Ray Peat on insulin

The reduction of parathyroid hormone and its connection to obesity and related problems

"Lowering parathyroid hormone levels through increased calcium and vitamin D intake is closely linked to reduced obesity and the health problems associated with obesity – high blood pressure, insulin resistance, cardiac 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), therefore hyperinsulinism, which causes hypoglycemia, can sometimes be improved with this nutrient."

Nutrition For Women

Differences in fructose metabolism in people with high blood lipids

"Fructose does not stimulate the pancreas in the same way as glucose. It is gradually converted into glucose. However, in people with high blood lipids, it is utilized by the liver and fatty tissue many times faster than in normal people: It is as if the cellular 'doors' are already open in these people, perhaps as a result of high insulin levels, and the cells absorb 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, while in others insulin is lacking; both have proven to be diet-dependent, but especially the form with high insulin levels."

Nutrition For Women

Long-term damage to the pancreas due to malnutrition and deficiencies

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

Nutrition For Women

Sugar excretion in urine during stress without relation to insulin requirements

"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 the effects of stress

"It was recently discovered that pantothenic acid, even in very high doses, protects against stress in animals that have had their adrenal glands 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 required."

Nutrition For Women

Estrogen causes the adrenal cortex to enlarge in order to compensate for blood sugar levels.

"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 could serve to compensate for this by increasing blood sugar."

Nutrition For Women

The influence of vitamin C on cholesterol and related nutrients

"As we now know, vitamin C lowers blood cholesterol. Eggs are rich in cholesterol, but they also contain lecithin, which apparently makes cholesterol beneficial or at least less harmful. Niacin and vitamin E also help regulate cholesterol. High insulin levels, triggered by eating sugar, seem to play a significant role in cholesterol's ability to damage blood vessels."

Nutrition For Women

Eggs and their protective role against cholesterol deposits

"Eggs could 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 has been broken down, it tends to keep blood sugar levels 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 limitations of calorie counting in understanding metabolism

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

Nutrition For Women

Heat and insulin in the prevention of inflammation

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

March 2021 – Ray Peat's Newsletter

Rethinking nutrition and blood sugar control: the macro-micro balance

"A two-day fast worsens glucose tolerance in both diabetics and healthy individuals, and when diabetic men were placed on a 75% carbohydrate diet, their glucose tolerance was better than on a 44% carbohydrate diet (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 decreased insulin sensitivity (Ropelle, et al., 2013), are caused by increased nitric oxide.”

January 2016 – Ray Peat's Newsletter

Estrogen, PUFAs and insulin resistance in diabetes

"Estrogen and PUFAs create insulin resistance, and the resulting state of diabetes and stress depletes the tissue of energy."

February 2001

Cortisol's relationship with different forms of diabetes

"Diabetes – both the insulin-dependent and the non-insulin-dependent type – is frequently associated with elevated cortisol."

February 2001

The role of adrenaline in depression, stress and inflammation

"Elevated adrenaline – like elevated cortisol – is a characteristic 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 likely interacts with most amino groups in the body, only a few of these reactions have been studied. For example, it is known to bind to insulin and influence its conformation. I think this probably explains some of the effects of thyroid hormone in diabetes, since the thyroid gland increases carbon dioxide production."

1998 – Ray Peat's Newsletter - 3

Hormonal influences on cell division in the prostate

"In human prostate sections, several hormones (including insulin and probably prolactin) stimulated cell division; testosterone did not under these experimental conditions (McKeehan et al., 1984). Contrary to popular belief, there is evidence that additional androgens could 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 aspartic and succinic acid. GABA has many anti-stress effects, in addition to its direct calming effect in the brain. For example, it binds to insulin, preventing some sugar from being converted into fat, and it promotes the production of progesterone, which protects many systems from harmful overactivity."

January 1991 - Ray Peat's Newsletter

Herbs with antihistaminergic and anticholinergic effects and their influence on blood sugar

“I experimented with various herbs known to have antihistaminergic and anticholinergic effects, hoping they would help stabilize blood sugar 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 sedating jimson weed and the stimulating ephedra; together, their antihistaminergic and blood sugar-stabilizing effects seem to outweigh the stimulating ones, allowing for a comfortable night's sleep—without the dry mouth caused by their anticholinergic effects.”

January 1991 - Ray Peat's Newsletter

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Supplements according to Ray Peat

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