Insulin Resistance and blood type???

[Katryding]

Okay, now what? I've been on a low carb diet for twelve weeks, have lost forty
pounds and feel great. Does anyone know if there is a factual connection between
blood type and insulin resistance? I'm curious after reading a brief article on the
subject. This is my first time on this so I am not certain of the usual questions, etc.
found here.

[tamarian]

Wow, 40 lbs in under 3 months! This is awsome. Congrats!

I don't know about blood types, hopefully someone who knows will jump in :)

Wa'il

[Katryding]

I was amazed each week when I went to the clinic to weigh in and saw that the pounds were just falling away. The last two weeks things have slowed down a bit, but I still feel good about the low carb eating I'm engaged in. My family has their doubts and sometimes laugh at my dinner plate, but I really have a desire to live to be a hundred plus like my fathers family and not perish before I'm eighty of heart disease like my mothers. I'm doing this for my life. I think the first thing I noticed was the loss of water retention and then came a mellow sort of feeling that helped me concentrate at work. Dead lines, answers to design techniques seemed to just flow from my mind to my mouth in a really organized manner. For the past five years I now see that I was fighting depression, self-esteem problems, and a lot of fatique over trying to eat a healthy low fat, high carb diet. I never lost a pound or an inch and I was irritable to boot. My boss was the first to notice my alertness. I feel like I'm twenty again and not 45. Thank you, for your response and I'm sorry that I went on as I did. I just don't get too many people to talk to about this as they don't understand or care to. It feels good to see my thoughts and feelings in other peoples words as in these forum's. I still have 60 lbs to go to where I will stabilize my health, but then I believe that this is a life long commitment. I never heard of the Atkins diet until the last year. I follow another source of information that has really benefited me and kept my hopes up. It's a book by Calvin Ezrin and Robert E. Kowalski called "The Type 2 Diabetes Diet Book, Insulin Control Diet." For anybody with type 2 this is a really good resource. Thanks again and don't worry I don't always talk (type) this much.:D

[shelley]

I can't believe how good I feel. I have been on the diet for only 4 days and I can feel a hugh difference already. My leg swelling and pain have subsided and I have lost the bloat. I can actually breath better, go figure?:)

[nrussell]

Kat

Never heard of insulin resistance and blood type but I've just developed type II at the tender age of 39 and I'm an O+ if that ties into anything!!!

Nicola

[Karen]

There is a book called Eat Right for Your Type that goes into the differences between blood types. As I recall, type O's are the natural meat eaters, but I can't remember what it said about insulin resistance.

Here is the link to the website:

http://www.dadamo.com/

Karen

[numberonewendy]

Welcome Kat,

I don't know anything about blood types either but it sure sounds like your doing well .....40 lbs in 12 weeks!!! HOLY you know what! LOL

Doreen is the expert here, you'll love her. Bet she will be around soon to chat with you. Keep up the good work :)

Wendy

[pyrogylady]

Welcome,

Great job, losing 40 lbs in 12 weeks, way to go. Just started this forum, and already feeling comfortable, hope you do as well.

Di

[doreen T]

There's a somewhat useful review of the book at About.com, Click here to read it (http://newage.miningco.com/religion/newage/library/weekly/aa072198.htm). If you scroll down the page, there are links (in the pink box) where you can click on your blood type for 5 pages of food lists. Foods are listed as beneficial, neutral or avoid. Interesting, but ...

I'm a type A (go figure), and according to this, I'm supposed to be strict vegetarian, maybe some fish. Hmmm .... been there, done that, am now allergic or at least sensitive to most grains.

For Karen's type O, indeed it's the hunter-gatherer type, except no pork, bacon or ham, and NO DAIRY! is beneficial, maybe butter and some goat cheeses. Oh, and no caviar either, or berries or melons .. :(

Type B can eat anything, and type AB is an amalgam of types A and B.

I haven't read the book myself, so can't comment on the insulin-resistance link. Perhaps it has to do with the Type O's, who have the hunter-gatherer type? Blood type O is most common, approx. 45% of the North American population. Type A is second, around 40%, type B third at 4%, and type AB is only 1%. It's kind of hard to imagine that type A's should all be high-carb eating vegetarians, because we know that high-carb, lowfat and lowmeat diets fail 95% of the time in the population as a whole.

Oh well, the food lists are interesting, do check them out... :)

Doreen

[r.mines]

I'm supposed to avoid beef, chicken, and pork. However, rabbit and pheasant are OK. I guess walking four hours to get to a place that sells this exotica is good for me!

Rachel

[nrussell]

I went and checked these pages out and at the risk of being blunt - does anybody else see a scientific implausability here? I mean pu-leeze....

[doreen T]

As an RN, with background in biochemistry and nutrition ... I tend to agree with you. But, I thought best to just present the item for folks to decide for themselves (says I, who normally slams quackery with a baseball bat). Indeed, Dr. D'Adamo , the creator of Eat Right 4 Your Type has a small and loyal following, but his program has NOT stood the test of true scientific study.

Oh well, as I said, it makes interesting reading...;)

Doreen

[nrussell]

Apologies Doreen, I didnt mean to imply any criticism of you and I think you have probably given us all an interesting evening?? reading up on this stuff. Its just one of those truly amazing diets that even more amazingly, as you've said, attracts a loyal following.

There you go, Rache - your route out of your catless home and student loan. The Olde English diet - there's got to be money in it!!

Nicola

[doreen T]

Originally posted by nrussell
Apologies Doreen, I didnt mean to imply any criticism of you Nicola No criticism taken my dear! I was agreeing with you, and relieved that someone actually stated what I was thinking all along! LOL ... that'll teach me for not saying what I really think! OK, for the record, I think this blood-type diet is a crock!

Kudos to you! Doreen

[r.mines]

Hey, Nicola - how'd you know I was a medievalist? I did my doctoral dissertation on Old English poetic metre. Maybe there's something to this blood type stuff after all!

Rachel


There you go, Rache - your route out of your catless home and student loan. The Olde English diet - there's got to be money in it!!

[nrussell]

Rache

Got to love ya, you continue to amuse me every day...

You mentioned it in an earlier thread. Some of us pay attention you know...

Nicola

[Katryding]

I didn't really mean to cause this much trouble, but had heard that and was curious. I am an O-Du+ and just didn't know if what I'd heard or read was really serious! I do know that I feel great when wheat products are not in my system!
Question:How long does one stay in the low-low (less than 40gm) carbo stage? Will it cause any adverse effects to stay there for months? Should I be upping my carbs now? I still have a good forty pounds to shed!

[Karen]

Why mess with what's working?

You can up your carbs when you reach your goal weight to maintain it.

Karen

[donnaj]

I am new to the forum but not to diabetes. I have found that since being on induction that my sugar level has dropped from 165 to 88(last night reading). I know my doctor will be pleased as I am because I know it was only a short time in taking shots.
I hate needles :( I quess that why I am not a good patient.
Kate, congratulation on your weight loss. :wave:

[Sea Saw]

katryding - I bought the Ezrin/Kowalski book 6 weeks ago through Amazon.com (used), It is great, Kowalski is a medical journalist and teamed up with Ezrin, an endo.
He is a very thorough researcher of information. His book, the New 8 week Cholesterol Cure, is the best! Congratulations to you.

[Eagle-1]

I usually only think of eating meat when energy is low, and because Dr. Atkins said have all you want (correct?) sort of crave fish, mostly Gorton's I don't have to clean/cook myself, and fruit, went off Atkins and my garlic pills for a while and got into trouble with b.g. control.

Since I was on Atkins a while, any bread, a sandwich, drives my b.g. up to maybe 300's! Do you get more sensitive to carbs when you were off them for a while?

[dina1957]

Does anyone know if there is a factual connection between
blood type and insulin resistance?

Katryding:
Here is some on blood type O, which is supposedly the most insulin resistant and carbohydrate intolerant type, so called "thrifty" genotype. Dr.B also explains this type in his book.
Type O is the oldest blood type, and people with this type blood have digestive systems that hark back to prehistoric times, when the diet was largely composed of extreme protein sources (mastodon, deer, sturgeon, to give a few far-out examples), insects, roots - in other words, hunter/gatherer food. They tend to hyperacidity, thrive when in mild ketosis (brought about by limited carbohydrates in the diet) and do not handle dairy products well. Dr. D'Adamo gives some fascinating examples of type O patients whose cholesterol levels were unacceptably high and who came to him after all attempts to regulate them through diet and medication had failed: on identifying their blood types, he reintroduced lean red meats into their diet and instead limited carbohydrates, with the result that in one case he mentions, intractable cholesterol levels of 350 went to 187, and stabilized there. I need hardly add he doesn't advocate this approach unless under medical guidance! Their major digestive need is for pacncreatic enzymes.

Here are the link for Dr.Adamo "Eat right 4 your blood type" diet site http://www.dadamo.com/
Good luck,
Dina

[dina1957]

Since I was on Atkins a while, any bread, a sandwich, drives my b.g. up to maybe 300's! Do you get more sensitive to carbs when you were off them for a while?
IMHO staying even in mild ketosis (<50g a day) for a prolonged period of time lowers your basal insulin and sort of makes you even more insulin resistant. You body relies more on glucogen and it's level is higher than insulin now, meaning it's breaking fat and protein to make up for carbohydrates shortage which is also helps to lose weight. When you suddenly eat something that contains about 100 g of cabrs in one meal, you don't have enough insulin to handle this load and your BGs will shoot sky high. It takes some time to switch from fat burning metabolism associate with glucogen to glucose burning driven by insulin. For non-diabetics it's usually 36-48 hours, but diabetics may be different?
This is may be why ADA suggests diabetics to have a small meal every 3-4 hours to get constant insulin supply and keep BGs steady.
Cheers,
Dina

[dina1957]

Perhaps it has to do with the Type O's, who have the hunter-gatherer type? Blood type O is most common, approx. 45% of the North American population.
DoreenT:
blood type O is also called "thrifty " genotype.
Since it's the most ancient blood type, they suppose to store fat in order to survive famine, and will be the last one to die in case of it. but also because of this strong fat storing genes, ppl with this genotype have higher level of insulin and can become IR if not careful with the carbs . I'm not sure if it's that simple bu I'm type O+, and I laways had to be careful with bread and potatoes in order to control my weight.

It's kind of hard to imagine that type A's should all be high-carb eating vegetarians, because we know that high-carb, lowfat and lowmeat diets fail 95% of the time in the population as a whole.
I'm not sure if this is true, there are very slim and healthy ppl who either are vegeterians or live on a high carbs/low fat diet and feel fine on it. my DH is type A and even he's not a vegeterian he can't live without carbs like fruit and whole grains. He's not a big meat eater either. He can eat oatmeal with low fat milk for BF not be hungry for hours.
I can live without grain and don't feel deprived as long as i have some sort of animal protein preferably with fat, vegetables and some fruit for desert. I also know other type A who are slim and thrive on cereals, fat free yougurt and bananas. I'll be miserable and hungry all the time on this diet. I browsed the Metabolic Typing Diet book by William Linz Wolcott. This book was highly recommended by Dr.Mercola. The basic concept is that everyone is metabolically unique and one man's meat is another man's poison. This is link to a Dr.Mercola site on this diethttp://www.mercola.com/2003/feb/26/metabolic_typing.htm in case anyone is interested. The book didn't impressed me because for a mixed type it's hard to calculate your nutriotional requirements.
I'm not sure if it's the blood type or anything else but the concept makes sense to me.
Regards,
Dina

[Eagle-1]

IMHO staying even in mild ketosis (<50g a day) for a prolonged period of time lowers your basal insulin and sort of makes you even more insulin resistant. You body relies more on glucogen and it's level is higher than insulin now, meaning it's breaking fat and protein to make up for carbohydrates shortage which is also helps to lose weight. When you suddenly eat something that contains about 100 g of cabrs in one meal, you don't have enough insulin to handle this load and your BGs will shoot sky high. It takes some time to switch from fat burning metabolism associate with glucogen to glucose burning driven by insulin. For non-diabetics it's usually 36-48 hours, but diabetics may be different?
This is may be why ADA suggests diabetics to have a small meal every 3-4 hours to get constant insulin supply and keep BGs steady.
Cheers,
Dina

Good post, thanks. I'm not very scientific and will have to read it over and over to try to understand it. When you're in the Atkins mild ketosis state, "Your body relies more on glucogon" did you mean rather than glucogen, or is there a difference? Probably you could explain why I get pulled muscles so much, especially in my arms? Several doctors have not been able to. (I don't know if this is a factor but thyroid meds manufacturers have been changing potency, probably to sell more pills but I don't know if all doctors get notified, and a lot of people at about.com's thyroid forum besides myself had their usual dosage reduced instead of increased, some kind of mixup. Muscle pain is a low-thyroid symptom. Did Atkins make it worse? Even pulling leggy grass from under my shrubbery, which should come out easily, injures my arms again, spasms. )

[dina1957]

When you're in the Atkins mild ketosis state, "Your body relies more on glucogon" did you mean rather than glucogen, or is there a difference?
Eagle-1:
Yes, it's glucogen of course, it was just a typo.
I came across this information. it gives some basics on biochemistry
http://www.medschool.lsuhsc.edu/biochemistry/Courses/MedBiochem/ScottAdenda/2004/STARVDIAB-040104.pdf
I didn't read this really thorough but it seems to be very scientific.

Probably you could explain why I get pulled muscles so much, especially in my arms? Several doctors have not been able to. (I don't know if this is a factor but thyroid meds manufacturers have been changing potency, probably to sell more pills but I don't know if all doctors [quote]get notified, and a lot of people at about.com's thyroid forum besides myself had their usual dosage reduced instead of increased, some kind of mixup. Muscle pain is a low-thyroid symptom. Did Atkins make it worse? Even pulling leggy grass from under my shrubbery, which should come out easily, injures my arms again, spasms. )
hypothyrodism does causes muscles spasm and leads to injury, however, calcium and magnesium deficiency does make it worse. I'm not an athlete but do exercise regulary doing both cardio and conditioning exercise on a daily basis. i can share my experience only. being in ketosis even mild for me means constant muslces cramps and twiching, i couldn't sleep because of leg cramps and throbbing, even while taking calcium/magnesium supplements. working out was not easy task either, low energy and weak, aching muslces didn't motivate me at all. so, i've included 3 servings of organic full fat yougurt and this helped me tremendously without compromising my BGs. no more pulled and cramped muslces, throbbing and twiching, etc. i even started drinking raw organic milk (full fat) which has no impact on my BGs at all because of a high fat contents but made a big difference in a way i fill. since i've included dairy, i feel much better, and exercise again is enjoyment, not a chore. BTW, calcium is a must for a good BGs control.
So, make sure you got enough magnesium and calcium in your diet. if you don't eat dairy, green leafy vegetables, salmon and sardines with bones, cheese and calcium/magnesium citrate (if it works for you) may be helpful. There is also some information on the subject.
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/003193.htm#Common%20Causes
Regards,
Dina

[Eagle-1]

Calcium deficiency is probably a big part of the problem. I threw out my old bottle of Coral Calcium to get some fresh and forgot about it. Also will try to get out and get a new supply of yogurt tonight. Bless you. :wave:

Going to the medline link now.

[Karen D.]

I had terrible trouble with leg and foot cramps until I started taking a calcium/mannesium/vitamin D capsule which resolved the problem almost immediately. But it's worth noting that when I ran out and bought more, I accidentally picked up a bottle of the same brand, same strengh, but in tablet form. Within a very few days the cramps were back. I replaced the tablets with capsules and - within two days - no more cramps. I can only assume that the body absorbs it much better in the capsule form.

Karen D.

[Eagle-1]

Thanks, Karen.

I think I saw some of those CAPSULES last night at Kroger, may go back and get them today, although I should be getting enough D from the milk I put in my morning coffee, also take magnesium and is coral calcium just as good as regular calcium? Guess magnesium has to be in capsule form. That's invaluable information.

Anyone know what's normal potassium on a blood workup? Is 4 good? Thanks again.

[Eagle-1]

:lol:

Just wondering if my eyesight's reliable that the icon for a newbie is a chicken leg with a bite out of it.

Karen, is your blood type same as mine, A positive? We tend to have foot and leg cramps? Which are different from arm pain that's probably from a pulled muscle that keeps getting re-injured and/or from low thyroid setting me up for that.

[dina1957]

Anyone know what's normal potassium on a blood workup? Is 4 good? Thanks again.Seems within the range.
Potassium 3.5 - 5.0 mEq/L
http://www.bloodbook.com/ranges.html

cheers,
Dina :)

[kdksteak]

I am a Type O and a type II diabetic too...just started back on Atkins after straying. What about the South Beach diet and Diabetes?? I will look here for information on this in the Diabetes section but thought someone mmight be able to recommend the best direction for me to go. My fasting BS is creeping up so need to get serious, Karen

[AuntJoyce]

Hi Karen: The best plan to follow, imo, is Dr. B's -- Dr. Richard K. Bernstein.

http://www.diabetes-book.com/

My blood sugar this morning was 84! Earlier this year it was around 200. Eating < 30g carbs and exercising is the way to go.

Good luck to you!

[kdksteak]

Thanks Aunt Joyce! I am going to check out the website now. Karen

[eddiemcm]

Keep reading "LOL" in posts.
What does it stand for?
Lots of luck?
Love of liver?
Lady of leisure?
Many possibilities!

[dina1957]

Keep reading "LOL" in posts.
What does it stand for?
Lots of luck?
Love of liver?
Lady of leisure?
Many possibilities!
LOL=Laughing Out Loud
... and more
http://www.assessmentpsychology.com/internetglossary.htm

[eddiemcm]

Thanks,Dina.
Eddie