POST PRANDIAL BLOOD SUGAR LEVELS AND FASTING INSULIN

CANCER RISK

In America over 200,000 women are diagnosed with breast cancer and about 41,000 die from it each year.[1] Numerous studies show a relationship with fasting blood sugar and breast as well as other cancers. An Italian study of FBS involving over 10,000 women showed a 63% increase in breast cancer from the lowest quartile (lowest ¼) a mean of 73 mg/dl, to the highest quartile, a mean of 96 mg/dl.[2] Others have shown a doubling of breast cancer risk when you exceed a FBS of 84 mg/dl.[3]

It’s a well-known fact that high BS levels can promote the development of, or the acceleration of, numerous cancers. Patients on the prescription drug metformin slash their risks for several deadly organ cancers such as pancreatic cancer presumably because it lowers BS, the only source of food for cancer cells. Metformin is the “go to” drug for patients who have metabolic syndrome which is a prediabetic condition. It may also be used for type II diabetes. One of its main actions is to inhibit the enzyme responsible for transforming substrates in the liver into glucose. One of the main problems with type II diabetics is that their livers tend to make far too much glucose, as much as three times more than non-diabetics do. It’s so effective in reducing FBS that metformin is rapidly becoming an antiaging drug among non-diabetics to help ward off the development of deadly organ cancers. Taking 500 mg to 1,000 mg or more per day among those who wish to avoid cancers, not just diabetics, can safely do so. The biggest scare factor in the past was the possibility that metformin could cause a serious complication should you become critically ill from any cause. It’s called metabolic acidosis. However, a recent large scale review of all of the literature has dispelled the association that metformin can cause metabolic acidosis. Other than that it’s a pretty safe drug to take especially considering the effects of decreased risks of numerous deadly cancers. I discuss this drug in greater detail in my cancer prevention chapter.

THE ACTIONS OF INSULIN

Everyone has heard of insulin. In a nation of diabetics it’s not hard to read or see on Junk Food TV some mention of it. What most people do not know are its other properties outside of sugar regulation. It’s these extra properties that make insulin one of the most important hormones in the body and a big player on the stage of degenerative diseases and cancers. Look at insulin as anabolic. By that I mean it takes small molecules and makes bigger ones for fat storage or building muscle. It’s the opposite of catabolic which, for example, would be breaking down glycogen (a large molecule affectionately called mammal potato by yours truly) into small, usable glucose molecules for fuel.

The effects of insulin are on three main body compartments: the liver, adipose tissue and muscle cells. In the liver insulin stimulates glycogen and lipid synthesis. In the adipocyte (fat cell), insulin promotes the formation of adipose tissue while preventing the body from accessing fat stores as a source of fuel. This effect helps explain why people get so fat eating carbohydrates if they are not active. In muscle, insulin stimulates the uptake of glucose from the blood into muscle beds for glycogen synthesis and storage. It also powerfully promotes protein synthesis, cell growth and differentiation. Part of professional bodybuilders creative chemistry is to take advantage of this effect by using insulin to help pack on “beef” (muscle mass).

However, excessive insulin is a double edged sword. While it is necessary for life it can also inflict misery and disease when left to its own devices. A 60 Minutes documentary (2013) informed us how cancer incidence and progression was aided by excessive insulin. The reasoning is pretty simple: while excess glucose provides the energy substrate for malignant cells to grow, insulin adds a growth promoting stimulus to cancer cells. The main reliable stimulus for insulin secretion is glucose from any source be it grains, potatoes or simple sugars.

It’s shocking to discover from a recent Japanese study of over 2,400 patients for 19 years that those who had a FBS greater than 100 mg/dl and those with after-meal glucose levels greater than about 200 mg/dl suffered a 50% increase in cancer death risk.

With regard to site-specific cancers, elevated fasting or 2-hour postload [after eating] glucose levels were associated with the risks of death from stomach, liver, and lung cancer. These findings suggest that both prediabetic hyperglycemia and diabetes are significant risk factors for cancer death in the general Japanese population. [4]

BUT WAIT, THERE’S MORE

From a cardiologists viewpoint there are some extremely dangerous effects from excessive insulin and blood sugar at the cellular level. Excessive insulin levels over time will promote free radical formation and oxidative stress throughout the body. One classic fallout from oxidative stress is endothelial dysfunction and eventually atherosclerosis in the vessels of the heart, brain and aorta among other areas such as the large arteries of the legs leading to peripheral vascular disease.

If you go to WebMD it’s called peripheral arterial disease or PAD. I teach the students about this disease since it is a common clinical finding in an acupuncturist’s office or medical clinic. The characteristics are very clear even to the untrained eye. Take a patient with chronic diabetes for example since they are the most common to present with full-blown signs. They will often times have what we call arterial insufficiency, yet another name for PAD. It consists of (in Caucasians) a pale, cool to the touch foot, diminished pulses, loss of leg hair, shiny, atrophic, skin that is thinner than usual and thickened, yellowed, toenails. For all you gym aficionados look around at all the hairless lower limbs (no not the women silly) on men who aren’t shaving their legs-a modern Roman habit I guess. As a rule I always look around when in the gym for signs of arterial insufficiency and lower motor neuron disease such as ruptured lumbar disks leading to unilateral calf atrophy. It’s disturbing to me that I see loss of leg hair in men as early as their late twenties, early thirties. This is the earliest sign of early arterial disease and should not be ignored because this mirrors the atherosclerosis occurring in your coronary and carotid arteries at the same time, the same metamorphosis. Lastly, the “beans” can be affected as well leading to renal disease and sometime renal failure as seen once again in chronic diabetes.

Tags: CANCER RISK, FASTING INSULIN, Post Prandial Blood Sugar

Category: Post Prandial Blood Sugar, PREVENTIVE MEDICINE