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Epidemiological Lifestyle Link vated blood sugar levels are often preceded and accompanied by As early as 1901, efforts had been made to manufacture and sell chronically elevated insulin levels and by serious distortions of food products by the use of automated factory machinery because other endocrine hormonal markers. of the immense profits that were possible. Most of the early The ineffective insulin is no different from effective insulin. Its efforts failed because people were inherently suspicious of food ineffectiveness lies in the failure of the cell population to respond that wasn't farm fresh and because the technology was poor. As to it. It is not the result of any biochemical defect in the insulin long as people were prosperous, suspicious food products made itself. Therefore, it is appropriate to note that this is a disease that little headway. Crisco,” the artificial shortening, was once given affects almost every cell in the 70 trillion or so cells of the body. away free in 2% lb cans in an unsuccessful effort to influence All of these cells are dependent upon the food that we eat for the American housewives to trust and buy the product in preference raw mate they need for self repair and maintenance. to lard. The cl. ation of diabetes as a failure to metabolise carbo- Margarine was introduced and was bitterly opposed by the hydrates is a traditional classification that originated in the early dairy states in the USA. With the advent of the Depression of the 19th century when little was known about metabolic diseases or 1930s, margarine, Crisco and a host of other refined and hydro- processes.'* Today, with our increased knowledge of these genated products began to make significant penetration into the processes, it would appear quite appropriate to define Type II dia- food markets of America. Support for dairy opposition to mar- betes more fundamentally as a failure of the body to metabolise arine faded during World War II because there wasn't enough fats and oils properly. This failure results in a loss of effective- g g g properly. butter for the needs of both the civilian popu- ness of insulin and in the consequent failure lation and the military."* At this point, the to metabolise carbohydrates. Unfortunately, dairy industry, having lost much support, much medical insight into this matter, except simply accepted a diluted market share and at the research level, remains hampered by its concentrated on supplying the military. 19th-century legacy. Flax oils and fish oils, which were com- Thus Type II diabetes and its early hyper- ples before the American population became | ,__ /O@Y, With our symptoms ofthis base cellular Failure to diseased, have disappeared from the shelf. increased knowledge metabolise glucose properly. Each cell of the The last supplier of flax oil to the major dis- i body, for reasons which are becoming clear- tribution chains was Archer Daniels Midland, of these processes, it er, finds itself unable to transport glucose and it stopped producing and supplying the would appear quite from the bloodstream to its interior. The glu- product in 1950. appropriate to define cose then remains in the bloodstream, or is More recently, one of the most important of the remaining, genuinely beneficial, stored as body fat or as glycogen, or is other- wise disposed of in urine. Type II diabetes more aus raaecedomasemet MMM fundamentally asa frente vten anno it as a saturated fat that causes heart failure of the body to complex cascade of biochemical failure. As a result, it has virtually dis- metabolise fats and reactions inside the cell. This causes a appeared from the supermarket shelves. Thus was coconut oil removed from the food chain and replaced with soy oil, cottonseed oil and rapeseed oil.'* Our parents and grandparents would never have swapped a fine, healthy oil like coconut oil for these cheap, junk oils. It was shortly after this successful media blitz that the US populace lost its war series of biochemical reactions, they on fat. For many years, coconut oil had identify and hook up with glucose been our most effective dietary weight-control agent. molecules and transport them into the interior of the cell by a The history of the engineered adulteration of our once-clean process called endocytosis. Within the cell's interior, this glucose food supply exactly parallels the rise of the epidemic of diabetes is then burned as fuel by the mitochondria to produce energy to and hyperinsulinaemia now sweeping the United States as well as power cellular activity. Thus these GLUT4 transporters lower class of glucose transporters known as GLUT4 molecules to leave their parking area inside the cell and travel to the inside surface of the plasma cell membrane. When in the membrane, they migrate to special areas of the membrane called caveolae areas.'® There, by another oils properly. much of the rest of the world. glucose in the bloodstream by transporting it out of the The second step to a cure for this disease epidemic is to stop bloodstream into all the cells of the body. believing the lie that our food supply is safe and nutritious. Many of the molecules involved in these glucose- and insulin- mediated pathways are lipids; that is, they are fatty acids. A The Nature of the Disease healthy plasma cell membrane, now known to be an active player Diabetes is classically diagnosed as a failure of the body to in the glucose scenario, contains a complement of cis-type w=3 metabolise carbohydrates properly. Its defining symptom is a unsaturated fatty acids.” This makes the membrane relatively high blood-glucose level. Type I diabetes results from insuffi- fluid and slippery. When these cis- fatty acids are chronically cient insulin production by the pancreas. Type II diabetes results unavailable because of our diet, trans- fatty acids and short- and from ineffective insulin. In both types, the blood-glucose level medium-chain saturated fatty acids are substituted in the cell remains elevated. Neither insufficient insulin nor ineffective membrane. These substitutions make the cellular membrane insulin can limit post-prandial (after-eating) blood sugar to the stiffer and more sticky, and inhibit the glucose transport normal range. In established cases of Type II diabetes, these ele- mechanism." Today, with our increased knowledge of these processes, it would appear quite appropriate to define Type II diabetes more fundamentally as a failure of the body to ee oe See | es See ee | oils properly. The Nature of the Disease Diabetes is classically diagnosed as a failure of the body to metabolise carbohydrates properly. Its defining symptom is a high blood-glucose level. Type I diabetes results from insuffi- cient insulin production by the pancreas. Type II diabetes results from ineffective insulin. In both types, the blood-glucose level remains elevated. Neither insufficient insulin nor ineffective insulin can limit post-prandial (after-eating) blood sugar to the normal range. In established cases of Type II diabetes, these ele- 32 = NEXUS JUNE — JULY 2004 metabolise fats and www.nexusmagazine.com