? on blood sugar levels and high gi carbs

[110%]

ok im confused, low blood sugar is high insulin levels right? though doesnt low blood sugar mean you are at a greater chance of using fat for energy? how is this possible if u have high insulin levels b/c wouldnt everything you eat be shuttled to be oxidized as energy? i dont get it

also high gi carbs cuase greater insulin spikes, though doesnt it cause high blood sugar levels too? why would more insulin cause high blood sugar levels if high blood sugar levels imply lack of insulin?

 

[plornive]

I'll try to answer some of the questions.

Insulin is secreted when blood sugar rises above baseline levels. This shuttles nutrients into tissue. As glucose is shuttled into muscle cells, the liver, or fat cells, insulin dissipates to baseline levels.

Generally low blood sugar causes the secretion of glucagon. Glucagon signals the liver to break down liver glycogen and send it into the blood as glucose (if there is no glycogen, the liver uses amino acids for gluconeogenesis).

So when blood sugar is low, glucagon is secreted (not exactly clear, maybe amino acids and fatty acids cause glucagon to be secreted). When blood sugar is high, insulin is secreted. Both return blood sugar levels to normal. Glucagon is catabolic, insulin is anabolic. Both have good and bad effects.

 

[110%]

ok thx i i understand ur explanation plornive, though i have a few questions left.

is this why when cutting you want to have low blood sugar b/c the glucagen if it is catabolic, does it release cortisol? and isnt cortisol what burns fat, also muscle too.

also, if you said insulin is secreted when blood sugar levels are rising then why does high blood sugar levels indicate lack of insuiln i dont get it.

 

[MS]

Think of insulin like a smoke alarm, and blood sugar is the fire causing the smoke. When enough smoke is in the air, the smoke alarm goes off and continues the alarm until the fire is extinguished and the smoke has dissipated. Likewise, insulin is secreted when blood glucose goes up (usually due to a carb rich meal). Insulin will continue to be secreted as long as blood sugar stays high since the insulin is needed to get the blood sugar outta the blood and into the cells. High blood sugar only represents a lack of insulin in insulin dependant diabetes. In most other (adult onset, type 2) diabetes the problem is that the cells get resistant to the effects of insulin, so insulin stays high AND blood sugar stays high. This is not normal. Normal, healthy people have a short burst of insulin which clears the blood glucose, and then both glucose and insulin drop back down to baseline. You want low blood sugar for fat loss because high blood sugar triggers insulin release, and high insulin levels inhibit fat burning in favour of fat storage.