Insulin friendly diet

Insulin and all hormones comes from protein we eat (which ironically also controls insulin,  soy protein lowers it).  If we eat the insulin bad foods  we build far less muscle, and gain far more fat, especially in the belly area. This will lead to major health issues, like heart disease, high blood pressure, PCOS, Insulin Resistance, Syndrome X, and diabeties.

"Your body needs a constant supply of dietary protein to replace the protein that is lost from our body on a daily basis. What's more, eating protein stimulates the release of the hormone glucagon, which has a hormanal effect opposite to that of insulin. Glucagon tells your body to release stored carbohydrates from the liver to replenish blood sugar levels in the brain. Without adequate levels of glucagon, you'll always feel hungry and mentally fatigued because your brain is short on its primary fuel--blood sugar." 5 p13-14

women - 3oz low fat meat or 21g protein per meal. The body will turn any additional protein into fat.

men - 4oz meat or 28-30g protein

Fatigue: "This can be a combination of both mental and physical fatigue. The mental fatigue is caused by excess levels of AA (arachidonic acid which increase with the use of cholesterol lowering drugs) in the brain. The physical fatigue is caused by the lack of sufficient adenosine triphospate (ATP) formation for muscle and metabolic needs because insulin is preventing the release of high-octane fuel (fat) from your fat cells to be used as an energy source to make ATP. 6 p76

carbs - some reak havoc on the body, adding very little nutrition; soda, mashed potatos, pasta, rice.

-cause dangerous insulin spike, or rise and fall in insulin, which leave you famished 2 hours after eating.

-have few vitamins, unless added, and few phytochemicals (found in plants) to fight off heart disease, cancer and other diseases because of their high anti-oxidents..

Fruit & Vegetables

- packed with phytochemicals vitamins and minerals

-has fiber, which slows release of insulin, which is why an apple leaves you feeling full longer than a cookie.

Good Fats

- monounsaturated; 1 tsp olive oil to saute veggies in, a handfull of almonds, or avacado slices.

Oil

Evoo (extra virgin olive oil)- best choice

Coconut oil - "although it is in deed a saturated fat, like animal fat, it contains a remarkable protective fat called lauric acid, found otherwise only in mother's milk (and in small amounts in butter). It's also known as the low-fat fat, and it has fewer calories (about 2.9 per gram fewer) than all other fats." 1-p24

Unhydroginated Peanut oil - great for frying, high smoke point, delicious on salads and vegetables, but has a little more omega 6 than olive oil.  

 

For the zone diet, protein is 1/3rd of your plate and carbs the otehr 2/3rds. Add a sprinkle of fat.

Bottom Line: When we eat these foods, our insulin brings glucose to the muscles,  and gives us more energy. Insulin takes glucagon and turns it into glucose. Certain foods block the cells from recieving glucose and it stores as fat in the belly. We also have less energy when this happens.

It takes the right combination of glucagon and insulin friendly foods to help glucagon burn stored fat and insulin to move that storage to energy. Too much protein, turns to fat, not enough and you cannot mentally focus and you get tired because the energy does not get to the place that it is burned for fuel to think and function

Insulin friendly foods

 

Avacado

Fresh- Buy them with a hard outer shell, and a couple days later they are just a little soft on the outside and perfect to eat. This is a very yummy low sugar fruit that is packed with nutrition and protein.

After sliced, put lemon or lime on them to keep them from turning brown. Puree them and freeze to use them up if they are starting to turn.

Can heat, but bitter when overheated

High in:

-magnesium

-potassium: helps prevent stroke & high blood-pressure.

-monounsaturated fat: lowers cholesterol

-beta-sitosterol: a nutrient that reduces the amount of cholestrol we absorb from our foods

-has Zero cholesterol

-easily digestible, Israeli babies are weaned on Avacados.

Coconut- fat that boostes metabolism

fresh- should have lots of liquid inside and free of mold on outside. Freeze for an hour, use an ice pick or nail and hammer and put a few holes in the eyes of the nut, and drain. Taste coconut water, if sweet its still fresh. Crack open on a hard surface like sidewalk, by use of a hammer or Australian coconut knife. 1-62

GLA-Gammalinolenic Acid

Evening Primrose Oil- fat that boostes metabolism

-best source of GLA

-promotes estrogen production, dialates blood vessels, thins blood, and reduces inflamation to help prevent many hormone related conditions

-treats acne, dandruff, eczma, fibrocystic breast disease, heart attack, cardiovascular disease, menopause symptoms, premenopause symproms and psoriasis

"If you dont have enough fat, you wont make enough hormones, and that will drastically affect no only your general health but your ability to lose weight as well. The essential fatty acids actually reduce body weight and fat by stimulating the oxidation of fat and increasing the metabolic rate. (Several supplement products on the market increase the rate at which the mitochondria, the little cells that are the source of energy, burn. An especially good one is Pentabosol,available from www.eatprotein.com.) Some researchers are keen on the omega-6 fat GLA, usually in the form of evening primrose oil, to activate the brown fat, the metabolically active fat that surrounds your organs and turns excess fat from storage into energy...."1-145

In the book Eat Fat, Lose Weight by Ann Louise Gittleman, is mention of a study that shows a 10% weight loss without actually dieting, and just using GLA suppliments of 500mg 4 to 6 times a day.

"Although people should make their own GLA from linoleic acid (found in vegetable oils and nuts), they don't always. Diabetics (as well as people who have eaten a lot of processed and packaged food that contains partially hydrogenated oils) have trouble converting linoleic acid to GLA. Supplements of evening primrose or borage oil provide preformed GLA and are helpful in such cases." 3-167

Fruit- low startch: blackberries, blueberries, raspberries, avacado, tomato, grapefruit 

Complex carbohydrates: Starches, which make up plant tissue. You can find complex carbohydrates in foods such as grains and vegetables. Not all of these make our insulin work right, avoid oranges, banannas & pears.

Protein: the basis that all hormones are created from.

Good Fats

CLA - Conjugated linoleic acid

-found in dairy, beef and in small amounts in chicken

-aids in the prevention of breast cancer, stroke, heart disease, type 2 diabeties, high blood pressure.

"You'd think CLA was a bad-fat candidate, since it's an omega-6 fat and a trans fat too. But CLA is actually the only good trans fat, and its becoming a star, because it behaves in the body like an omega-3 fat. Among its benefits are heart health, vein health, and good cholesterol profile as well as low triglycerides. It has anticancer properties, antioxidant actions two hundred times more powerful than beta carotene, and good effects in controlling blood sugar and promoting fat loss." Studies have shown CLA inhibits cancer growth. 2-123

Extra Virgin Olive Oil:

-buy the ones in the dark bottles, and add the contents of a vitamin E capsule to boost antioxidents and keep fresh

Coconut Oil: has extra calories

Monounsaturated fat: Found in olive oil, canola oil, olives, cashews, almonds and avocados; lowers LDL ("bad"), raises HDL ("good") cholesterol. High in calories.

Omega-3 fat: Found in fish, flaxseed oil, walnuts and canola oil; has little effect on HDL or LDL cholesterol levels; lowers triglycerides (blood fats).

Polyunsaturated fat: Includes omega-3 and omega-6 fats found in corn, soybean and sunflower oils; lowers LDL ("bad"), raises HDL cholesterol("good"); reduces the risk for heart disease.

Fiber: Only fibers found in nature are insulin's friend, nothing in breads, pasta, cereal ect... One Avacado has about 10g, we need 25-30g daily and 50g if diabetic.

A carbohydrate found in plants that cannot be digested. Fiber comes in two forms: soluble and insoluble. Soluble fiber, found in beans, fruit and oats, dissolves in water. Insoluble fiber, found in whole grains and vegetables, doesn't dissolve in water. Both types of fiber help with digestion, lower cholesterol and help control blood sugar.

Wheat: "We recommend avoiding the waffles made out of whole wheat becasue wheat is a common trigger food to cravings and overeating for many people. Opt instead for the plain, wheat-free waffles made out of brown rice." 3-121

Ok for me wheatfree waffles are a no no, but for someone with less insulin resistance it seems that brown rice is a better choice than wheat.

Vinegar: Its been shown that if you eat 2T Vinegar before meals you lose around 2lbs a month. The same goes with 8oz grapefriut juice or eat grapefruit. I bet if you buy red wine vinegar this will also be good for the heart.

"When you eat a lot of rich food at a single meal, you can dramatically increase the amount of fat in your blood---a temporary effect, but not a positive one. Drinking a spoonful of vinegar (not lemon juice, which doesn't give the same result) will eliminate this phenomenon." 1-112

People with impaired glucose crave vinegar. "It's almost as if their bodies are begging for foods to help regulate their blood-sugar levels" ..."You could consider vinegar a natural and inexpensive startch blocker."  Any kind of vinegar is ok, as long as it has 5% acetic acid. "Acidic acid also helps to convert glucose to glycogen, your muscle's reserve fuel." This can help athletes during postexcercise recovery. "Another advantage is that increased conversion of glucose to glycogen reduces insulin requirements. The mechanisms are similar to how the diabetes drugs acarbose and metformin work to decrease blood sugar, but vinegar is cheaper and safer than those medications." 2-87-88

Vinegar has been used medicinally for many many years.

Yogurt: If it has Raw-Milk it has CLA the only healthy cholesterol lowering bad fat.

Supplaments

CoQ10- Coenzyme Q10 (ubiquinone)

-found in nearly every cell in the body. in the mitochondria of cells (where energy is produced)

- creates energy to cells

     -helps body deal with carbs, the fuel for coQ10

- vitamin-like nutrients & antioxident

- aids the body to turn food to energy, very important

- best absorbed with fat or oil, take with meal

- cholesterol lowering drugs block coQ10

- lack of coQ10 leads to heart failure

- it protects against cancer

-Syndrome X benefits of coQ10

     -prevents free-radical oxidation of LDL cholesterol

     -quenches free radicals & this normalizes the insulin response to glucose. 3-56, 212

-Improves immune cells activity, and enhances their ability to fight cancer. 400mg daily promotes remission in cancer patients who are already coQ10 deficient. 5-46

 

 

books to reference

1 Good Fat by Fran McCullough

2 Stop Prediabetes Now - Jack Challem

3 Syndrome X by Jack Challem, Burton BerksonMD and Melissa Diane Smith

4 The Insulin-Resistance Diet by Cheryle R Hart md and Mary Kay Grossman rd

5 The Top 100 Zone Foods by Barry Sears Ph.D.

6 Toxic Fat When good fat turns bad by Barry Sears, Ph.D.