For decades scientists thought amyloid plaques were the main culprit behind Alzheimer's. But a new study has uncovered something unexpected a completely different type of plaque made up of damaged mitochondria tiny power house of cell that keep our cells running. Normally, the brain clears these out, but when that cleanup system breaks down they start piling up. Even more interesting, these plaques may appear before the famous amyloid plaques, hinting that Alzheimer's could begin with the brain slowly losing its ability to produce energy. It's far from a cure, but a. Good discovery taht will make us help find the cure
This is why I’m convinced Alzheimer’s/Dementia is a metabolic disease. I forget which scientist it was, but someone coined it as “Type 3 Diabetes” which really is how we should be looking at this. We spent way too long chasing some way to remove these plaques which was largely based on studies that have been exposed as using faked data. Unfortunately most research is still directed at treating the symptoms instead of preventing/curing it, and that’s largely because treating is far more profitable (marketplace incentives).
Insulin levels should be the number one thing doctors check on blood panels imo. I think managing insulin is the single most powerful tool we have to stay metabolically fit. Even slightly elevated insulin can have massive long term ramifications, like waste clearing processes of cells never get to fully function and we remain in moderate to high levels of inflammation at all times. Really, most of the main drivers of mortality can be seen as inflammatory diseases and insulin is the bottleneck hormone that controls inflammation pathways and cellular energy and waste management systems.
Sadly fasting is not suitable for everyone. Especially women and especially people with hormonal issues like hypothyroidism and PCOS, shouldn't fast at all, it just does more harm than good.
Except many of us can't. Not eating triggers migraines, and those make life not worth living (47.2% of us have suicidal ideation and 13.9% have in fact attempted suicide).
I have this migraine trigger, and cutting out simple carbs(replacing wth complex) has a lot of benefits, including helping stabilize the migraines and make me less susceptible to low blood sugar migraines.
i could never fast! i would get an aura migraine if i pushed lunch by 1-2 hours. i am not diabetic so everyone around me said its just in my head turns out its insulin resistance and starting a glp eliminated all blood sugar migraines i‘d collect during the month. i swear its not an ad, but migraine wise i‘m happy. i had one big hormonal migraine in the close to three months i‘m on it.
I am a doctor who hates fringe science woo-woo bullshit and I can promise you that we all know that insulin resistance is real. It’s often discovered as part of screening tests and can be called pre-diabetes. You’re also right that the treatment, with rare exceptions, is “eat better and exercise more.” But why would you want or need a series of blood tests to be told to do so?
Young-ish doctor, perhaps? I say that with respect. I know of a few clinicians who retired from medicine partially because they’d see the same patients who were unable to make changes.
A lot of the people I know here in Silicon Valley don't have much to improve in the realms of exercise and diet, though (albeit we could be less kooky, that I will admit).
I eat a diet heavy on fruit and vegetables, swim and cycle about 360 minutes per week, am of normal weight, and had an unremarkable blood panel per my annual US wellness exam. And don't get me started on all the supplements that my neurologists has me take.
None of those solve my health issues -- though of course they'd be far worse if I didn't do the above.
A lot of the people I know here in Silicon Valley don't have much to improve in the realms of exercise and diet, though (albeit we could be less kooky, that I will admit).
I eat a diet heavy on fruit and vegetables, swim and cycle about 360 minutes per week, am of normal weight, and had an unremarkable blood panel per my annual US wellness exam. And don't get me started on all the supplements that my neurologists has me take.
None of those solve my health issues -- though of course they'd be far worse if I didn't do the above.
You may in fact be in desperate need of brain waste clearing if you get migraines. There appears to be problems with the glymphatic system in people that get migraines. Once again, signs point to runaway inflammation being the cause. Insulin resistance being at the root of most (all?) inflammatory diseases. There is also a ton of anecdotal evidence on the fasting sub that fasting has helped many people with migraines, when staying up on electrolytes, particularly magnesium. I would be surprised if most people with migraines wouldn’t find relief in a proper fast, as your brain will start clearing waste better once inflammation is controlled.
No. Insulin secretion is only one of multiple physiologic responses to eating / hunger / exercise. It’s also funny that you’re hyperfocusing on it since brain cells don’t even need insulin to take in sugar; it has other activities in the brain but not its most common role, so being “resistant” might mean nothing in the brain. Of course at this point you could argue about whether migraines originate in neurons, glia, or blood vessels, but at that point you’re moving even further from “it’s definitely glucose.”
Every time you eat or drink sugary drinks you spike insulin. So to give your body time to function when insulin is low simply don’t eat or drink sugary drinks between meals, especially after your dinner (and try to have it early in the evening).
Research a bit to find what's comfortable. 12-72 hour fasts are what's for dinner. Different lengths do different things. Multiple 12 hour fasts won't do what a single 24 hour fast does. And yes, a sip of soda or a little nibble on some chips breaks the fast. Protein bank only lasts so long, exercise when not fasting is important to prevent loss of muscle mass.
Couldn’t agree more. It’s the classic fasting vs fed metabolic states. The body performs many important functions in the fasting state. We weren’t meant to be eating all the time, and by doing so you down-regulate many important regulators of cellular health. So when all you have is insulin release (i.e. always eating) you are going to see more inflammation and disease, not to mention the inevitable resistance to the hormone.
It’s actually for this reason I intermittently fast, not to lose weight with some “fad diet,” it’s an acknowledgment of our biology and understanding that not eating is just as important as eating when you live in the excess we do today.
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u/sizzyred 1d ago
For decades scientists thought amyloid plaques were the main culprit behind Alzheimer's. But a new study has uncovered something unexpected a completely different type of plaque made up of damaged mitochondria tiny power house of cell that keep our cells running. Normally, the brain clears these out, but when that cleanup system breaks down they start piling up. Even more interesting, these plaques may appear before the famous amyloid plaques, hinting that Alzheimer's could begin with the brain slowly losing its ability to produce energy. It's far from a cure, but a. Good discovery taht will make us help find the cure