Six common beliefs addressed, Part 57

1. Incretin hormones play no part in metabolic disease. Only insulin matters. 

Incretins are metabolic hormones secreted when you eat. These hormones augment the release of insulin and glucagon, from the pancreas, to regulate your blood glucose levels, after a meal. They are also involved in gastric emptying and appetite control. Studies have shown that incretin hormones are impaired in Type II diabetes.

There has been conflicting research findings on whether incretins are also stimulated by the smell and/or taste of food. Some studies have shown a correlation, but others have not. 

This is why we always emphasize how metabolic abnormalities, affect a wide range of hormonal systems, which are difficult to normalize afterwards, as they all depend on each other through complex feedback loops. This means that many hormones are affected downstream from insulin. 

2. Are coffee and bone broth good "fasting aids"?

A healthy metabolism is the only fasting aid.

When metabolism is healthy, the person can fast for appropriate periods of time, because they can properly mobilize fatty acids, to use for fuel, and make their own blood glucose as needed. You achieve this healthy metabolism through a proper diet and exercise protocol that helps normalize blood glucose control. There is no other “fasting aid”. Any other "aid", while fasting, is called eating and therefore is no longer fasting.

Because you should require no aid, during a fast, it is very important that you start with short fasts and then slowly prolong them in increments, as your metabolism becomes healthier, until you can easily do a daily 16 - 18 hour, water only fast.

3. Carbohydrates are only bad when they are overeaten and they are easy to overeat. 

Whether the interference in weight management is caused by carbohydrates being "easy to overeat" or not, is irrelevant to the end result, which is obesity. It also does not take away the negative impact that carbohydrates have on blood glucose, even when they aren't overeaten. So, regardless of the exact cause of carbohydrates being a problem, the solution is always elimination.

4. If a diabetic eliminates ice cream, from their diet, can they keep the whole wheat bread?

Both ice cream and bread have negative effects on blood glucose homeostasis, so a diabetic who is still eating bread, might as well add in the ice cream as well, since the difference in lifespan between eating ice cream and not is null, as long as bread remains on the menu.

5. I had a coronary artery calcium (CAC) score of 0. This means I have no cardiovascular disease (CVD).

I have mentioned this before, but many people still bring it up. The consensus amongst cardiologists/lipidologists is as follows.

CAC scores of 0 are pretty much the norm, because you have to have pretty advanced atherosclerosis for plaque to be measurable on this test. Atherosclerosis develops decades before there is visible plaque, through changes in the arterial wall, which this type of scan will not detect. So, basically, a CAC score of 0 means nothing, as it’s not telling you anything that you don’t already know - you don’t have advanced CVD, at the moment. Maybe you are still too young to have developed significant plaque that can be measurable on a CAC test. That doesn't mean there isn't arterial thickening present and other abnormalities of the endothelium that will eventually lead to plaque formation.

Don't become complacent because of a 0 CAC score. Nearly everyone receives a 0 CAC score. Include an ultrasound of your arteries and other, more important, CVD screenings if you truly want to know about your heart health.

6. Can going carnivore "cure" all of my health ailments?

Some people have turned to an all meat diet and experience a reversal of certain health conditions. There can be many reasons for this. A main one is that eliminating plant foods can be extremely beneficial for people who have autoimmune, allergic conditions and/or digestive issues. Plants have been known to exacerbate these ailments and so their total elimination will obviously be very helpful.

 

Another one is that eating only meat keeps meals very predictable and consistent, which can lead to better blood glucose control. Protein induces satiety so keeping to meal times also becomes more manageable and this in turn further regulates blood glucose better. 

But none of this is indicative that an all meat diet is best and everyone should follow it as these benefits vary by individuals. It’s just one diet, amongst many other appropriate ancestral diets, that you can try to see if it helps you.