Ray Peat on Insulin

Lowering parathyroid hormone and its connection to overweight and related problems

"Lowering parathyroid hormone through more calcium and vitamin D is closely linked to less overweight and the health problems associated with overweight – high blood pressure, insulin resistance, heart arrhythmias, depression, and various inflammatory diseases."

September 2017 – Ray Peat’s Newsletter

The role of pantothenic acid in the treatment of hyperinsulinism

"Pantothenic acid is needed by the liver to break down insulin (insulinase), so hyperinsulinism, which causes hypoglycemia, can sometimes be improved with this nutrient."

Nutrition For Women

Differences in fructose metabolism in people with high blood fats

"Fructose does not stimulate the pancreas like glucose. It is gradually converted into glucose. However, in people with high blood fats, it is metabolized by liver and fat tissue many times faster than in normal people: it is as if the cellular 'doors' are already open in these people, perhaps due to high insulin levels, and the cells take up fructose faster than normal."

Nutrition For Women

The role of B vitamins in sugar metabolism and diabetes

"Some B vitamins (B1 and B2 and probably niacin) are said to have similar effects on sugar metabolism. In some forms of diabetes, insulin levels are normal or high, in others insulin is absent; both have been shown to be nutrition-dependent, especially the form with high insulin."

Nutrition For Women

Long-term pancreatic damage due to malnutrition and deficiencies

"The pancreas can be damaged by prolonged malnutrition, so the inability to produce insulin can become permanent. It is known that magnesium deficiency and vitamin B6 deficiency are involved in pancreatic damage. Insulin itself is only part of the insulin-like system (Adv in Metabol Disorders 7, p.26, 1974); proper treatment requires a thorough examination of all factors."

Nutrition For Women

Sugar Excretion in Urine During Stress Without Relation to Insulin Needs

"Stress can cause sugar to appear in the urine, as can many other conditions, and this does not require insulin treatment."

Nutrition For Women

The Protective Role of Pantothenic Acid Against Stress Effects

"Recently, it was found that pantothenic acid in very high doses protects against stress even when an animal's adrenal glands have been removed. Since this nutrient is needed to break down insulin, I think part of its anti-stress effect comes from minimizing hypoglycemia and thus reducing the amount of cortisone needed."

Nutrition For Women

Estrogen Causes Enlargement of the Adrenal Cortex to Compensate for Blood Sugar

"It is known that an excess of estrogen causes hypertrophy of the adrenal cortex. Since estrogen stimulates insulin release and lowers blood sugar, this hypertrophy might serve to compensate for that by increasing blood sugar."

Nutrition For Women

The Influence of Vitamin C on Cholesterol and Related Nutrients

"Vitamin C is now known to lower blood cholesterol. Eggs are rich in cholesterol but also contain lecithin, which apparently makes cholesterol useful or at least less harmful. Niacin and vitamin E also help regulate cholesterol. High insulin levels triggered by eating sugar seem important for cholesterol's ability to damage blood vessels."

Nutrition For Women

Eggs and their protective role against cholesterol deposits

"Eggs may actively protect against the formation of cholesterol deposits for several reasons. One of the men who discovered insulin, Best, later showed that choline (a component of lecithin) can prevent fatty degeneration of the liver."

Nutrition For Women

Insulin, Carbohydrate Cravings, and the Role of Pantothenic Acid

"Since insulin remains in the body even after excess sugar is broken down, it tends to keep blood sugar low and increase cravings for carbohydrates. Pantothenic acid helps break down insulin; this is one way it helps maintain adequate blood sugar levels."

Nutrition For Women

The Limits of Calorie Counting in Understanding Metabolism

"The idea that a calorie is a calorie – that is, simple calorie counting – not only overlooks the specific dynamic action of proteins (the effect of oils is usually described as uncoupling of oxidative phosphorylation), but also misses processes at the organism level, such as insulin secretion, which links the way food is consumed (composition and timing) with behavior, appetite, and metabolism."

Nutrition For Women

Heat and Insulin in the Prevention of Inflammation

"It is the oxidation of glucose (which produces carbon dioxide), favored by heat and the right amount of insulin, that can prevent inflammation."

March 2021 – Ray Peat’s Newsletter

Rethinking Diet and Blood Sugar Control: The Macro-Micro Balance

"A two-day fast worsens glucose tolerance in both diabetics and healthy people, and when diabetic men were put on a diet with 75% carbohydrates, their glucose tolerance was better than on a diet with 44% carbohydrates (Anderson, 1977). The high-carbohydrate diet improved the men's insulin sensitivity, and fasting – similar to a high-fat diet – worsens insulin sensitivity."

January 2017 – Ray Peat’s Newsletter

Age-Related Muscle Loss, Fat Gain, and Insulin Sensitivity

"Some of the obvious changes of aging, such as muscle loss (Martinez-Moreno, et al., 2007) and fat gain (Bahadoran, et al., 2015) as well as reduced insulin sensitivity (Ropelle, et al., 2013), are caused by increased nitric oxide."

January 2016 – Ray Peat’s Newsletter

Estrogen, PUFA, and Insulin Resistance in Diabetes

"Estrogen and PUFA cause insulin resistance, and the resulting state of diabetes and stress deprives tissues of energy."

February 2001

Cortisol's Connection to Various Forms of Diabetes

"Diabetes – both insulin-dependent and non-insulin-dependent types – is often associated with elevated cortisol."

February 2001

The Role of Adrenaline in Depression, Stress, and Inflammation

"Elevated adrenaline is – like elevated cortisol – a feature of depression, stress, and inflammation; by mobilizing fats, it can become part of a vicious cycle in which free fatty acids cause insulin resistance and thereby activate stress responses."

February 2001

The Binding of Carbon Dioxide to Insulin and the Effect of Thyroid Hormone

"Although carbon dioxide probably interacts with most amino groups in the body, few of these reactions have been studied. For example, it is known to bind to insulin and affect its conformation. I think this likely explains some of the effects of thyroid hormone in diabetes, since the thyroid increases carbon dioxide production."

1998 – Ray Peat’s Newsletter - 3

Hormonal Influences on Cell Division in the Prostate

"In human prostate slices, several hormones (including insulin and probably prolactin) stimulated cell division; testosterone did not under these experimental conditions (McKeehan, et al., 1984). Contrary to common stereotypes, there is evidence that additional androgens might control prostate cancer (Umekita, et al., 1996) and that antagonists against prolactin and estrogen could be usefully employed in hormone therapy."

May 1998 – Ray Peat’s Newsletter

GABA’s Anti-Stress Effects and Promotion of Progesterone

"The most important inhibitory neurotransmitter in the brain is GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid), which is closely related to asparagine and succinic acid. GABA has many anti-stress effects, in addition to its direct calming effect in the brain. For example, it promotes insulin binding so that some of the sugar is not converted into fat, and it encourages the production of progesterone, which protects many systems from harmful overactivity."

January 1991 – Ray Peat’s Newsletter

Herbs with Antihistaminic and Anticholinergic Effects and Their Influence on Blood Sugar

"I experimented with various herbs known to have antihistaminic and anticholinergic effects, hoping they would help keep blood sugar stable overnight. (For example, insulin secretion is stimulated by acetylcholine from cholinergic nerves, and reducing its effect at night would lower the need for adrenaline and cortisol.) My best results so far have been with a combination of the mildly sedative Jimson weed (thorn apple) and the stimulating Ephedra; together, their antihistaminic and blood sugar-stabilizing effects seem to prevail, allowing for a pleasant sleep—without the dry mouth caused by their anticholinergic action."

January 1991 – Ray Peat's Newsletter
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Supplements according to Ray Peat

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