Sunday, September 17, 2017

Type 2 Diabetes, a Dietary Disease #398: My Supplements

I haven’t written about supplements since…wow! I just did a search of almost 400 posts and discovered I have NEVER written about my supplements. I guess it’s because I consider it personal, not in the sense of private – I am transparent about my health – but in the sense of “individualized.” I think it is also because I have read so much about how none of them are necessary or even helpful, like I’ve just been duped or sold a bill of goods.
So, why do I take supplements when there’s no real way to prove that they have helped me? A well designed experiment is impossible; there are just way too many confounding factors. I guess the best answer is that they are “insurance;” besides, most of them are vestigial, that is, I began them before I was initiated in the ways – or the concept anyway – of eating a low carb diet of whole, real food…and I just continued with them. That’s my construct anyway. Besides, some of them I do believe in. So, which would I eliminate and why?
I am prompted to write about this now by a presentation made at Keto Fest in New London, CT last July by podcast meister Ivor Cummins, the “Fat Emperor.” Near the end – maybe his very last sentence – as though it were a hurried, throwaway line, he said: “Don’t forget to take supplemental magnesium and potassium.” No time for an explanation. It was just a given, like everyone knew! Fortunately, I do take them both.
Here’s a complete list of my current supplements. Bear in mind, I am/have been a Type 2 Diabetic for 31 years and eat a Very Low Carb (VLC) or LCHF (Low-Carb, High-Fat) or Ketogenic Diet, with frequent full-day fasting.
With COFFEE with HEAVY CREAM and POWDERED STEVIA, early in the MORNING
     1g fish oil, containing 300 EPA and 200 DHA, and 5 IU of vitamin E
     1 tablet high potency men’s multi-vitamin, with vitamin D3, lutein and lycopene
     100mg capsule of CoQ10, the active form (Ubiquinol)
     200mg magnesium glyconate, chelated for absorption
     200mcg of elemental chromium (chromium picolinate), with 18mg L-leucine + 2mg vitamin B6
     100mg biologically active R-Lipoic acid (alpha lipoic acid), with 150mcg D-Biotin
In addition, I take 2 prescription meds: 750mg metformin Hcl and 25mg HCTZ, a diuretic (for hypertension)
With 6oz RED WINE & 8oz SELZER, about 12 hours later, if FASTING, or with FOOD (my supper meal).
     1g fish oil, containing 300 EPA and 200 DHA, and 5 IU of vitamin E
     200mg magnesium glyconate, chelated for absorption
     99mg potassium, a multi-source blend
     1 capsule homocysteine modulators: 50mg B6, 400mg folic acid (B9), and 500mcg B12
In addition, I take 3 prescriptions: 750mg metformin Hcl, and 20mg Enalapril & 240mg Verapamil (BP pills)
Candidates for deletion: 1) chromium picolinate, 2) R-Lipoic acid and 3) homocysteine modulators.
Possible additions: 1) a small (250mg) Vitamin C tablet with supper, to help with protein uptake, and a calcium supplement, to help with magnesium uptake. First I need to learn more about their interactions.
My labs are very good. My last A1c was 5.2%. My Vitamin D and B12 are high and very high respectively. My TC is below 200mg, my HDL-C is averages about 80, my LDL-C averages about 100 and my TGs still average around 50, even though I don’t eat a can of sardines for lunch any more. When I do eat lunch, I prefer a can of kippered herring in brine. It’s fewer calories and much less fat, and I’m trying to burn endogenous fat, not exogenous fat! My fasting intake is about 300kcal/day and my feasting intake paradigm is still about 1,200 (15g carbs, 60g protein and 100g fat, mostly saturated/monounsaturated). Finally, my inflammation markers are very low. Now that I have laid it out for everyone to see, what do you think? I invite comments.

2 comments:

  1. Hello,

    I see you are taking BP pills. Hypertension is supposed to go hand in hand with insulin resistance. Or so they say.

    Have you seen improvement in your BP with a low-carb diet? Or with any other intervention?

    I am asking because I have hypertension, and I was expecting a low-carb diet to help greatly. It hasn't helped at all.

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    Replies
    1. Hi Valerie,
      Good question. Hypertension does go hand in hand with insulin resistance. They are also components of the Metabolic Syndrome (see my #9).

      I was on a cocktail of 3 BP pills when, at 375 pounds, I started eating VLC (20g/day). My BP was 130/90. Nine months later, I had lost 60 pounds and my BP was 120/80 on the same meds and doses. Three months later it was 110/70, again same/same.

      Today I am 184 pounds lighter than when I started. I am still on the same meds/same doses and my latest BP was 120/80. Before that 125/70.

      My doctor's nurse says that I have "the BP of a teenager." I'm 76. I told my doctor I'd like to stop taking the diuretic (HCTZ), and he said "OK," but I haven't stopped it.

      I consider my BP under control. I really don't think I would want it to be lower than it is, but that question is above my pay grade.

      The conventional thinking that the thing that moves BP is weight loss, not a low carb diet per se. In my case, it appears it was so, but all the improvement occurred in the first 9 months. I suppose no further improvement was needed, unless of course, it would stay at 120/80 without meds. But, again, that is above my pay grade. I think it comes with age. And once your arteries are stiffened, they're not going to get flexible again.

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