How to break the system,
or insuline-glucose swings

In the intervals between meals, a part of the stored glucose and fats is spent. Thus, by the next meal, muscles and liver are ready to accept a new portion of glucose. 

As for the fats, the fatty tissue is always ready to accept them. But it also willingly releases them, if a high level of insulin does not prohibit it to do this.

As soon as glucose (together with insulin) return to the base level, we add glucose into our blood. In fact, it will not look as it is shown in the diagram, because not all meals are the same. Some will increase glucose more, others less. But the important thing is that the time when we can spend fats as fuel has substantially reduced, because insulin has to stay more time at a higher level, and this is because we regularly add glucose into our blood. 

While we are young and physically active, this is not a big problem. We have enough time to "burn" a considerable amount of glucose (therefore, it does not get converted into fats) and even some part of fats. But with the reduction of physical activity, accumulation of fats begins. If they accumulate only under the skin, this is not too bad. But if they accumulate inside us, as visceral fat, or in the liver, this is not good at all. 

Also, eventually the organism becomes used to regular and frequent food intakes. And at a smallest delay, it reminds us that it may be a time to eat something. We feel this reminder as a slight hunger. But we are not used to feel hungry; it is intolerable for us. So, we react to it almost as to the threat to our life and hurry up to eat something. 

So, if there are a lot of carbs and little of fats, the glucose spike is rather significant, and there is a segment of sharp decrease of glucose recognizes by the organism as a danger and an urgent need for more food. If there are much more fats than carbs, the spike of glucose is not so significant, and its subsequent decrease is not that sharp and does not last long. Therefore, the alarm signal is not sent, or it is not very strong and does not suppress the satiety signal soon after taking a meal. 

Of course, insulin follows glucose, and, when there is a lot of fats and not that much carbs, it goes above the fat expenditure threshold only briefly, therefore, the organism can burn accumulated fats most of the time. 

There is a lot more to sort out here, because carbs are different, and fats too. And not all fats are suitable for replacement of carbs. However, the plan for breaking the system takes distinct shapes: eat frequently, have more carbs (especially sugar) and avoid fats – and after a while, the system will be broken. 

Finally, insulin stops lowering under the threshold of spending fats. So, fats are practically not spent. To achieve this, several years are needed, maybe even more than a decade. But this is a significant achievement on the way to breaking the system.  At this stage, it is difficult to stop the swings, because the base level of insulin is already abnormally high and will not reduce quickly. And it should not be lowered quickly, because, when glucose is added into blood next time, cells will not accept it, even if they have some spare storage capacity, because they have reduced their sensitivity to the signals of insulin. And then, an attempt to eat less becomes similar to a torture. 

And making these swings to swing harder is so easy. It is even a pleasure. One more candy or cookie will not harm, will it? – we calm ourselves down like an alcoholic calms himself that one more shot of brandy will not do him any harm. And comparison with an alcoholic here is not for an emotional effect – there is a physiological similarity. 

To make the system break faster and more disastrously, it is necessary:
• to limit physical activity,
• to push oneself into a constant stress and to stay in it for months, or better, years,
• to always maintain maximal comfort, especially avoiding cold temperatures,
• to add smoking and excess consumption of alcohol, maybe, some other toxins, but not too strong, those that will not kill us before we break the system, because we want to see the results of our efforts to break it. 

The system is broken! First, prediabetes develops (which people rarely notice), and later, type two diabetes comes. If we continue, the "bonuses" of the diabetes follow – worsening of eyesight, cardio-vascular disorders (including hypertension, myocardial infarction and brain stroke), often (but not necessarily), obesity, problems with the liver and kidneys, trophic ulcers on legs (with a perspective of amputation of legs), etc.  Glucose in urine appears, because the organism is trying to get rid of excess of glucose in blood in this way. And, if this does not kill us quickly enough, there is a good chance that, later, doctor Alzheimer will visit us, or rather his disease. 

Attention! We remind you again that this is about type two diabetes, which develops when the insulin level is too high. Type one diabetes is a result of very low or zero level of insulin, and its origin is in an autoimmune reaction. For some reasons, the immune system begins to attack the cells of the pancreas that produce insulin and gradually destroys them. Because of the lack of insulin, glucose almost does not get into the cells that need it. Also, fats and proteins are practіcally not accumulated, and excess of glucose is disposed of through urine. The name of the disease "diabetes" comes from the Latin phrase meaning "sweet urine disease". Yes, before modern methods of urine tests were developed, doctors diagnosed diabetes by using their tongues to taste the urine of their patients. In those times, type two diabetes was almost unknown, while type one diabetes was not more frequent than it is now. Before the discovery of insulin, such type one diabetes meant rather quick death. Now people suffering from it require regular injections of insulin.

So, have you made any conclusions?
Your conclusions are your business. We do not interfere into your business, do not advise you anything and do not urge you to do anyting. 

There are situations when some (moderate) level of insulin resistance is completely normal and natural. Especially, if it is not additionally provoked by excess consumption of sweet foods. These are the periods of adolescence and pregnancy. And this is understandable, because an elevated level of insulin gives the organism a command to accumulate more energy, and not only it, but nutrients in general. And those are periods when the requirement of nutrients is elevated, so, the organism decides that it would be good to accumulate more of them and takes certain measures for that. 

This is about the system of our organism that automatically maintains the balance of consumption, accumulation and expenditure of energy. When this system is broken, the balance is lost, and usually towards the excess accumulation of stocks, which leads to health problems. A considerable part of the human population of Earth have already broken this system, even without understanding how to do this. And the number (and also percentage) of such people has been rapidly increasing in the past half a century and continues to grow, having acquired signs of a global epidemic. 

The key regulator in this system is insulin. It increases when food is taken to prevent too high concentration of glucose in blood. High insulin level signals to tissues, especially muscles and liver that they should take excess of glucose from blood. Also, this high level of insulin prohibits the organism to use fats as fuel and to accumulate fats. After a while, when blood glucose returns to the normal level, insulin also lowers, thus permitting to spend previously accumulated fats.

Wnen carbohydrates are consumed, the level of blood glucose rises quickly. And also quickly rises the level of insulin. After a while, the level of glucose starts falling quickly. Even though it still remains sufficiently high, the fact that it quickly reduces is perceived by the organism as a danger, and the organism urges us (through hunger or cravings) to eat more. When proteins are consumed, the increase of glucose is slower and to a lower level, after which its decrease is also slower. After consumption of fats, the speed of growth, the maximum level and the speed of decrease are the lowest. 

If intervals between meals are short and food contains a lot of carbs, glucose comes into blood frequently and in large quantities. In this situation, insulin lowers to the level, at which fats can be spent, only briefly, and fats start to accumulate. If intervals between meals remain short for a long time, muscles and other cells cannot spent accumulated stocks of glucose and begin to resist signals of insulin to accept more glucose. This is insulin resistance. For its development, several years of this pattern of eating is required. Because of this resistance, insulin in blood does not reduce to the level, at which the organism can use fats. This leads to the increase of body mass, and related health problems begin to appear. 

Ten to twenty more years of such style of eating, and production of insulin after a meal begins to reach the maximum of capability of the organism to produce it. But the resistance of cells to insulin is already so strong, that even the maximum level is not enough to induce cells to take the excess of glucose from blood. The prediabetes begins, which may later turn into type two diabetes bringing with it many health disorders.

Type two diabetes develops at a constantly elevated level of insulin. Type one diabetes appears when production of insulin is sharply decreased, often down to zero, as a result of an autoimmune disorder. This site is NOT about type one diabetes, though there are several reminders that this is a completely different condition and a serious problem, which is not described here.

During adolescence and pregnancy, a certain (moderate) level of insulin resistance is normal, if it is not provoked by excess consumption of sweet foods.