Ken Stuart wrote:

>On Wed, 31 Dec 2003 10:53:01 -0600, you wrote:
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>>http://www.mercola.com/2003/feb/8/longevity.htm
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>>Extended longevity in mice lacking the insulin receptor in adipose tissue.
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>Confirmation of the identical result that I posted on:
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Yep, it looks pretty convincing to me.

I've been thrashing the question of meal frequency lately, with this in
mind.  I have Ori Hofmekler's book, _The Warrior Diet_, and I am
especially intrigued by the fact that the "longevity effect" is observed
in animals that eat every other day, without net caloric restriction.
As I mentioned in another post, it seems to be the pattern of
carnivores, especially large carnivores, to eat less frequently.
There's a lot of weirdness in Hofmekler's book, but he seems to get that
much right.

On the other hand, I know I have seen studies that seem to show that
those who get a given amount of energy in one meal a day lose less
weight than those who eat more numerous small meals, and although the
longevity effect isn't about weight loss, I do think that less weight
loss is a sign of higher insulin levels.

Barry Sears' approach is to combine moderate caloric restriction with
careful balancing of macronutrients and frequent feedings--3 meals and
at least 2 snacks for most people.

The lowcarb approach is to cut carbs drastically and use more fat for
energy, since fat has a minimal effect on insulin.  But the lowcarb
approach still generally has 3 meals a day.

The Hofmekler approach is one large meal a day, but still avoiding
refined carbs.  Other carbs are okay at that meal.  He argues that you
*want* one good insulin surge a day, to load aminos and nutrients into
cells.  And the rest of the time you want it as low as possible.

It strikes me that the CAD (carbohydrate addict's diet) approach is also
meant to yield one insulin surge a day.

Anyway, what I'm thinking is that just eating paleo foods *might* get
you a consistently low insulin level, but it also might not, depending
on what you eat and how often.  But it also might not.  We need more
information about the effects of various foods on insulin, including
meats.  Of course, protein-rich foods also trigger a subsequent glucagon
response, which carbs do not, but this might be more relevant to weight
loss than to the longevity effect.

Todd Moody
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