS
Insulin directly causes liver cells to store glucose in the form of glycogen. There is usually enough glycogen stored in the liver to support about 4 hours worth of metabolic activity. Insulin also triggers the liver to turn excess sugar into cholesterol and fat.
Chronically high levels of insulin are associated with:
Acne
Addictions/Cravings
Auto immune disease
Cancer
Criminal acts
Depression
Diabetes
Fat storage
Heart disease
High cholesterol
High blood pressure
High blood triglycerides
Infertility
Insomnia
Insulin resistance
Osteoporosis
Mood disorders
Water retention
INSULIN AND THE IMMUNE SYSTEM
The immune system literally remanufactures the body on a daily basis, transforming the body into a brand new physical structure. The human body replaces about 400 billion cells per day. This process occurs at such a slow pace that you don’t even know it is happening. Over time, excessive insulin levels are thought to invoke a pro-inflammatory immune response that eventually develops into a chronic illness. Inflammation is the physical expression of almost every chronic illness known today such as cancers, auto-immune disorders, heart disease and diabetes. The classical signs of inflammation include redness, swelling, pain and heat production. Depending on the genetic predisposition, inflammation can occur in different parts of the body.
Asthma is from inflamed or constricted lung passageways.
Arthritis is the inflammation of the joints.
Crones’ disease occurs from the inflammation of a section of the intestines.
Heart disease occurs because of the inflammation of arterial walls.
Multiple sclerosis is the inflammation of the material that coats nerve cells.
Psoriasis is the constant inflammation of the skin.
Type I diabetes is from the inflammation and destruction of the beta cells of the pancreas that secrete insulin.
Type II diabetes is associated with inflammation of the endothelial cells.
FACTORS THAT PROVOKE INSULIN SECRETION
Carbohydrates are the main stimulator of insulin secretion.
Animal protein can also raise insulin levels (mainly lycine and the branched chain amino acids), whereas soy protein does not have this kind of effect.
Most pharmaceutical and street drugs directly or indirectly cause insulin release.
The combination of caffeine and sugar in soda triggers a rapid insulin response.
The high caffeine content in strong coffee and espressos exaggerates insulin.
Artificial Sweeteners and the smell of food causes an “anticipatory” insulin response.
INSULIN AND THE BRAIN
Insulin is needed to get sugar into muscle and fat cells, but it is not needed to get sugar into cells of the brain, nervous system, red blood cells, intestinal cells, liver cells, kidney tubules, the beta cells of the pancreas and the outer lens of the eye (the cornea). The amount of fuel these cells receive is solely dependant on how much sugar there is within the bloodstream. By stabilizing your blood sugar, you will provide the right amount of fuel for these cells to function properly instead of making them overstuffed or starved.
CLASSIFICATION OF INSULIN
Insulin is commonly referred to as a hormone of the pancreas because that’s where it was first discovered. Insulin is also produced in the brain where it effects feeding behavior. Insulin is called a hormone while in the body and a neuropeptide when it’s in the brain.
INSULIN AND CHOLESTEROL
Insulin is the major stimulator of cholesterol secretion in the liver. The liver is able to take excess sugar and transform it into cholesterol. 80% of the cholesterol in the body is generated by the liver and the other 20% is obtained through diet. Insulin increases the production of an enzyme in your liver that produces cholesterol. Therefore, when insulin concentrations remain low, cholesterol synthesis slows.
INSULIN, SALT AND WATER RETENTION
Insulin causes water retention by activating the hormone “aldosterone,” which causes the retention of salt by the kidneys. Since water follows salt, you will retain more water by eating a diet excessively high in carbohydrates.
Insulin causes weight gain by acting on the steroid hormones, resulting in high blood pressure and weight gain.
INSULIN IN THE BRAIN
Besides the pancreas, insulin is also produced in the brain. Insulin plays an important role in the brain as a neuropeptide. Insulin modulates behavior by decreasing food intake. Neuropeptide Y, a brain chemical that increases food consumption, is decreased by insulin.
INSULIN AND ANIMAL PROTEIN
Besides carbohydrates, animal protein can also stimulate insulin secretion. However, the impact is only seen as significant in higher amounts exceeding 30 grams per meal.
INSULIN AND SOY PROTEIN
Soy protein is preferred over animal protein because plant source protein has little or no effect on insulin levels.
INSULIN AND THE SEX HORMONES
Insulin pushes both sugar and amino acids (except tryptophan) into muscle cells and in high amounts, insulin will end up depleting the bloodstream of amino acids and sugar. Since fat soluble hormones like estrogen and testosterone use protein when they travel in the blood, these hormones will be set loose without protein, and exert their biological effects in an uncontrollable way.
INSULIN & MUSCLE GLYCOGEN
Insulin tells the muscles to store sugar in the form of glycogen. Glycogen holds water and is therefore very bulky. This makes it easy for someone to wake up 4-5 pounds heavier the day after binging. Such a rapid increase in weight is a result of water retention. Upon getting back on a balanced diet the next day, a person would experience increased urination as the glycogen is broken down and the water is then released. Athletes like boxers and bodybuilders usually weigh in at a light weight one day before competition. They do this by depleting their carbohydrates, which causes water loss. After they weigh in, they will eat heavily to fill their body back up with nutrients and water. It is not uncommon for an athlete to wake up 5-10 lbs heavier the following day of competition. This weight has little to do with fat and is mostly due to water balance. Just as it is impossible to lose fat that quickly, its impossible to gain fat that fast.
CHILDREN AND LIVER GLYCOGEN
A child’s brain is as big as an adult brain and therefore requires the same amount of glucose (blood sugar). However a child’s liver is smaller than an adult brain and therefore contains less glycogen reserves. This makes consistent meals more critical for the functioning of a child’s brain and body. Children who eat no breakfast perform poorly in concentration tasks, attention spans are shorter, achieve lower test scores and are absent from school more often.
INSULIN AND SYNDROME X
Syndrome X was used to describe a whole constellation of symptoms that were associated with high levels of insulin. These symptoms include insulin resistance, high blood pressure, abnormal blood clotting, high triglycerides, low HDL, and high LDL. Syndrome X is now being called “metabolic syndrome” because of the role the stress hormone cortisol plays with these symptoms. The same physiology occurs if someone has high insulin/normal cortisol, or normal insulin/high cortisol.
Glucagon
The effect of insulin is counterbalanced by eating protein, which directly causes the secretion of the hormone glucagon, another obligation of the pancreas. Glucagon is one of a few counter-regulatory hormones that oppose the action of insulin by replenishing blood sugar levels. Glucagon works to prevent hypoglycemia (low blood glucose) primarily by breaking down the livers stores of glycogen. Liver glycogen is degraded into glucose and then released back into the bloodstream. Factors that stimulate glucagon include dietary protein, low blood sugar, the hormone epinephrine and the neurotransmitter norepinephrine. Glucagon is inhibited by insulin.
SIMULTANEOUS BLOOD SUGAR CONTROL
In conclusion, the simultaneous interaction of insulin vs. glucagon keeps your blood sugar at a consistent level throughout the day. Insulin works to lower blood sugar and the primary function of glucagon is to raise blood sugar levels. Compared to all other hormones, insulin and glucagon have the most profound effect on energy metabolism. Insulin and glucagon are manufactured and secreted by the pancreas in response to the types of foods obtained through a persons diet. Dietary carbohydrates have an immediate effect on insulin production and protein has a direct effect on the secretion of glucagon. Your overall metabolic functioning is greatly influenced by the protein to carbohydrate ratio eaten at every meal.
Metabolic effects of Glucagon
Glucagon is one of a few “counter-regulatory” hormones that oppose the action of insulin by replenishing blood sugar levels. Glucagon works to prevent hypoglycemia (low blood glucose) primarily by breaking down the livers stores of glycogen. Liver glycogen is broken down back into glucose, which is released back into the bloodstream.
LIVER CELLS
An adult liver holds about 4-6 hours worth of sugar in the form of glycogen. Glucagon causes your liver to start releasing this glycogen in an effort to raise your blood sugar. Once this sugar tank wears down, your body has no other option but to sacrifice its own protein.
Glucagon exerts its effect by activating receptors on liver cells, which causes an increase in cyclic AMP. Cyclic AMP increases glycogen breakdown and increases gluconeogenesis. Gluconeogenesis is the conversion of amino acids to glucose within the liver. Epinephrine and glucagon have similar effects on liver glycogen, however epinephrine works through a different receptor.
MUSCLE CELLS
Glucagon by itself plays a very limited role in muscle cells because muscle cells lack glucagon receptors.
FAT CELLS
Glucagon causes fat cells to breakdown fat , however, some sources state that the effect of glucagon on fat loss is minimal and insignificant.
Factors that stimulate glucagon:
Dietary protein
Low blood sugar levels
The hormone epinephrine
The neurotransmitter norepinephrine
Factors that inhibit glucagon
High blood sugar levels
High insulin levels
LOW BLOOD SUGAR AND STRESS
If glucagon is unable to sufficiently raise blood sugar on its own, stress hormones like adrenaline and cortisol are secreted from the adrenal glands. Elevated levels of these survival hormones have many negative side effects that include sweating, anxiety, and increased heart rate. Although these chemicals will cause a short term release of stored fat, there is a long term price to pay. Stress hormones, whether naturally or unnaturally produced, will also cause a breakdown of muscle. This is where diets that are too low in carbohydrates fall short. Mental stress or the stress from eating a poor diet (i.e. extreme low carb diet) has the same “adrenaline induced” effects as abusing stimulants.
THE DANGERS OF AN EXTREME LOW CARB DIET
If your body doesn’t obtain carbohydrates (sugar) from the diet, they must come from somewhere else. In the first day of following an extreme low carbohydrate diet, the liver’s stores of sugar are depleted and the body has no other choice but to feed upon its muscles. Stress hormones signal muscle cells to give up their very own protein in an effort to provide the brain with fuel. The protein inside muscle cells is literally broken down and released into the bloodstream. The liver metabolizes these proteins into glucose, which the brain needs as an absolute requirement for human life. During the first few days of following an extreme low carb diet, your body gets 90% of its energy from protein. Burning muscle is as useful as burning up the wood that makes up your house.
Your liver doesn’t only take protein from the muscles; it also takes it from blood proteins, immune system cells, as well as liver, heart and lung tissue. Since these organs are all made of protein, they must go too. Burning protein is considered a dirty process because it leaves behind toxic end products, which does not make protein a good energy source to fuel the activities of your body. Instead of specifically targeting fat cells, extreme low carb diets cause your body to break down as a whole. If this process continues, both muscle metabolism and fat loss will come to a halt.
Carbohydrates also need to be present when the body burns fat. Without enough carbohydrates, the fragments of fat metabolism combine with each other to form ketone bodies. Some nervous system cells are able to burn these ketone bodies as a back up fuel source, a process that allows you to live 6-8 weeks into fasting. When the levels of ketone bodies build up to a critical level, the body is said to be in a state of ketosis. Ketosis will decrease metabolism, suppress appetite, add a fruity smelling odor to the breath and make the body quite acidic. Besides giving you bad breath, the nastiest consequence of an over-acidic body is that bacteria, fungus, molds and yeasts thrive in this type of atmosphere.
Scientists have gone to the extent of calling insulin the “rate of aging” hormone because of its influence on life span and the aging process in general. Control your blood sugar and insulin levels and everything else will fall into place.
Questions & Answers
What happens when you don’t eat enough carbohydrates?
Low blood sugar causes the production of stress hormones. Stress hormones act as a back up system that helps raise blood sugar. Your stress hormones cause your own muscle mass to be sacrificed. Lean muscle is converted into sugar by the liver.
How does extreme low carb diets cause muscle loss? When your body needs to produce sugar from a non sugar source, it favors protein over anything else. Your liver is told to start taking passerby proteins from the bloodstream and to change them into sugar. Protein breakdown results in a loss of muscle mass, emaciation and weakness.
What happens when you go without sugar for an extended period of time? When your blood sugar goes too low and the liver’s fuel tank has become diminished, your body has no other option than to sacrifice its own protein to make sugar. This is very inefficient since protein acts as the main structural ingredient of your body. Any diet too low in carbohydrates will cause the body to respond in a way similar to fasting. Within a few days of starvation, your brain will continue to burn sugar as a fuel source. At this time the sugar is constantly provided by the rapid breakdown of muscle protein. In starvation greater than two weeks, your brain will begin to adapt by burning ketone bodies as a back-up fuel source.
How do extreme low carb diets give you bad breath? Normally, your body needs carbohydrates available when it breaks down fat. Without carbohydrates, the fragments of fat metabolism do not break down completely and combine with each other to form ketone bodies. Ketone bodies are acidic in nature and in high amounts they disturb your body’s acid-base balance. An acidic body gives a fruity smell to your breath, decreases metabolism and adds a strong odor to urine. Ketosis is an adaptation response to starvation, and shouldn’t be an adaptation to dieting.
Why doesn’t your body turn fat into sugar? Only 5% of a fat molecule can be turned into sugar. Fat is composed of a glycerol molecule attached to 3 fatty acids. Only the glycerol portion can be changed into sugar, not the fatty acid portion which constitutes the other 95% of a fat molecule.