Holiday Surprise: Sweets Can Lead To Insulin Resistance and Diabetics and Statins May Not Mix Well

Sweet Holiday Temptations are just on the Horizon

November is National Diabetes Month, and of course, if it has not already started, the holiday sweets will soon be all around us. With sinfully sugary delights surrounding us at work, home, social events, and more, it’s hard to resist temptation. However, before overindulging in your favorite holiday treat, take a moment to read the new findings regarding health issues with those who over consume weight gaining sweets.

New Study: Overeating Leads To Insulin Resistance

Research on rodents has resulted in the discovery that overeating leads to insulin resistance, even before weight gain happens. Potential mechanisms that have been studied by researchers include fatty acid levels, inflammation, endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress, and oxidative stress.

In a recent study published in Science Translational Medicine, Temple University researchers studied six healthy men who voluntarily were confined to a hospital bed for a week and gave them a 6,000 calorie/day diet.

As hypothesized, researchers found insulin resistance developed rapidly by day two into the study. Interestingly, there was no increase in fatty acids, no inflammation, and no signs of ER stress. However, they did find that oxidative stress increased at approximately the same rate as insulin resistance.

The researchers speculated that one possible mechanism by which oxidative stress caused insulin resistance is oxidation of the intracellular glucose transporter GLUT4, which is dependent on insulin signaling to move vesicles to the cell membrane. When the study subject’s fat tissue was examined, researchers saw that the structure of GLUT4 had been modified, rendering it dysfunctional. One of the modifications was cabonylation, which has been known to affect protein function.

Could this small study be the first to reflect how insulin resistance can develop with a high caloric diet and no exercise?

Some Diabetics May See Negative Statin Drug Effects

With approximately 21 million people on statin drugs, statins are one of the best-selling medicines in the world. Most doctors note that a daily statin can aid anyone who has either suffered a heart attack or stroke. However, some experts now say these drugs are over-prescribed and argue these drugs should only be considered a temporary drug, and not a long-term medication for many.

How do statins work, and what are the side effects? In an attempt to reduce high cholesterol, statins block the production of cholesterol, but they also impair the production of an internal antioxidant enzyme, Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10). With insufficient levels of CoQ10, it is possible that the mitochondrial can’t produce sufficient energy to keep the heart muscle working properly, resulting in possible congestive heart failure.

Millions of people worldwide use these drugs daily, and there are lots of complications reported. Liver failure is a common issue, as well as sore muscles and inflammation of the heart muscle. When muscles get inflamed enough, they produce an enzyme called myoglobin that tends to cause a lot of problems in the body. One issue is that it puts a pigment in the blood stream that when it reaches the kidney, it can back them up, lead to kidney failure and can even result in death.

Mitochondrial production of oxygen also goes down, so the body can’t create as much ATP, which is the energy currency of the cell. Just like gas is to a car, we have to have ATP to function. In response to lower ATP levels, people find themselves short of breath, problems with congestive heart failure and feel weaker.

The FDA has recently warned statin users that memory loss and confusion may also be a side effect. Also, the FDA says taking statins are associated with increasing blood sugar levels by as much as 25-50%! For those with heart issues and diabetes, these finding show statins could be worsening their situation.

To avoid having these side effects from statin drugs, it’s your responsibility to live a healthy lifestyle that prevents inflammation.

As Dr. Saputo explains, instead of damaging the body with a toxic pharmaceutical drug, some believe the best and only way to truly prevent having a heart attack, or having another, is to have a healthy lifestyle. Healthy diet, exercise, stress reduction, quality sleep, avoiding toxic exposures, and have a meaningful purpose in our life.

In this video, Dr. Saputo further explains how statins may increase blood sugar and cause memory problems. Watch here: