Theola Walden Baker wrote:

>Please, what factors in
>addition to exercise do you think might come into play?
>
>

Stress, sleep deprivation, that sort of thing.  I don't pretend to have
a detailed theory, but I'm confident that these things affect insulin
levels to some extent.  We've talked about meal frequency on this list,
and although it is certainly a dietary factor, it's one that is easy to
overlook.  As I understand it, stress causes the release of the stress
hormones, such as cortisol (I guess that's the metabolic definition of
stress, in fact).  Cortisol signals the body to make glucose available,
by releasing stored hepatic glycogen and by gluconeogenesis.  Glucose is
the body's emergency "fight or flight" fuel, so it gets us ready for
action.  If neither one happens, there's all that glucose to be disposed
of, by means of insulin, so insulin goes up, even though we didn't eat
anything.

Todd Moody
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