Insulin, How It Works?

I have a question about insulin. In order to lose weight should we have low or high insulin level? Im just asking bc I want to understand the principle how the body works. I know that high insulin level can prevent fat loss, but why than some of the top bodybuilders suplemment with insulin?

thx

Insulin can kill.

When there is insulin resistance, the receptors are not working properly, one gets fat. If lean tissues do not take up sugars, the fat cells will.

Receptor performance is partly a function of the cell wall. You can improve the cell wall performance and permeability by having a good diet, vitamins, anti-oxidants, healthy oils including essential fatty acids [EFA].

EFA’s include oils from nut, cold water ocean fish, flax seed. The best source is fish oil caps.

When one does lab work that includes fasting insulin levels, one is looking to see if insulin levels are elevated, a sign of insulin resistance or some degree of diabetes.

thx, I was just confused, Im on metformin and wanting know how everyth works and how to help to keep weight down. So in other words lower fasting insulin is better right? but than when glucose is high and insulin low how this affect weight?

Insulin resistance is when the cells become less responsive to insulin and more is needed to overcome the problem. This is a change in how your cells are working. Higher levels of insulin lead to more insulin resistance. Low T is associated with insulin resistance and often, TRT reduces insulin resistance. And additional to the supplements suggested above, add 100mg Ubiquinol, a form of CoQ10 and 5000 iu vit-D3.

You need to make an effort to reduce your insulin resistance. If you do not, the consequences are a big problem. You need to do this. You cannot be passive and just let doctors deal with the wreckage.

You need to get a male hormone panel and post the results here. Read the stickies.

TT, FT, E2, LH/FSH, CBC, TSH, fT3, fT4, CBC, DHEA-S

hi,
Im female, shuld I order the some blood test?
I have posted here a many times, I have some
hormonal issue that anybody can figure out
working out hard 6 days
watching what i eat…

just trying to understand the body lol

Sorry, second time I screwed up on that ;(

Same labs, you might want to check T anyways. Add progesterone and you need to do labs day 18-21.

Do you have any recent lab work?

As I think I explained before, as women age, progesterone drops just like DHEA drops for both sexes. This leaves women estrogen dominant and many negative things are attributed to that. Insert my rant that all women should probably be using OTC 2% progesterone cream in their later 30’s.

Can you direct me to a recent tread that I should look at?

[quote]florida2001 wrote:

[quote]florida2001 wrote:

I just submited a few of my previouse posts.
Im on metformin 1250mg, synthroi 150mcg and cytomel 12.5
Eating 1200-1300 cal (130-150 g protein, 30-35g fat)
workout 6 days… i was able put some mass but holding fat… cant lose any.
cardio 3-4 days 20-40 min

In the thread were we visited before, I missed this on your 18th day of your cycle:

Progesterone 0.5 refer. range folicular phase <1.0, luthelal 2.6-21.5

At 32YO, the expected decrease in progesterone should be low during your Luteal phase - Wikipedia

Low progesterone and your health E2 levels cause estrogen dominance and that can lead to weight gain as another contributor your issues. Suggest OTC progesterone cream [2%], google “kal progesterone cream”. Some other OTC products do not work as well, so I recommend KAL.

thank u,
how progesteron cream should be taken? I mean shuld I
take it a whole cycle or only first half of the cycle?
also how long and how much

thk you I appreciate ur help

You can take weeks, 2,3,4

Note that progesterone is the substrate for production of cortisol. Low progesterone might undermine that. Progesterone is made in the ovaries [and testes], as well as the adrenals. Progesterone is very important for brain function and recovery from trauma. So is vitamin D-3. Studies show that progesterone+Vit_D3 is greater than the sum of the parts. The root of this understanding that women survive and recover better than men from brain injury. Unfortunate, there is not much known, that I have found, about whatever would be optimal for males. For cycling females, their levels are all over the map and there are no simple answers there.

Everyone is different in terms of how well they absorb, how fast they metabolize and how much they need. So you will be on your own and labs can be helpful. Apply 1/2 teaspoon to one forearm and then wipe arm against arm all along inner arms. You can apply to breasts and see if that improves any issues with breast tenderness. You can also apply to belly or inner thighs.

There are signs to go by. Progesterone can reduce or eliminate breast tenderness [a sure sign of estrogen dominance], PMS, painful periods etc.

Estrogen dominance also can contribute or cause endothelial dysfunction, the root cause of arterial disease. Also causes enlargement of the uterus and fibroids. I have seen cases, women I have worked with, where progesterone has normalized the side of the uterus and in one case, fibroids shrunk then were spontaneously expelled. In that case, an otherwise vibrant woman in her 30’s had her doctors telling her that she had to have a hysterectomy. Also a case where a women heading into menopause had her cycle start back up. She tried a different brand [not KAL], and started to hot flash. So there is a big issue about how well a cream is absorbed.

Speaking of absorption: We know that most, seems like all, men who have hypothyroid problems, typically subclinical, cannot absorb testosterone creams or gels. This inability to absorb transdermal testosterone might translate into women not absorbing progesterone transdermally. So you can watch for that on labs. We really do not have enough data to know one way or another if effective thyroid meds can reverse this. Note that progesterone and pregnenolone have very poor oral bio-availability. 100mg/day capsules can be ineffective. This is one of the reasons that progesterone like chemicals, progestins, have been created. This also creates a situation where a novel drug can be created and patented, then development and drug trials are expensive. Doctors have been told that these drugs do the same thing as progesterone. True to some extent, and fatally wrong in other ways. Progestins seem to protect breast tissue from estrogens, but not endothelial tissue. That is why the womens health initiative showed increased deaths from heart attacks. When the shit hit the fan, the drug industry blamed HRT [false] and deflected the blame, and the press obediently spread the lies. None of that should have been a surprise. There have been warnings about such things for Oral Birth Control [OBS] since the 1960’s. All steroid hormones are transported to the cell nuclei where they affect the gene expression of your DNA. Throw synthetic chemicals in there and the results can be unexpected. Steroid hormones can increase gene expression, or reduce gene expression. And any one steroid hormone can have multiple effects for multiple genes. We simply do not understand that much about what is happening. So we have highly effective and absorbable progestins, that can cause heart attacks, strokes, blood clots etc. There is no way to predict which women will have such events and which will not. But there probably is an increased problem with arterial problems with all women, that is hidden inside the effects of aging.

Thyroid meds: You body temperature can be a good guide to your thyroid hormone status. If you can’t get to 98.6 mid afternoon, you are under-medicated. Use an oral thermometer when you have not been eating, drinking, talking, working out…

Any iodine in your diet from vitamins or iodized salt? Iodine is stored in breast tissue and there is data suggesting that low iodine increases breast cancer risks. Why is iodine there? Prime reason may be to provide iodine to babies. Because of this, women store more iodine than males. Most iodine is stored in the thyroid gland. Adults can store 1.0-1.5 GRAMS of iodine. When taking thyroid meds and if TSH is repressed, what are the issues with iodine in the thyroid gland? I do not think that this is understood. There are other roles for iodine in the body other than the thyroid. However, these are not understood.

If total cholesterol gets below 180, you have a problem, starts to be a concern at 160. Low cholesterol undermines steroid hormone production. Monitor DHEA-S.

Focus on the cell wall permeability, nutrients that I suggested. There is good info at LEF.org

KSman thank you for all your information, really apreciate your help. I forgot another thing that is probaby related to what you said. Im now in 23 day of cycle and my breast are so sensitive, fuller and hurt. So should I assume is progesterone fault or in other words estrogen domin?

lI measured my temperature today in the afternoon and it was 98.6 exactly, so i hope Im on right thyroid dosage. I also will start progesterone cream to see if it helps. As you wrote 2,3,4 week progesterone. I will definitely check my hormone level.

You can find KAL on amazon and elsewhere, perhaps some local health food shops but that might take a while to locate, and in CA, would carry bogus warnings.

Progesterone will fix that breast ache. You definitely are E dominant and progesterone will create a lot of benefits.

may i ask u what is your proffesion? You have all the knowledge about hormonal issues. just wondering.

just btw I have ordered cream already :slight_smile: is it ok to take it through all cycle except first of week right?

Yes, all through cycle, you want to prevent the tissue changes that cause the breast pain. I think that once that gets setup, its too late to resolve that cycle. You may find that you will want to use more or less at different times as you learn to read your body’s response. It will take around two cycles to affect how your uterus sets up, in terms of bleeding and cramps. Progesterone can help balance swings in your emotions as well.

Notes: Progesterone is the substrate for cortisol, progesterone–>cortisol. A few women convert freely and progesterone at night may “wake them up”. But many women find that progesterone helps them sleep. So find your own way. A male partner might not appreciate large skin to skin transfers.

I am an old Engineer who reads too much. When I met my first and only TRT doc, an age management specialist, he said after a while that I knew way more about these things than almost all doctors. That was 6.5 years ago. Helping guys and researching their conditions has built up my experience. “Endocrinology is my Hobby”

I helped my wife go through some perimenopausal issues and saw what worked and what did not. I soon saw that I knew what to do and that a hospital specialist did not. My wife [19 years younger] is now doing very well. I have helped two other local women and a few via the WWW. An interesting lesson is that men are deviations from the female blueprint. With men, testosterone balances E, with women it is progesterone. When progesterone drop in women or T drops in men, you get some of the same problems from a cardiovascular point of view.

Thank you,
yeah u r right… many of the doc cant put things together.
I have been interested in endocrinology for a long time
and everything u said makes sense. I jave changed
many doct in the past and looking back Im amazed how many of them
are ignorant.

I have gotten the cream already. will keep u inform
how things are working. Another think… what do u think about
my calorie intake 1200-1350 cal 130 g protein 35 g fat average
im pretty amazed that in this i was able to put up muscle
Acording peple i know i gained weight ehhh I know
im lifting more but the fat is covering up everything lol

I am quite clueless about calorie and diet issues. I never seem to need to be concerned, I do not gain weight. That really annoys my wife.

But I am concerned when I see extreme diets, or lower intake + exercise. We see guys here to damage their hormone systems doing that. And extreme low fat diets can do the same. Low cholesterol is dangerous and statin drugs create major problems for some as well.

When you go after less food, what you do eat needs to be richer in nutrients:

  • vitamins with 5,000iu vit-D3
  • trace elements, including iodine from salt, explicit iodine supplements and/or vitamins
  • amino acids
  • healthy oils and EFA’s [olive oil, fish oil caps, flax seed or flax seed oil, nuts]
  • anti-oxidants

Hi
I started progesterone cream on 23day of my cycle…now Im in 30 day…I usually have period between 28-30 days. Could progesterone cream cause delay of my period ? Shuld I stop progester before my period starts or wait until I get it and than skip one week?

thank you