Alzheimer's is a very complex disease. It is comprised of many different pathologies, each of which contributes to its onset and progression. The exact cause of Alzheimer's is not known, though it seems to have some heritability. Because of this, Alzheimer's falls under the umbrella diagnosis of "dementia". Dementia is a syndrome, not a disease. There are many abnormalities in Alzheimer's and it is very difficult to discern which one came first. For the sake of simplicity, let's describe Alzheimer's as a progressive disorder that causes brain cells to degenerate and eventually die.
One of the things that degenerating and dying cells do not do is use energy effectively. After all, they are dying. Healthy cells do not have this problem. Insulin nasal sprays have been shown to improve Alzheimer's/dementia symptoms but not stop the progression of the disease. Insulin facilitates glucose entry into cells so it improves the cells ability to metabolize glucose temporarily. This of course, can improve cell function, but the cell is still dying. This is what led for some people in the low carb community to make the claim that Alzheimer's is "insulin resistance of the brain". This is not true. The dying cells are simply exploiting the extra insulin and improve temporarily.
2. Does cancer really feed off sugar?
Cancer cells use glucose and glutamine for fuel. Both are created by your own body. The body creates all the glucose it needs so it does not have to be dosed exogenously.
Glutamine is the most abundant free amino acid in the body. The body produces all the glutamine it needs, in the muscles, so it's not dependent on diet. As long as cancer has glutamine, it can continue "living" just fine. Depending on the type of cancer and what stage it’s in, it can also use fat for fuel.
As you can see, cancer is very complex. For this reason, I always advise to receive your cancer treatment from a cancer specialist, not from someone online, especially if they are promoting diet as the sole cause and curator of cancer.
3. As long as I am insulin sensitive, I won't get fat.
The obese are insulin sensitive, at the fat mass. The way you do not get fat is by maintaining proper blood glucose regulation, so that you never develop insulin resistance.
4. The body cannot go into "starvation mode". It's not real.
Chronic caloric restriction and chronic extended fasting cause metabolic adaptations, that are harmful in the long term, through the development of adaptive energy conservation (starvation mode). When the body is put through these conditions adiponectin, an adipokine released by your fat cells, induces an anti-inflammatory effect that causes for fat cells to become more insulin sensitive. This appears to be a great thing, but it is actually going to make you fatter once nutrient/energy conditions change.
Inflammation reduces insulin sensitivity, in the cell, so that it stops up taking energy. Healthy individuals, with no metabolic disease, maintain a healthy level of inflammation at the adipocytes. It's a form of localized insulin resistance, that is beneficial and regulates weight. Leptin uses inflammation in order to signal the cells to stop up taking energy, so this energy can be burned instead.
If this anti inflammatory effect persists, in the long term, through the chronic stimulation of adiponectin, you are priming and honing your fat cells to store even more fat, once you begin eating normally. This is because the body is adapting and preparing itself to face "starvation", once it occurs again. This is why people who yo-yo diet tend to put weight back on, and then some, once they go off their diet. The dieting has actually helped make them fatter.
Don't be fooled, everyone will go off their diet. This is because you can't calorically restrict forever and you can't fast forever. You will have to eat normally again and when you do, the body will store even more fat than before.
This is why I don't promote "dieting" on this blog, nor extended fasting. I only advise a proper carbohydrate restricted diet, that can be followed for life, and a fasting protocol that is sustainable. This prevents the yo-yo affect that has dire, long term consequences.
5. How can fat weigh less than muscle?
We often say this to make things simpler for the person who is concerned about their scale weight, but there is always someone, out there, that will nitpick and try to put you to task, for this statement. So, the more technical way to describe it, is as follows:
A pound of fat weighs the same as a pound of muscle, but because of their different densities, an inch of fat weighs less than an inch of muscle. This is why a fatter person might weight less than a leaner person. Even if two people have the same scale weight, one can still be fatter than the other. The one with more body fat, is unhealthier.
6. I use to eat fat ad libitum and never had to worry about it. Now I have stalled in weight loss.
When you improve blood glucose regulation, you will lose weight, even with a higher dietary fat intake, since you just eliminated carbohydrates from the diet, which no longer disrupts blood glucose or has to compete with fatty acid oxidation.
When glucose is present, fat burning slows down. Remove the glucose, fat burning ramps up and the body is able to burn both dietary and stored body fat. But, soon, as your weight decreases, you will stop burning body fat and the body burns dietary fat instead, causing a weight stall. If the dietary fat is excessive, you will not burn enough of it either and you will begin storing it. Now the weight stall becomes weight gain.
So, as weight begins to stabilize and insulin function continues improving, the macronutrient ratios you started with, must be changed, if you still have more weight to lose. You need to lower your fat intake and up your protein intake. This further lowers basal insulin and forces the body to acquire its fat fuel from your own body.
If you want to maintain your weight loss and stop losing, then and only then, can you up your dietary fat intake.
As you can see, cancer is very complex. For this reason, I always advise to receive your cancer treatment from a cancer specialist, not from someone online, especially if they are promoting diet as the sole cause and curator of cancer.
3. As long as I am insulin sensitive, I won't get fat.
The obese are insulin sensitive, at the fat mass. The way you do not get fat is by maintaining proper blood glucose regulation, so that you never develop insulin resistance.
4. The body cannot go into "starvation mode". It's not real.
Chronic caloric restriction and chronic extended fasting cause metabolic adaptations, that are harmful in the long term, through the development of adaptive energy conservation (starvation mode). When the body is put through these conditions adiponectin, an adipokine released by your fat cells, induces an anti-inflammatory effect that causes for fat cells to become more insulin sensitive. This appears to be a great thing, but it is actually going to make you fatter once nutrient/energy conditions change.
Inflammation reduces insulin sensitivity, in the cell, so that it stops up taking energy. Healthy individuals, with no metabolic disease, maintain a healthy level of inflammation at the adipocytes. It's a form of localized insulin resistance, that is beneficial and regulates weight. Leptin uses inflammation in order to signal the cells to stop up taking energy, so this energy can be burned instead.
If this anti inflammatory effect persists, in the long term, through the chronic stimulation of adiponectin, you are priming and honing your fat cells to store even more fat, once you begin eating normally. This is because the body is adapting and preparing itself to face "starvation", once it occurs again. This is why people who yo-yo diet tend to put weight back on, and then some, once they go off their diet. The dieting has actually helped make them fatter.
Don't be fooled, everyone will go off their diet. This is because you can't calorically restrict forever and you can't fast forever. You will have to eat normally again and when you do, the body will store even more fat than before.
This is why I don't promote "dieting" on this blog, nor extended fasting. I only advise a proper carbohydrate restricted diet, that can be followed for life, and a fasting protocol that is sustainable. This prevents the yo-yo affect that has dire, long term consequences.
5. How can fat weigh less than muscle?
We often say this to make things simpler for the person who is concerned about their scale weight, but there is always someone, out there, that will nitpick and try to put you to task, for this statement. So, the more technical way to describe it, is as follows:
A pound of fat weighs the same as a pound of muscle, but because of their different densities, an inch of fat weighs less than an inch of muscle. This is why a fatter person might weight less than a leaner person. Even if two people have the same scale weight, one can still be fatter than the other. The one with more body fat, is unhealthier.
6. I use to eat fat ad libitum and never had to worry about it. Now I have stalled in weight loss.
When you improve blood glucose regulation, you will lose weight, even with a higher dietary fat intake, since you just eliminated carbohydrates from the diet, which no longer disrupts blood glucose or has to compete with fatty acid oxidation.
When glucose is present, fat burning slows down. Remove the glucose, fat burning ramps up and the body is able to burn both dietary and stored body fat. But, soon, as your weight decreases, you will stop burning body fat and the body burns dietary fat instead, causing a weight stall. If the dietary fat is excessive, you will not burn enough of it either and you will begin storing it. Now the weight stall becomes weight gain.
So, as weight begins to stabilize and insulin function continues improving, the macronutrient ratios you started with, must be changed, if you still have more weight to lose. You need to lower your fat intake and up your protein intake. This further lowers basal insulin and forces the body to acquire its fat fuel from your own body.
If you want to maintain your weight loss and stop losing, then and only then, can you up your dietary fat intake.
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