I had an idea this morning.
The apparent wonderful control of type II diabetes by low carb dieting might
have another new explanation. I'm pulling wild monkeys from my ass on this,
but as Alexander Graham Bell showed, the Universe reveals its secrets to
anyone, regardless of lack of credentials.
Hypothesis: The state of glycogen depletion leads to glucose control
without the mechanism of insulin.
If true, this could not only explain the normal HbA1c I get, but suggest
that a reduced total release of insulin might be achieved.
Traditional Atkins adds carbs back into the diet to find a level where
weight regulation is balanced. I believe his idea is to maintain the
highest carb level that is still low enough to have weight control. If
correct, my hypothesis would make this part of Atkins a mistake.
How do the muscles know when they can try to restore their missing glycogen
supply? One might assume that the muscles cells watch for insulin, but what
if they don't? Insulin, I believe, triggers glucose uptake by all or most
of the body's cells. In a glycogen depleted state it would be reasonable to
expect the body to have a way to restore the glycogen stores *before*
pushing glucose into the body at large.
Do the muscles cells detect blood sugar changes directly, or might there be
a new/unknown hormonal messenger that tells the muscles that the intestines
are full of carbohydrates?
This question could be addressed in a study. The total insulin release of
test subjects in identical in-hospital controlled diets could compare a two
groups. The first group begins the key part of the study with glycogen
saturated muscles. The second group begins the key part of the study with
glycogen depleted muscles. My study hypothesis is that when the two groups
are exposed to a brief dietary carbohydrate increase, that the glycogen
depleted group will have lower total insulin release and lower net glucose
levels.
In terms of glucose and insulin, I'm interested here in what is called: the
area under the curve.
Cubit