Re: The other side of the coin: Caloric restriction is not THE key

Very interesting Tony,

and highly relevant.

(Opinion).
As I understand it, insulin levels are the body's response to its intake of glucose and other sugars.........the higher the glucose/sugar level, the more insulin is secreted in response.
It is significant to note that while water-fasting, (the ultimate low-calorie-diet) blood glucose levels drop enormously as the body shifts its reliance on its fuel source (glucose) via autolysis, to ketone-bodies in fat burning. This is the reason so many fasters will display symptoms of hypoglycemia within the first few days in this readjustment period.
The body will then have little if any need for an insulin-response.

However, it is mostly the "refined sugar products" and other "concentrated sweets" (not complex carbohydrates full of natural sugars) that can cause excessive fluctuations of insulin and other hormones, and can cause unhealthy symptoms in healthy people. Complex carbs' via fruits in particular, release their sugars on a slow-release basis in digestion because of fiber, and have far less of an impact on insulin levels this way.
So if high insulin levels are a marker for an early demise, the solution I think would be to not only restrict calories (via a nutrient-dense plant-based diet) but to water-fast on a fairly regular basis such as 36 hours per week or even practice I.F. (Intermittent Fasting): eat every other day, or even just skip breakfast.

In contrast to Dr Mercolas comments, experiments described in the medical literature have tested the effects of high-fat diets on insulin intolerance. In one study, healthy young medical students were fed a very high fat diet containing egg yolks, heavy cream, and butter, and within two days all of the students had blood sugar levels high enough to be labeled diabetic............
Sweeney J. Dietary factors that influence the dextrose tolerance test: A preliminary study. Archives of Internal Medicine 1927;40:818.

Complex carbohydrates (including wholegrains) have been shown to have the opposite effect...............
Hollenbeck C, Donner CC, Williams RA, Reaven GM. The effects of variations in percent of naturally occurring complex and simple carbohydrates on plasma glucose and insulin response in individuals with non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus. Diabetes 1985;34:151.

As we age and have an increased susceptibility to elevated levels of glucose, insulin, and triglycerides, these can be controlled and regulated, not only by water-only fasting, but also with the diet mentioned previously, as the body is basically a self-regulating, self-maintaining, and self-healing organism; provided it is supplied with the ideal components based on its physiological needs.
It is also significant to note that adult-onset Diabetes (a disease of insulin resistance) is a nutritionally-related disease, one that is both preventable and reversible through nutritional methods.

Longevity is therefore related not only to caloric-restriction, but also to the quality of the diet we were designed to live from in Nature.

Chrisb1.
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