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Originally Posted by jps  BlueSky, isn't the half-life of insulin very short anyway? I mean, what's released to counter the carbs in one meal isn't going to just be floating around waiting for the next meal four hours later, correct? |
Yeah, insulin has a half-life of about 4 minutes after it gets into the blood stream. It doesn't hang around for long. But if insulin isn't needed to keep blood glucose in the normal range, it is stored as granules in the pancreas and doesn't get into the bloodstream. And those insulin granules stay there until the next time blood glucose rises, which is normally after the next meal. Stored insulin can be released into the blood stream very quickly. This is the so-called first phase insulin response, and it is much quicker than the production of new insulin. The first phase insulin response stops blood glucose spiking after meals.
If blood glucose is higher than normal all the time, all the insulin that is produced is used to metabolise this glucose. And no insulin is available for storage. This is why the phase one insulin response of T2 diabetics deteriorates, and blood glucose spikes after meals. Eating low-carb moderates this effect and, to the extent that blood glucose returns to normal levels after meals, some degree of phase one insulin response at subsequent meals is ensured.
The bottom line of all this is that low-carb is the only sensible way for people who are in the early stages of T2 diabetes to eat. .... (gets of soap-box)
