Can't comprehend type II Diabetes. Please help!

[gy___]

Hey, okay let me get this banner out... :help: :lol:

I hope the following two questions will shed light on how I presently misunderstand things and hopefully someone could point out where I'm going wrong?...


Insulin is suppose to help drive glucose into cells...
So if type II Diabetes is due to a lack of Insulin production, then why does lipogenesis (fat storage) seem to easily occur in type II Diabetics more than non-diabetics?

Likewise;
If type II Diabetes is due to a lack of Insulin production, then why doesn't this lack of Insulin allow Hormone-sensitive lipase from (easily) acting on stored triglycerides within fat tissue and thus there'd be a relative ease of stored fat utilization as free fatty acids?

Do the above questions make sense ?..

If type II Diabetics means peeing glucose and passing free fatty acids in stools then please explain WHY is type II Diabetes indicated with WEIGHT GAIN and not WEIGHT LOSS ???

Thanks so much! :thup: :thup:

[Kristine]

Hi and welcome. I don't exactly have a biochemistry degree, but here is the first error I see here: So if type II Diabetes is due to a lack of Insulin production...
You're describing Type 1 diabetes here. In T2, the biggest problem is insulin resistance. This means the body has to churn out way more insulin than should be necessary, if one wasn't consuming a frightening amount of sugar and starches. At some point, it will cease to be enough and blood sugars get out of control. At a further point, the pancreas may poop out completely and you're looking at a situation that resembles T1, where it can't even pump out a little bit of insulin.

Clear as mud? ;)

[JEY100]

Here is a more detailed, but still simple, explanation of Insulin Resistance. The 18 minute TEDTalk by Dr Sarah Hallberg is an excellent explanation of how it works AND what to do about it.

https://lowcarbrn.wordpress.com/diabetes/insulin-resistance/

This article is under the LowCarbRN Diabetes tab...look all around her website under each tabbed section...a wealth of info on diabetes.

Also go back through the threads on this diabetes forum, if you want to ask a question on a topic, add to that thread and it will pop up to the top so others will see it and answer.

[gy___]

Hi and welcome.
Thanks, Kristine :)


At a further point, the pancreas may poop out completely and you're looking at a situation that resembles T1, where it can't even pump out a little bit of insulin.

Clear as mud? ;)

Well, Yeah... it is starting to make a little more sense now!

You pointed me in the right direction :thup:

[gy___]

https://lowcarbrn.wordpress.com/diabetes/insulin-resistance/


Ah, I see! Thanks. :)

...an over consumption of hyper-processed foods filled with refined sugars that spike insulin levels beyond a healthy limit), our cells adapt by reducing the number of receptors on their surfaces that respond to insulin. In other words, our cells desensitize themselves to insulin, causing insulin resistance,...

[calgal98]

Yep, insulin resistance is the hallmark of type 2

[teaser]

So if type II Diabetes is due to a lack of Insulin production, then why does lipogenesis (fat storage) seem to easily occur in type II Diabetics more than non-diabetics?


I'm not certain this is quite true. If you turn things around, and say that maybe obesity drives type II diabetes, then things are a little different. Once a person's body has reached its maximum potential for fat storage, less desirable fat accumulation in the liver, muscle, pancreas etc. becomes more likely. Of course the resulting hyperinsulinism is sort of a vote for additional fat storage--but the fattening effect, per unit of insulin, is actually reduced.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21343902

Higher incremental insulin area under the curve during oral glucose tolerance test predicts less food intake and weight gain.


Just an abstract here. This is in Pima Indians. This seems contrary to the insulin hypothesis of obesity--a higher insulin response to a glucose tolerance test predicts less weight gain. But I don't think it's really contrary--just as I said above, insulin resistance likely means that the insulin is less effective at causing further weight gain. The authors themselves suggest that the insulin must be making the people more satiated with less food. Chyah. Try those levels of insulin if you're very insulin sensitive, good luck with the hoped for decrease in appetite then. :lol: My thinking is that since insulin resistance is high, insulin isn't just failing to lower blood glucose and free fatty acids, etc.--it's also failing to cause the hypoglycemia that would normally drive appetite with such high insulin levels in a more insulin sensitive person.

A type II diabetic on insulin therapy can certainly get fatter--but they're able to inject amounts of insulin that their pancreas can't match, at that point, blowing through the level of insulin resistance at the fat cells.