Does an "Insulin Resistance" diet improve blood pressure? Does an "Insulin Resistance" diet improve blood pressure?
Does an "Insulin Resistance" diet im... 
machaon.fl
15 y
8,803
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Does an "Insulin Resistance" diet improve blood pressure? (Initially posted on January, 2005)
Re: Does an "Insulin Resistance" die... machaon.fl
15 y
7,997
Re: Does an "Insulin Resistance" die... machaon.fl
15 y
8,380
My heart rhythm problems have significantly improved due to this diet. There are many negative effects of insulin resistance on one's health including higher blood pressure and increased heart rhythm problems.
I had already made significant and successful changes to my lifestyle and environment, in order to limit the over-activation of my neuro-hormonal system. Taking the correct meds at the correct time of day, combined with natural remedies, such as diet, environmental and lifestyle changes, have made profound improvements to my heart failure, blood pressure, heart rhythm and overall health!
:It's taken me eight years and 20,000 blood pressure readings, and hundreds of hours of research, trial and error and analysis to get my chronically high blood pressure down to healthy levels and to prevent the dangerously high blood pressure readings that I used to get. The changes that I've made not only have effected my blood pressure. I also benefit from far fewer problems with chest pains, fatigue, shortness of breath, palpitations and other heart rhythm problems.
(Change 9/11/2007): For the entire year of 2003, my average blood pressure reading, based on 1032 readings was Systolic: 151 with a standard deviation of 14, and a Diastolic reading of 96, with a standard deviation of 9. The systolic deviated up to around 165 and the diastolic deviated up to around 105. No wonder why my health was getting worse! My feet, ankles and lower legs were swelling. I was having significant problems breathing. My heartbeat would often go nuts for hours and even days!
Annual "average" blood pressure readings:
1998:: 152/97, readings: 1016, midpoint hour of bp reading: 3pm
1999: 146/92, readings: 3599, midpoint hour of bp reading: 3pm
2000: 145/92, readings: 3322, midpoint hour of bp reading: 4pm
2001: 147/92, readings: 2375, midpoint hour of bp reading: 3pm
2002: 150/96, readings: 1423, midpoint hour of bp reading: 3pm
2003: 151/96, readings: 1032, midpoint hour of bp reading: 2pm
2004: 146/90, readings: 2065, midpoint hour of bp reading: 2pm
2005: 139/86, readings: 2526, midpoint hour of bp reading: 2pm
2006: 136/79, readings: 3269, midpoint hour of bp reading: 1pm
2007: 126/74, readings: 2111, midpoint hour of bp reading: 1pm
: I have increased my exercise quite a bit, including lifting weights. (not bad for a senior citizen after 20 years of heart failure, huh!) I continue to amaze my doctors!
Made some more changes to my diet during the last few months, including increasing the salt in my diet.
Each time I make changes to my diet it messes with my bowels, for a few days, causing problems with gas and with loose stools. UGH! Makes one wonder why I do it!?
Results continue to be impressive. Blood pressure continues to drop down into even more healthy levels, and despite all of my chronic, progressive, serious health problems,
I feel GREAT! !
The
BIG NEWSis that, I am finally, FINALLY experiencing an improvement in my Insulin Resistance! I have been able to significantly increase my daily calories, without any ill effects! I can't say for sure that my Insulin Resistance has been totally reversed, but it sure has improved.
My Cholesterol Numbers are also great, without having to take statins!
Total
Cholesterol: about 160,
HDL: about 60,
LDL: about 90,
Trig: about 60,
Ratio: < 3
: It seems like my "average" BP is bottoming out (for now), around 125/74. My health and energy level continues to get better. Made some more changes to my diet and increased both Carbs and Proteins, without any impact on BP or health. Insulin Resistance (Metabolic Syndrome) doesn't seem to be a significant problem anymore. I was once considered for a heart transplant. Now I could be the DONOR! (only kidding! 
)
:Inserted table of annual bp averages. I've got my blood pressure totally under control. I am not, at this time, planning to reduce my bp medication at all. To enjoy healthy bp, it requires the proper meds, diet, exercise, lifestyle, attitude and environment.
Because I have asthma and heart disease, I suffer from occasional breathing problems and heart rhythm problems. I have major heart disease, and I will ALWAYS be battling major heart disease. During the past nine years, I have taken my blood pressure about 23,000 times. Through this effort, I have learned about ordinary "things" that I consider poison to my system. Avoiding these "poisons" have resulted in dramatic improvements in my health.
I recently purchased an Oximeter in order to frequently monitor my blood oxygen saturation levels. I will keep appropriate notes with each reading, and take actions, if necessary, the same way that I do when monitoring my blood pressure. I want to find out about my blood oxygen levels throughout the day to see if I really have a problem, and the scope of that problem. I intend to provide an update in about a month or two.
"......Also, I was having problems with difficulty breathing, and with an erratic heartbeat, frequently made worse after consuming foods with carbs. My heart failure was getting worse and I was suffering daily with increased chest pains, fatigue, sweating, difficulty concentrating, racing heart, all of which got worse after consuming foods high in carbohydrates......."
You are describing some of the symptoms that I began to experience about thirty years ago. My major problem then was the irregular heart beat where I thought it would jump out of my chest and I once rushed to the ER with these symptoms - expecting that I was having a heart attack. By the time that I got there, the symptoms went away. It has taken several years for me to understand what was happening but I was diagnosed Type II diabetic four years ago and atrial fibrillation three years ago. Particularly when diagnosed with afib I recognized that I had been dealing with this condition for years and like you describe it happened after a high carb meal with desert and two or three drinks. My Type II clinic told be to go on a high protein diet (15 carbs per meal - max) and when I did that I was able to control my Type II with diet alone - still do. However, there are times that I cheat - like family gatherings, and that's how I learned I had afib. I can't diagnose you - only an EKG can diagnose you, but with my BP monitor I learned that my BP went down and my heart rate went up - to 150 to 175 BPM. When you speak of "racing heart" that could easily be afib. If you have afib the biggest risk during the time your heart is acting up is the possibility of a blood clot which can cause heart failure.
For the past several years my BP has been borderline (130-150/55/75) but I have not found that the insulin resistance diet has brought it down. I've also found that eating high fiber foods offers me no benefit whatsoever regarding my blood sugar levels. I once ate steel cut oatmeal, which I love, and two hours later my BS was higher than after eating loads of ice cream. It was a little over 200 when 120 or lower is what it normally is. I love toasted cheese sandwiches and simply cannot eat even one. All wheat products drive up my BS so I have eliminated even small portions of them. You sound as if you are dealing with Syndrome X and what I would suggest is to get a BS monitor and check your levels two hours after your meals for a while to understand what (if anything) drives it up. Many companies will send you a free meter, but where they make there money is in the test strips, just like printer companies sell you a cheap printer and make it up on the in refills. Same difference. While my BS goes to 200+ after eating oatmeal, I know other Type II people who's BS stays in the 80 - 100 range. Each body is different, that's why you should test. One other thing I would suggest is an a1c test which measures the amount of glucose your cells have absorbed in the past three months.
I learned to control my afib/heart arrhythmias by following my clinic's Type II diet and also by cutting out all caffeine. Caffeine alone could put me into afib, but then I had been drinking 6 - 8 or more cups of strong coffee a day. Another thing that added to it was alcohol - if I drank it with a high carb meal. In the past few years I've limited my drinking to one double martini per week, but with the right (wrong) foods accompanying it I could (not always) go into afib. Anyway once I understood what caused my afib I was able to pretty much eliminate just eating properly and listening to my body, which you are doing. Within the past 8 or 9 months I began taking large amounts of Omega 3. I take 10 capsules of fish oil a day (3,000 grams of Omega 3) and after a couple of months found that my afib was not affected when I fell off my Type II diet. I even began drinking coffee again - 4 or 5 cups a day with no afib or heart palpitations of any kind. (I had major surgery three months ago and am no dealing with atrial flutter, and am working on curing that. Think the main thing is to just let my body heal from the surgery and it will be all right.)
Check out Syndrome X and see if anything applies.
Re: Does an "Insulin Resistance" die... machaon.fl
15 y
8,229
First of all, let me thank you for taking the time to post a detailed, helpful and interesting response to this thread! I really enjoyed reading your post!
Now, though, allow me to respond to some of the interesting points of your post:
You are describing some of the symptoms that I began to experience about thirty years ago.
Then we are both long term sufferers and survivors of these nasty heart problems! I've had Atrial Fibrillation and Diastolic Heart Failure for over 22 years, and Asthma and over-reactive Allergies for more decades than that.
My major problem then was the irregular heart beat where I thought it would jump out of my chest
Interesting similarity. I suffered with a Tachycardia since I was in my teens, and I am now approaching 70. The Tachycardia was what led to my Diastolic Heart Failure. My heart would also jump so hard and so fast that one could see my chest jumping through my shirt. It took me quite a while figuring out how to avoid those types of episodes.
It has taken several years for me to understand what was happening but I was diagnosed Type II diabetic four years ago and atrial fibrillation three years ago.
Diabetes, Pre-Diabetes, Insulin Resistance and Metabolic Syndrome are nasty diseases, much nastier than I feel that most people acknowledge or understand. When one's body's handling of Insulin is dysfunction, all hell breaks loose in the body, and can result in damage to organs, glands, nerves, muscles, bones, etc., and cause higher blood pressure.
When you got diagnosed with both Diabetes II and Atrial Fibrillation, it must have been quite a shock. What a double whammy, huh? 
Particularly when diagnosed with afib I recognized that I had been dealing with this condition for years and like you describe it happened after a high carb meal with desert and two or three drinks.
At least you finally got a diagnosis, allowing you to identify and then battle your health "enemy"! We had similar symptoms, but, with me, my worst nightmare was the breathing problems. If I consumed too many carbs, I would be up all night struggling with breathing problems, a fast hard or soft heartbeat, chest pains, weakness; only to suffer the entire next day or two with malaise.
My Type II clinic told be to go on a high protein diet (15 carbs per meal - max) and when I did that I was able to control my Type II with diet alone - still do.
For the first two years, 2005-2006, I endured strict adherence to the Insulin Resistance Diet. But..... my diet has expanded significantly as my health improved, and I found that I could consume larger portions of Carbs with my meals.
Your high protein diet is interesting, expecially the fact that it works for you. From 2005-2006 I followed a very balanced small-portion strict diet featuring 50% Carbs, 20% Proteins and 30% fat. I was sure that the Insulin Resistance Diet is the best way to combat Pre-Diabetes, Insulin Resistance, Metabolic Syndrome and Diabetes II. Your success with a high protein diet, which is not in traditional percentages of each calorie group, shows that we ARE all different and that different things work for different people. Congratulations on your discovery and success, and thanks for posting another diet that might work for others, rather than a Insulin Resistance Diet!
You have other good points that I want to discuss, but this is getting too long as it is. So..... let's consider this Part One, and I will respond to the rest of your post later. Need a cup of coffee right now and to sit back and watch the rest of my Indianapolis/Jacksonville football game!
Take care...... be well!
Re: Does an "Insulin Resistance" die... Machaon
15 y
8,015
I can't diagnose you - only an EKG can diagnose you,
Both you and my Cardiologist both can't diagnose me. Most doctors that I have met, or I have seen, or that I know about, don't want or care to take the time and effort to do proper diagnoses. I have been diagnosed with Congestive Heart Failure, Atrial Fibrillation, Asthma, Valve Disease, and Pre-Diabetes, but am only self-diagnosed with Diastolic Heart Failure and Insulin Resistance. Back in 2003-2004 my health and heart disease was progressively getting worse and I was getting weaker and more depressed and felt that it was only a matter of time before I entered end stage heart failure. Then, in the middle of 2004, I self-diagnosed myself as having Insulin Resistance and Diastolic Heart Failure and I made drastic changes to my diet and medication; and my health has significantly improved to the point that I feel better and more healthy than I did when I was in my 40's!
My Cardiologist has no clue about my current medications, nor my diet, nor the status of my health. And...... of course, our broken ineffective medical system is going to continue to get worse, so being pro-active in one's health is more important than ever!
For the past several years my BP has been borderline (130-150/55/75) but I have not found that the insulin resistance diet has brought it down.
Would you mind posting the type of Insulin Resistance Diet that you were on. In my non-professional opinion, an Insulin Resistance Diet is the best possible diet for one's health, and should work for everyone. I follow/followed the Diet created by Sheri Barke, MPH, RD of the UCLA Arthur Ashe Student Health & Wellness Center, 2002; link: http://www.snac.ucla.edu/pages/Resources/Handouts/HODiabetesandInsulinResista...
I've also found that eating high fiber foods offers me no benefit whatsoever regarding my blood sugar levels.
That is extremely different from what I have read, and what I understand, and what is accepted as fact about high fiber foods and blood sugar. That is very strange!? 
You sound as if you are dealing with Syndrome X and what I would suggest is to get a BS monitor and check your levels two hours after your meals for a while to understand what (if anything) drives it up. Many companies will send you a free meter, but where they make there money is in the test strips, just like printer companies sell you a cheap printer and make it up on the in refills. Same difference.
Great diagnosis. You are completely right about my health. Nice going! 
Yeh..... I've been checking my one hour postprandial, two hour postprandial and fasting blood sugar levels for the past few years, and I know exactly which foods spike my blood sugar up too high, and which foods keep my blood sugar levels down at very healthy readings. It irks me, because for about 60 years of my life I was able to eat and drink just about anything and any amount of food and didn't gain excess weight and enjoyed the hell out of constant snacking, eating, drinking, etc. These days, close to 70, I have to basically measure everything that I eat, and count calories and count fiber, and use a spreadsheet to keep track of my diet and the balance of my diet. If I could abandon my current health diet and go back to eating a unhealthy diet, I would do so in a heart beat, but I can't. If I want to survive my heart disease, with a high quality of life, I must adhere closely to the Insulin Resistance Diet. I have no choice! 
Thanks again for taking the time to respond, and for telling your own story in such detail.
I wish you the best of health and luck going into the future. May you have a Merry Christmas Season!
"Would you mind posting the type of Insulin Resistance Diet that you were on."
I was diagnosed Type II by Virginia Mason, Seattle. They are internationally recognized and have a research arm that's been researching diabetes since 1923. They don't give you a diet, per se. I took a couple of classes and the first thing they teach you is 15 carbohydrates per meal for a maximum of 45 carbos per day - no limit on anything else! (The McDougall induction diet is 50 carbos per day.) They put all Type IIs on this diet. There were 15 of us in the class I took and we were all given BS monitors and weighed in at both classes. My BS was about 125 (they consider anything over 120 to be Type II - something others don't yet accept) and I glanced at the meter of the woman next to me and hers was 385! The second class was 6 weeks later and everyone had lost weight - except for a guy who had been on a cruise. One woman had lost 20 pounds during that time, I lost about 10 and have lost some since then. The woman whose BS was 385 had lost about 10 pounds and her BS was within the normal range. My current BMI is 24.1 yet I'd like to lose more and believe that I can get my BP down if I do.
One Dr. Bernstein who is a Type I and the originator of home BS testing has a book "Dr. Bernstein's Diabetes Solution" which allows a maximum of 5 carbohydrates per meal for by Type I and Type II. I've gone that route as well. There is no limit to fats or oils. By bouncing between the two diets my cholesterol has come down from 310 to 215, and farther yet with red yeast rice. I eat lots of butter and fat and was shocked when my cholesterol test came back with such a reduction. Both the book and my clinic promote exercise and I do walk an hour a day - most of the time. The American Diabetes Diet will kill you - if you are Type II.
For me the key to afib and a whole bunch of other stuff is to listen to my body. I've been a daily meditator for several years and by turning within and taking time to listen to my breathing, heart rate, and overall feelings, I can generally pick up when something's wrong and zoom in on what caused it. Besides all the exercise that we are supposed to do, people in our fast paced society simply don't take enough time to sit down and relax in whatever manner they choose. That too is a cause of many of our physical ills.
I try to follow my clinic's routines and I do fall off the diet, quite often actually - but my last a1c 7.1 and was told that it was OK, but want to reduce it. Have just recently had major surgery and am having difficulty getting motivated to stay with the program, diet and walking both, but think that I can get back in the groove after the holidays. (I'm 78.)
One other thing regarding Type II. I've tried taking chromium and/or cinnamon, and neither one has helped to reduce my BS. It may work for some but it sure hasn't helped me or my siblings either. Once more, each body is unique and you have to listen to your body through whatever means are available.
One item did work. There was a small study in India then another one at Arizona State University where people taking one tablespoon of apple cider vinegar 30 minutes before a meal, lowered their post meal BS by about 20 points. It's difficult for me to get it down so I generally use it only after a carbohydrate meal. Went to a high school reunion about three years ago before my afib diagnosis, and ate every carbohydrate they had available - including cheese cake. When I got home my heart was trying to jump out of my chest and I checked my BS and found it to be 215. Then started chugging ACV - 2 ounces at a time until I got either 6 or 8 ounces down. The heart problem stopped almost instantly and checked my BS 45 minutes later and found it at 89. I now know that I was in afib, and that fixed it. I still use the ACV at times for BS but generally just try to control my carbohydrate intake.
