High blood
sugar! “The most common
reason for having “high” blood triglycerides (over 199 mg/dL) is blood sugar.
If your cells are resistant to insulin, their ability to take up glucose is
impaired, and so they turn to fatty acids for fuel. They get these fatty acids
from triglycerides, put into circulation by the liver. “If you are a [type 2] diabetic, your diabetes can increase triglycerides
significantly, especially when your blood sugar is out of control.”
I found this unattributed quote in a
draft Word file while searching for documentation to answer the question, “Will
eating a high fat diet raise my triglycerides?” The question was asked by a
recently diagnosed, insulin-dependent type 2 diabetic I was mentoring who has
high triglycerides. Naturally, he was concerned with my suggestion that he self-treat his diabetes with a Very Low Carb, High Fat diet.
Unfortunately, the quote is without attribution!
The goal of a VLCHF diet do is to lower both blood glucose and blood insulin. Lower blood glucose obviously means better
diabetes control. Lower blood insulin will make the body more insulin sensitive
and thus less insulin resistant. Lower blood insulin will also enable the body
to access and use visceral or internal, abdominal fat for fuel. Along with
weight loss, it will also help to “clear” a fatty liver and restore pancreatic insulin production.
Think about it. High blood sugar means
that the refined carbs and simple sugars in your diet have been digested and are
still circulating in your blood (as glucose)! Because of the Insulin Resistance
you developed from eating this way, glucose is not being taken up by your cells
for energy. And you can’t access your body fat for energy because of your high
blood insulin levels, so…YOUR
LIVER HAS TO STEP IN AND MAKE TRIGLYCERIDES TO USE FOR ENERGY. Ergo: You have high glucose, high
insulin and high triglyceride levels!
They all go together!
Solution: Treat your high blood glucose
with a VLCHF diet. This will lower both your blood glucose and your blood insulin. This in turn will allow your body to break
down body fat to simple fatty acids for energy, and eliminate the need for your liver to make
triglycerides. You won’t be hungry because your body will be well
fed with these fatty acids; you will improve your insulin sensitivity by
secreting less insulin because you’re eating VLC; your pancreas and liver will
both do less work. Your liver
won’t be forced to make and circulate triglycerides.
Eating VLCHF will lower your blood
triglycerides. But, before testing for
triglycerides, be sure not to
fast for too long (more than
overnight). Prolonged fasting will raise
your blood triglycerides temporarily especially if you are already eating VLCHF
and are “fat-adapted.” In a prolonged fast you use body fat (fatty acids from triglycerides)
for energy.
I have never had “high” triglycerides.
Before starting VLC in 2002, my average triglyceride lab score (11 tests) was
143mg/dl and my HDL-C was a low 39mg/dl. Five
years later, after I’d lost 170 pounds eating VLCHF, my average
triglycerides from 2007 to 2014 (25 lab tests) was 49mg/dl and my HDL-C
75mg/dl. Of course, by then my type 2 diabetes was in remission, and with the
weight loss my blood pressure was greatly improved. My latest labs (Aug 2018):
TG 56mg/dl; HDL-C 92mg/dl; TC 189mg/dl; LDL-C 83mg/dl (Martin/Hopkins
calculation).
These results are just mine (N=1), but
lab reports like these are widely reported by people who eat VLCHF. I’m
confident that if you commit to make this permanent lifestyle change, you will
see similar results.
Type 2 diabetes and obesity (aka
diabesity) are central components of what is now known as Metabolic Syndrome. Look it up. It is the result of the way we have
been told to eat. It is called
the Standard American Diet, or SAD, appropriately. To reverse Metabolic
Syndrome, get control of type 2 diabetes, lose weight and lower your
triglycerides, you need only to change what you eat. A Very Low Carb High (Healthy=Saturated)
Fat diet will do it. The only question is, do you have the guts to try it? If you do, and you stick with it, you won’t be
disappointed.
Remember, lower blood glucose, lower
blood insulin and lower triglycerides (plus higher HDL-C) go hand-in-hand. Your
blood sugar will be low and stable – your doctor will say, “in control” – and
the only “side effects” will be lower weight and lower blood pressure, plus fewer
expenses for drugs.
No comments:
Post a Comment