The Carb-Sane Asylum

Thought I would post this so that I can link to it if/when I reference this in other posts. There are two types of error in statistical studies.  One is that which is inherent in the statistical process and this type is called sampling error.  Unless a census is done -- e.g. data is collected from every member or item in a population -- selection of a sample introduces some error into the process.  This is often called the error due to natural fluctuations in a random selection process.    If you have 10,000 people, half male half female, you have a  50% chance of selecting a male or female.  If you select 10 people from this group, however, there is also a reasonable probability of selecting, say, 7 males and 3 females.   This is sampling error.  We can quantify it.  If we select 100 people instead, the probability of getting 70/30 -- a gender split dramatically differing from the population -- is very small, but again this is quantif...

Fat storage in pancreas and in insulin-sensitive tissues in pathogenesis of type 2 diabetes Obesity is associated with increased storage of lipids in nonadipose tissues like skeletal muscle, liver, and pancreatic b cells. These lipids constitute a continuous source of long-chain fatty acyl CoA (LC-CoA) and derived metabolites like diacylglycerol and ceramide, acting as signalling molecules on protein kinases activities (in particular, the family of PKCs), ion channel, gene expression, and protein acylation. In skeletal muscle, the increase in LC-CoA and diacylglycerol translocates and activates specific protein kinase C (PKC) isoforms, which will phosphorylate IRS-1 on serine, preventing its phosphorylation on tyrosine and association with PI3 kinase. This interrupts the insulin signalling pathway leading to the stimulation of glucose transport. In pancreatic b cells, short-term excess of fatty acids or LC-CoA activates PKC and also directly stimulates insulin exocytosis. Longterm ex...

I was a bit taken aback by the title on a recent blog post by Dr. William Davis at his Heart Scan Blog Why doesn't your doctor try to CURE diabetes? Dr. Davis paints the medical profession with a rather broad unflattering brush.   Are there docs out there who are more concerned about profit over your health?  Yes.  Are there doctor-drones who reflexively reach for the prescription pad?  Again, yes.   But I believe that most doctors -- and I know several since before they became docs -- do care about their patients and dole out advice based on what they believe to be the best course of action. Certainly the statement that " Adult diabetes is the one chronic disease that nobody cares to cure " goes more than a bit over the top! Davis goes on to say that most docs don't think it can be cured, and that is probably true.  The old school re: type 2 would be based on when the disease was more rare and probably not detected until progressed significantly to ...

Vascular function, insulin resistance and fatty acids   (I'll blog on the vascular focus of this paper shortly, but this post is focusing on the bolded statements in the abstract). Abstract Over the past 10 years it has become clear that intact vascular function, especially at the level of the endothelium {cells lining the blood vessels}, is paramount in the prevention or delay of cardiovascular disease. It has also become clear that insulin itself, in addition to its metabolic actions, directly effects vascular endothelium and smooth muscle.  Insulin, at normal physiologic concentrations, causes changes in skeletal muscle blood flow in healthy, insulin-sensitive subjects. Insulin’s effect on the endothelium is mediated through its own receptor and insulin signalling pathways, resulting in the increased release of nitric oxide. Insulin’s vascular actions are impaired in insulin-resistant conditions such as obesity...

Every now and then I'm reminded of something that kind of bugs me about LC diet promoters.  There simply aren't many long term low carbers in our general population (as a percent).  So when I see these long term meta studies looking at correlations between various biomarkers and CVD, for example, I wonder how this translates to someone who follows a low carb diet for the long run.  Real life examples ... people who may have yo-yo'd a bit with LC as well.  Do the low fasting trigs of a low carber correlate with reduced CVD?  But I hold no illusions that some meta study will be done following thousands of low carbers.  (Still, I can dream) In the absence of that, the next best thing would be for prominent "leaders" in the field to share their personal experience/results.  So it's always bothered me a little bit that Dr. Atkins didn't leave instructions for an autopsy to be made public.  After all, what better vindication of low carbing can one imag...

Thanks to reader Cody for finding a study I had come across previously regarding IMCL/IMTG.  Actually the study linked to was an update, but there's a secondary lesson, I believe, to be had from the results.  Since this was a study in older folks, there's a sub-message here:  it's never too late! Study:   Exercise-induced alterations in intramyocellular lipids and insulin resistance: the athlete’s paradox revisited We previously reported an “athlete’s paradox” in which endurance-trained athletes, who possess a high oxidative capacity and enhanced insulin sensitivity, also have higher intramyocellular lipid (IMCL) content. The purpose of this study was to determine whether moderate exercise training would increase IMCL, oxidative capacity of muscle, and insulin sensitivity in previously sedentary overweight to obese, insulin- resistant, older subjects. Twenty-five older (66.4 0.8 yr) obese (BMI 30.3 0.7 kg/m2) men (n 9...

A shout-out to LynMarie over at Adipo Insights. I encourage all of my readers to go check out: How the "Black Age" of Endocrinology May Be Affecting Your Understanding of Insulin Resistance & Obesity I'm still mulling over the ramifications of, in particular, her second link that applies more specifically to insulin.  A major point of the article is that insulin's inhibitory actions are likely more important than it's stimulatory actions.  This ties in with my research on NEFA's and concerns over the impact of VLC/HF diets on NEFA levels and whether or not this is potentially detrimental.  I'll blog on that in the near future.