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- Type of diabetes
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The only reference I can find to a "hunter gene" is a theory of autism/ADHD:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hunter_vs._farmer_hypothesis
Possibly the gene is FTO (aka the "fat gene")? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FTO_gene
Not knowing the particulars of your autoimmune disease, it makes further speculation difficult.
I think the OP means not triggering an insulin response. So, using Atkins in ketosis mode to stop glucogenesis. The term <<strict>> would imply this.Hmmm....if you don't produce insulin then you are a T1 Diabetic and insulin dependant. Or dead.
Perhaps a reference or two to scientific studies?
I think the OP means not triggering an insulin response. So, using Atkins in ketosis mode to stop glucogenesis. The term <<strict>> would imply this.
HiI think the OP means not triggering an insulin response. So, using Atkins in ketosis mode to stop glucogenesis. The term <<strict>> would imply this.
Well if it is the 'thrifty gene' then lots of us have it, particularly women, it's not rare at all. It means we can survive on very few calories, so dieting/exercising is useless.
Well if it is the 'thrifty gene' then lots of us have it, particularly women, it's not rare at all. It means we can survive on very few calories, so dieting/exercising is useless.
Hence my longer post further up.
As far as I know the body is constantly manufacturing a small amount of glucose even on a (very difficult) fat only diet. Cutting out the carbs keeps this at a very low level though, especially once the body is in nutritional ketosis.
HiWell if it is the 'thrifty gene' then lots of us have it, particularly women, it's not rare at all. It means we can survive on very few calories, so dieting/exercising is useless.
Just to discuss a bit further.
My understanding (which may well be wrong) is that a functioning pancreas always produces a small amount of insulin - a sort of background level - throughout the day. Perhaps a bit like the basal insulin that T1s often take.
When blood sugar rises, the insulin production ramps up to match - again perhaps much like T1s take fast acting insulin to match the spikes produced by eating.
T2s in general either don't produce enough insulin, and/or their metabolism is resistant to the insulin So they don't catch the sugar spike before it goes over optimal levels and in more extreme cases the blood glucose level stays dangerously high all the time. So T2s can have continual high concentrations of both insulin and glucose in the blood. The control mechanism isn't working as designed.
In reactive hypoglycemia too much insulin is produced and/or the insulin is produced for too long. This results in a crash in blood glucose after eating because again the control mechanism isn't working as designed.
In the OP's case there seems to be a very long delay before insulin production ramps up, resulting in a long period after eating with high BG before the insulin cycle kicks in. The OP also states the BG "crashes" which implies that BG then goes below normal. This looks like slow motion reactive hypoglycemia. Again the control mechanism not working as designed.
However without constant monitoring of blood insulin levels it is not clear to me if this is the result of delayed production of extra insulin, or a delayed tissue response to the insulin due to insulin resistance which in turn leads to over production of insulin. As far as I can see both lead to much the same result when observed.
Whatever the root cause, it seems that eating something similar to LCHF (such as the Atkins diet) should minimise the spikes due to carbohydrates being converted to glucose.
Also noted that fatigue is one of the symptoms of high blood glucose levels.
I can't at the moment see the benefit to a hunter of running continually high BG levels. Trained muscles have their own built in glucose stores for immediate use, then there are the glycogen stores in other tissues, including the liver, and beyond that fat is available to release more energy if required.
My understanding of the cursive hunter (which is allegedly our origin as hunter/gatherer) is that we evolved to run down prey over an extended period with minimal energy expenditure (much like wolves) which is more efficient over a longer period than the bursts of energy used by prey to escape an immediate threat. After a kill the cursive hunter either brings the meat home to the family to gorge on or (perhaps and) gorges on the prey to replenish energy stores and build up fat reserves as a future energy store. We don't carry that much direct energy (glucose) in our blood and our other tissues and fat is the storage mechanism for medium and long term energy use. So, as I said, I don't see any evolutionary advantage to running a consistently high BG level. For context, a reasonably trained non-diabetic runner can run about 20 miles on immediate energy stores.
So, as I said before, some kind of scientific reference would be very useful at this point.
Hi
You have explained possibly what went wrong when I had a probable autoimmune response in 1957 (except for thurst, think type 1 diabetes). I now get severe fatigue whenever I process sugar and if I eat too much sugar/starch/alchol I can get major low blood sugar many hours later. So much later that I have no idea that food was the problem. My blood sugar, the few times (2 or maybe 3) I took it, was 60 when I felt very tired. I still insist that with my "hunter" gene I have no problem if I eat very little sugar/starch since until my blood sugar rises I have very little or no insulin. In fact judging from the fact that a boy with type 1 diabetes has gone 2 years without insulin with no obvious ill effects no insulin is a possibility. My gene seems to be wonderful for hunters. I appaud the doctor who named it. I point out that I do not naturally lose weight with my diet. I have had spells were I have gained weight as well as times I have lost weight. I am working on losing weight at the present time by cutting out all cheese in my diet (protein with some fat portions are small for this society). I was successful until very recently. My wife says my father (similar to me in weight etc...almost surely the one with the gene) said that he gained weight in humid weather. Time will tell if this new weight (say 2 or more pounds) is simply water. I also suspect I have corrected my blood pressure problem. I am slowly cutting my meds which controlled my blood pressure (have some worry about rebound). I suspect excess insulin was the culpret.
Once again, if you take out the fact that you believe the 'hunter gene' description, you are actually saying you have (very) late reactive hypoglycaemia!
You say you get response of low blood sugar after processing sugar, starch, alcohol.
So do I!
The reason I don't hypo no more and get the reaction from the sugar, starch, alcohol is I don't eat it!
If those groups of foods are bad for you, why do you persistently eat them?
There is no real need to. Cutting cheese and good fats out of your diet is not necessary, don't eat the carbs, sugars, starch, alcohol!
As I've said before, if you go very low carb, then your fatigue will go away, my energy levels are unbelievable. I have never been healthier!.
Our sort of condition is not age related, it is all to do with what we eat!
Being in control and in ketosis is the only way, that really works.
And you will probably lose some weight as well!
As you ask, I would personally be disappointed with a 5.8 A1C despite a severe Atkins diet if I were non-diabetic.Hi
I have good reason to believe that I have simulated what a diabetic would get if they used a severe Atkins diet for app 7 years. Over that time my blood sugar had a very slight upwards bias. My most recent readings are 99 fasting and 5.8 A1C. Is this what you would expect?
I'm at a loss really. It seems that the OP's fixation on this hunter gene thing blinds him to all other possibilities.
Maybe this article by Jenny Ruhl about how gluocose tolerance is lost may help in some way. Certainly seems he is quite far down the path - little or no first phase response and increasingly poor second phase. Personally I'd be seeing an endocrinologist. Maybe there is beta cell damage from the autoimmune attack? Maybe it's time for insulin if an Atkins style diet is no longer working as well as it used to?
Hi
People with the "hunter" gene also get diabetes. In fact some populations who probably have the gene get fat and get diabetes in large numbers when they try the western style diet. However; I do not see how the Atkins diet would not work even if you contact diabetes. This site reported that a boy with type 1 diabetes has controlled his diabetes for 2 years without insulin just with the paliantopic (can't spell) diet. I think there may be a completely different problem.
I have seen probably the world expert on Adrenal problems. I have taken all the standard tests. I have run my conclusions thru my local expert and the people who run this blog. The answers I get (paraphrase) is possible, even probable but not proved. My conclusions are supposed to be presented in the Scientific American. I am with you, the publisher for Scientific American could be lying and also the original saleswomen I contacted for the Scientific American could also be lying. I will believe it will be published when I see it in print. If you want I will post my latest version of my Scientific American article. yettamymom.
http://www.phlaunt.com/diabetes/14046621.php
As you ask, I would personally be disappointed with a 5.8 A1C despite a severe Atkins diet if I were non-diabetic.