On Wed, 22 Dec 2004 09:02:49 -0500, Todd Moody <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

>Paula H. wrote:
>
>>I ran across this interesting article on vinegar:
>>http://www.sciencenews.org/articles/20041218/food.asp
>>
>>Todd, have you continued with the cinnamon and glucose readings?
>>
>>Paula H.
>>
>>
>I recently stopped, after noting no appreciable effect.  A friend of
>mine who is Type 2 diabetic tried the cinnamon and actually found her
>fasting BG increased substantially.  I've heard of others getting that
>result too, for some reason.  In fact, after she discontinued the
>cinnamon, it took several weeks for her BG readings to go back to where
>they were.  Very discouraging.  But this vinegar study is interesting,
>and no doubt I'll give it a try.  It wouldn't bother me to gulp down a
>couple of tablespoons of wine vinegar with a glass of water.
>
>I got this friend to try a lowcarb diet, with mainly paleo foods (plus a
>bit of cheese here and there, but not much), but she simply couldn't
>deal with it.  She needs to lose weight, but her weight began to creep
>up, and she was constantly exhausted, had to take naps all the time.  I
>give her credit for staying on it a month, but by the end of that time,
>although she saw some improvements in BG, she just couldn't go on.  She
>had gained four pounds and felt simply terrible.  She has recently added
>some carbs back into her diet and feels much better.  Her BG went up, of
>course, but she has started metformin and with luck they should begin to
>go down.
>
>Since I classify myself as prediabetic, the vinegar seems worth a try.
>I've also started green tea extract, which is reputed both to inhibit
>carbohydrate absorption and to increase insulin sensitivity--among other
>things.  But the most effective agent I've found for reducing fasting BG
>is still alcohol.  Although the metabolic pathways of vinegar and
>alcohol are the same, I gather the mechanism of the effect on BG must be
>different.  Vinegar downregulates the starch-digesting enzymes.  Alcohol
>inhibits gluconeogenesis.  As I've stated on here before, even when I
>eat nothing but meat and fat, my fasting BG tends to remain in the low
>90s.  This isn't terrible but, in my view, it is dead-on proof of
>significant insulin resistance.  When eating zero carbs, the body gets
>glucose from protein.  In theory,  BG shouldn't be elevated in this
>situation.  While BGs in the 90s aren't "elevated" in a clinical sense,
>according to what I've read if BG is above about 84 the pancreas still
>puts out insulin, indicating that the pancreas "thinks" BG should be
>below 85 and continuously tries to get it there.  I am bothered by the
>idea of my pancreas trickling out insulin 24/7, so my goal is to get
>fasting BG below 85.  It's clear to me that paleo or plain lowcarb diet
>will not get me there, so I'm looking at other ways.
>
>Todd Moody
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