1. The most important reason of all that I use insulin is because it helps me to keep glucose levels close to 90 mg/dl 30 minutes AFTER I eat.
2. Because blood glucose is low, insulin levels in my blood are extremely low, "out of the chart"... "like an athlete"... Even if it appears to be contradictory, injecting insulin helps me to keep insulin LOW, and thus helps me to prevent insulin resistance in my body.
3. The next very good reason why I use insulin is because it is almost "free". It costs about $6.00 dollars per month at the proper dose for me, three or four times every day. This is "zero" compared to the infinite good it does for my body.
4. The fourth reason why I use insulin is because IT DOESN'T HURT ANYTHING AT ALL TO INJECT. Modern syringes are a miracle in themselves. At first, the thought of injections is scary... but it is really nearly totally painless... and it "hurts" much less than losing my health!
5. The fifth very, very important reason why I use insulin is because I want to avoid getting Diabetes Type II. Both of my parents were diabetics, and according to doctors, I would probably become a diabetic by age 65. Injected insulin keeps my pancreas from producing and releasing insulin on that occasion, so my pancreas does not burn out its own insulin producing beta cells as quickly as it would have. My pancreas would normally be called upon to produce more than a minimum amount of insulin whenever glucose rises above 90 mg/dl. This causes the beta cells to work, and burn out in time. Beta cell burnout is the direct cause of diabetes Type II. I think I might never become a diabetic type II... or, I might... but many years after age 65.
6. The sixth reason why I use insulin is because it helps to prevent high blood glucose levels which cause a loss of NEURONS... The more neurons you lose in your lifetime, the more you become like a vegetable, and the less you resemble a human being, because NEURONS ARE YOUR BRAIN AND THE ELECTRICAL SYSTEM that feels and thinks and creates. So if I avoid high blood glucose levels, I remain smart, and I remain nimble and fast into OLD CHRONOLOGICAL AGE.
7. The sixth reason why I use insulin is because it helps to keep my circulatory system well. Low glucose running through my veins and arteries and capillaries helps to keep them in good condition. Blood Sugar has been proven to be bad for the circulatory system!
8. The seventh reason why I use insulin is related to the seventh reason, ie, since my circulatory system is in good condition there is less chance of a heart attack...
9. ...and less chance of stroke...
10. ...and less chance of amputations...
11. ...and less chance of capillaries bursting in my eyes and causing blindness...
12. ...and less chance of capillaries bursting in my kidneys and causing kidney damage...
13. And speaking of kidneys, less blood glucose running through my blood gives less garbage for my kidneys to filter out, which will keep my kidneys in better shape for longer....
14. ...and since kidneys regulate red blood cell count, if my kidneys are in good shape I do avoid anemia...
15. ... and since anemia correlates with low cognitive powers, avoiding anemia and keeping a good red blood cell count keeps me from losing my intelligence, and I avoid becoming senile.
16. ... which reminds me, that if I have a proper level of red blood cells, my brain will receive the proper amount of oxygen, so if I take insulin I will also lose fewer brain neurons due to low levels or lack of oxygen.
17. ... And it isn't only the brain that keeps neurons longer, the entire nervous system is affected when there is high blood glucose, so having the proper level of blood glucose helps me to keep all the neurons in my body for longer...
18. ... and since neurons control muscle fibers, if I lose neurons I also lose muscle fibers because if they cannot move they atrophy...
19. ... and as muscles atrophy, the space they used to occupy is replaced by FAT, so the percentage of muscle decreases as the percentage of fat increases.
20. ... and as muscles atrophy, the muscles that focus the eye atrophy, so we lose vision, so I am preventing loss of vision...
21. ... and loss of speed, and reflexes...
22. ... so I will be able to play the guitar for many years longer...
23. ... and my vocal chords will be in better shape for many years longer, so I will be able to sing for many years longer.
24. When glucose levels are high, my pancreas secretes a hormone called somatostatin, which blocks the release of growth hormone by the pituitary... Growth hormone is good for me, so I don't want my pancreas to release somatostatin, so insulin helps my body not to block growth hormone.
25. And when glucose levels are low, my pituitary releases growth hormone... so taking insulin helps my body to release growth hormone.
26. ...and growth hormone is good for my skin. Insulin helps me to avoid wrinkles for many other reasons (because it keeps the circulatory system well so food, water and nutrients get to my skin and keep it hydrated and healthy)... but it is also good for my skin because it might help increase my growth hormone...
27. ...and growth hormone strengthens my immune system...
28. ...and growth hormone gives me more energy...
29. ... and more muscles...
30. ... and it helps my hair to grow nicer...
31. ... and it keeps me from feeling depressed...
32. ... and it helps me to avoid osteoporosis...
Before you can use insulin you must know if you are a good candidate to use insulin. Not everybody is a good candidate. First, take "The Poor Man's Glucose Tolerance Test" to see if your pancreas is not working as well as it used to when you were younger, ie, it is not producing insulin; or it might still be producing insulin, but not enough to lower your blood glucose levels below 100 mg/dl within 2 hours after you have eaten a meal high in carbohydrates.
If your blood glucose rises to 130 mg/dl or more after 30 minutes, then you are a candidate to use insulin... but we still don't know if you are a good candidate. To find out if you are a good candidate, you must first find out if you are resistant to insulin. There is only one way to find out: you must take a blood test at a blood testing laboratory, and test for INSULIN (do not confuse with "glucose".)
You are not insulin resistant if your level of insulin is 7 or below, you are mildly resistant to insulin if your level of insulin is 8 to 14, and you are very resistant to insulin the closer you are to 25.
If you ARE NOT insulin resistant, you are a good candidate to learn to use insulin, and it will benefit you very much.
If you ARE insulin resistant, then you must first lessen your resistance to insulin. To do this you must eat a very low carbohydrate diet for a month or two, and also do plenty of aerobic and resistance exercise. Take another blood test after 30 days and 60 days. You are not a good candidate to take insulin until your blood insulin level is perhaps 10 or below (I am not certain at what point it is sufficiently low for you to be able to take insulin.)
You will need: a vial of "R" Regular Insulin (eg., "Humulin" by Eli Lilly)
A bottle of normal Coca Cola or other refreshment, with sugar. This is "on standby" to raise glucose levels quickly, in the unlikely case that blood glucose drops below 55 mg/dl. In five years and many thousands of times that I have injected insulin, I only had a slight hypoglycemia ONCE, and that was at the very beginning, when I was still learning...
I don't know why more doctors don't understand that diabetes can be avoided by avoiding the loss of beta cells, but I understand this perfectly well. When medical doctors specialists in diabetes tell me that taking insulin will cause me to get diabetes I ask them "How will I get diabetes if my glucose levels are kept close to 90 mg/dl for nearly 24 hours a day, everyday for the rest of my life?"
Doctors also tell me that using insulin is dangerous, because it might cause hypoglycemia (very low blood glucose levels). An overdose of insulin can cause hypoglycemia, but the correct dose of insulin does not cause hypoglycemia. I have not gotten hypoglycemia in 5 years of using insulin and more than 7,000 doses of insulin, because I learned the simple rule: have a bite of something to eat with each dose of insulin... or take insulin after eating.
Furthermore, I never take a fatal dose, even if I test my glucose levels and they are higher than I like. The highest dose I will take is 3 iu BEFORE I EAT... 3 iu of insulin is not enough to drop my glucose levels low enough to cause me to lose consciousness, even if I forget to eat. I have never lost consciousness in nearly six years since I began to take insulin... I only got "a buzz" once when I forgot to eat after taking insulin, when I began to experiment with insulin... I measured my glucose and it was 51 mg/dl. It would have had to go below 25 for me to faint, and much lower for me to die.
I have never gotten below 70 mg/dl after I learned how to prevent a very low glucose level. I learned that I must always eat something ("bad" or good) at the same time, or soon after, I take my small dose of insulin, to have an upward force which will counter insulin's downward force.
The fact is that I have injected 1 to 3 iu of insulin three or four times or even more times every day for more than five years. Despite all the warnings I have been constantly given by several doctors that insist I will become diabetic, or insulin dependent, or I will become resistant to insulin, etc., tests show that my pancreas is working very well... I have not become a diabetic... I have not developed resistance to insulin... I have not become dependent on insulin...
Everything most DOCTORS tell me is MISTAKEN, which is why I don't listen to what doctors tell me about diabetes or about using insulin (or about using growth hormone or testosterone or EPO...) anymore. I know more than they do because I USE insulin and they don't... so why should I listen to them? The ONLY doctor whose advice I agree with is Dr. Richard K. Bernstein, author of "Diabetes Solution"... I disagree with the bad advice of the American Diabetes Association, and Dr. Bernstein also disagrees with it.
I could stop using insulin at any time... and I might stop when I want to start aging faster. So far, I am in extraordinarily good health at age 61, so I still have not decided that I want to age faster... Since according to the glucose meter what I am doing works, and what doctors tell me to do is not working for the population as a whole, I am better off if I don't listen to their bad advice. I only listen to Dr. Bernstein, and to myself.
My pancreas is still working as well or better than when I started using insulin in 2002. I know this because I have tested my response to glucose, and if it ever rises to 160, it is lowered to below 105 in less than 2 hours... without injecting insulin.
So if I can avoid beta cell burnout, and thus I avoid diabetes, I also avoid all the complications of diabetes. Each one of these complications is a good reason for me to take insulin but I'll list them here together and later as individual reasons why I take insulin. In particular, I avoid amputations, blindness, impotence, dry and wrinkled skin, brain damage, kidney damage. Most importantly, I avoid the worst killer diseases: a higher incidence of cancer, a much higher incidence of heart disease, etc.!
NOTE: I am not a doctor. I am telling you the reasons why I take insulin,
and I absolutely believe that I am right to take it, but I do not recommend
that anybody else should do what I do only because I do it. If you decide to take insulin, it should be your own decision... Insulin is very easy to learn to use correctly, and I believe it is extremely good for your health if you use it correctly, but insulin is like a gun: you have to know how to use it, or else, don't use it. It can be dangerous if you overdose... Other than that, if you do not overdose, I think you will not have any problem or side effect using insulin... but I AM NOT A DOCTOR, so please do not take insulin unless you can benefit from it... and not everybody will benefit from taking insulin.
I will teach you who can benefit from taking insulin, and who will not, and who might benefit, and how to know exactly if YOU should consider taking insulin.
In June, 2002, I began to experiment with taking a small dose of insulin.
What began as an experiment, (some would say "a reckless experiment") turned
out to be the best anti-aging therapy that I am taking today. I am convinced it is the single best and most powerful hormone, including growth hormone, because growth hormone is great but it is of no use if you died from a heart attack or from cancer, or from pre-mature aging. Insulin will keep glucose levels low, which will result in much better "internal health."
The reason I think insulin is so important is because it gives me much better control of my glucose levels than if I do not use insulin. This is
true even if I eat as well as I can, even if I eat low carbs, and do exercise.
I am convinced that keeping my glucose under control is the least expensive, and certainly the single most important anti-aging therapy that I am doing... (and I am taking EPO, growth hormone, hyperbaric oxygen, deprenyl, CoQ10, and many other "far out" therapies.)
The nice thing about experimenting with insulin is that I can test
myself with a glucose meter and I get a very objective NUMBER in black
and white that I can use to know my glucose levels before and after, with
and without, insulin. I didn't know how to interpret this number, and I
couldn't find good information on the internet. The guidelines I found
were all too high, since Dr. Bernstein has written that he has seen side
effects from diabetes in patients with 120 mg/dl for an extended period of
time.
I finally developed my own table to interpret glucose levels. Most Diabetes
doctors and even the American Diabetes Association don't interpret it correctly
for non-diabetics... but I learned the correct interpretation after reading a
lot about glycosilation, HbA1c, and finally by understanding Dr. Bernstein's
strategy to control his diabetes. From Dr. Bernstein I learned that it is imperative to keep my glucose levels between 70 and 90, even if I am not a diabetic. Even 100 mg/dl is relatively "high" even if it is "very usual" and
"normal" after eating most meals... but if you can avoid 100 mg/dl, why not
avoid it?
See:
Correct Interpretation of Glucose Levels:
http://www.rajeun.net/glucose.html
Dr. Bernstein's story "My First Fifty Years as a Diabetic"
http://www.rajeun.net/fifty.html
As I write this in early 2007 I have taken more than 7000 blood glucose tests. I know exactly what a dose of 1 iu, 2 iu, or 3 iu of insulin will do to my glucose levels. I know how to calculate the number of grams of carbohydrates
that I am about to eat, and I know how to calculate approximately how high any meal will raise my glucose levels. I know what glucose levels I will get if I do NOT use insulin, and I know what glucose level I will get if I DO use insulin... and I much prefer the results WITH insulin...
The simple reason why I continue to take 3 iu insulin before every meal: it keeps my glucose levels controlled, so it is good for my health. It is the least expensive, most beneficial anti-aging hormone of all. Although it can be dangerous if you don't know how to use insulin correctly, it is also dangerous to drive a car or to shoot a gun if you don't learn how to use it correctly... so I have learned to use insulin correctly, and it is very safe for me.
In late 2006 I began to use Lantus, 24 hour insulin, together with Humalog, fast acting and short duration insulin. The combination of the two makes keeping my glucose levels below 100 much easier.
First, taking insulin is NOT for everybody. Before you take insulin, you should determine how YOU react to carbohydrates. See my pages "Typical Glucose Tolerance Tests" and "Assess Your Pancreas".
To be a candidate to take insulin you should have a reaction to carbohydrates, eg., after drinking a large 400 ml glass of ORANGE JUICE your glucose rises to 130 OR MORE in 30 minutes... It is not important if it falls in 2 hours ("normal") or if it remains high ("diabetes")... In both cases, you are a candidate for taking insulin.
EVEN IF you are a "candidate" to take insulin, you MIGHT NOT be a good
candidate. You must first find out if you are RESISTANT to insulin. Resistance
to insulin occurs because there has been too much insulin floating around in
your blood stream for too long, so to REVERSE RESISTANCE TO INSULIN you must
REVERSE THE REASON why there was too much insulin floating around in your
blood stream.
You can find out if you are resistant to insulin by taking a fasting blood test for INSULIN (do not confuse with "glucose"). The range is from 3 to 25, where 3 is "like an athlete" and 25 means: "very high insulin resistance.
If you find you are resistant to insulin, I suggest you can lower it by eating a VERY LOW carb diet AND doing a lot of aerobic and resistance exercise... try it for one month... then take a blood test for INSULIN again, before you start to learn to use insulin...
If you are a diabetic, OF COURSE you should see a doctor... but SUGGEST TO YOUR DOCTOR that you should take insulin... if he wants you to AVOID taking insulin, then he has the wrong attitude towards insulin... in my opinion you should look for a doctor that is glad if you take insulin correctly. If I was a diabetic and needed to find a doctor, I would look for a doctor who is diabetic himself, and who takes insulin himself... This way, I would have a doctor who truly understands insulin, and who probably is not going to be afraid of using insulin.
If you are not a diabetic, you will not find many doctors that will recommend that you can take insulin for your good health. This idea goes too much against the thousands of doctors who try everything possible before they accept to give their patients insulin, as if insulin is going to be the cause of blindness, or of severe diabetes side effects. The object of this page is to teach you what I learned in the School of Hard Knocks, because nobody was there to teach me what I had to know about using insulin, and I am glad I learned.
If you want to try to take insulin, you must FIRST take the Poor Man's Glucose Tolerance Test
http://www.rajeun.net/assess.html
If you have a response to glucose, (anything except a flat response...) you
are a candidate to take insulin. First determine that you are NOT resistant to insulin, and if you are NOT resistant to insulin, then go on to the next step.
Start with a dose of 3 iu just before breakfast... Eat breakfast and test your blood glucose 30 minutes or 40 minutes after breakfast... The only response that you do NOT want to get is anything below 70...
If you do get below 70, and above 50, take it easy and simply drink a
glass of normal coca cola, or a glass of orange juice and your glucose will go above 70 in about 5 minutes...
(I will bet $1000 to $1 that you will not get below 70... if you take 3 iu R insulin AND ALSO have breakfast after you have injected insulin.)
If you get between 70 and 110, then you are doing very well after your
first injection of insulin... 70 to 90 is perfect, and you will probably get nearer to 90 than to 70...
If you get 100 to 110, or more... that is too high, but we'll fix that ... you are just learning right now, and we have to figure out your dose... Today I take 1 or 2 iu of insulin AFTER I eat, if my glucose comes out 100 or higher
There are only a few simple rules you have to learn so that you can take insulin:
1. NEVER TAKE A LETHAL DOSE OF INSULIN. In my case, I know 5 iu is NOT a lethal dose, so I take even less, I take 3 iu before each meal.
2. ALWAYS EAT SOMETHING, PREFERABLY PROTEIN OF ANIMAL ORIGIN, TOGETHER WITH THE SHOT OF INSULIN.
3. ALWAYS TEST YOUR BLOOD GLUCOSE BEFORE YOU TAKE INSULIN, THEN AGAIN 30 MINUTES AFTER YOU EAT (OR, ABOUT ONE HOUR AFTER YOU TOOK INSULIN) This is elementary. How can you know if your glucose levels can stand to go DOWN 30 points unless you TEST yourself before you take insulin... And how can you know that you did not take too much insulin unless you test yourself afterwards?
4. IF YOU GET ANY SIGNS OF HYPOGLYCEMIA, (FAINTNESS, SWEAT, DIZZINESS, BUZZING) DRINK A GLASS OF ORANGE JUICE, OR COCA-COLA, OR TAKE A BITE OF BREAD RIGHT AWAY.
The WRONG WAY TO TAKE INSULIN is to do it like some body builders have told me they do it: Take a BIG DOSE OF INSULIN 10 or 15 iu or more... then TRY TO BALANCE IT WITH A LOT OF BAD CARBOHYDRATES...
It is not necessary to eat carbohydrates, such as bread, or sugar, or potatoes. I always eat something that I know is also HEALTHY for me. I never eat a piece of candy, or sugar, or other foods that I know are unhealthy. Usually I eat protein: a piece of turkey, a hard boiled egg, a slice of cheese. I might also eat a small portion of fruit, such as a fourth of a banana, or a small plum, a few grapes, a quarter of an apple, a small piece of pineapple. But it is difficult to stop, when you eat something that is
delicious... better, don't even start to eat fruits...
The fruits I choose to eat contain a lot of carbohydrates, but a small piece translates to only a small amount of carbohydrates which will not increase my glucose much. AND fruits contain a lot of soluble fiber, vitamins, and enzymes. So it is a balancing act... I eat a small portion of fruit because a small portion will not cause a great increase in my level of glucose, but I do also get a benefit from the fruit I am eating. And if I eat it after injecting
insulin, I know it helps me to keep glucose levels balanced between 70 and 105.
I admit that I don't know exactly what benefits I will get for bringing my glucose levels under control for the rest of my life will do for my health
and my lifespan... But I know what it does to diabetics who bring their glucose levels under control, and it is all good...
So I'm confident it has to be a good thing for me to do, too.
I also know what glucose levels OUT of control can do to a diabetic...
so if I had to choose which one hormone to take I would have a hard choice
between insulin and growth hormone, because I like them both very much...
But I don't have to choose one out of all the hormones, I can take both of
them... and perhaps you can too, without any problem. Think about it.
I use 2 or 3 iu Humalog (fast acting, short duration) by Eli Lilly, before every meal: breakfast, lunch, and supper. I take 0 or 1 or 2 iu Humalog after any meal, according to what a blood glucose test shows I should take.
Starting in late 2006, I began to take 15 iu Lantus (long lasting 24 hour insulin) every morning. I take 5 iu Lantus every night. In order to understand why I take two doses of 24 hour Lantus instead of one single dose, which is better than the instructions tell you to do, read how I use Lantus. The way I use Lantus is better than the very people who make it tell you to use it.
I test my glucose levels before, and again 30 minutes after eating my meal, and again after 60 minutes and 120 minutes if my first test showed glucose level above 120 mg/dl.
Not everybody is a candidate to take insulin... If your glucose levels are NORMAL-MIN in a glucose tolerance test (ie, your glucose does not rise, it stays "flat" after eating a plate of spaghetti) or after eating a high carb meal, then your pancreas is working like a charm, at very youthful levels. You do not need, and should not take, insulin.
See: 10 Graphs and Charts of Typical Glucose Tolerance Tests
Or, if your body is insulin resistant, you must first work to lose resistance to insulin. This can only be done by eating in such a way that you do not stimulate a high glucose response, which in turn will stimulate a high insulin response. You can take a blood test for INSULIN (do not confuse with "glucose") to see if you are insulin resistant. If you are insulin resistant, your insulin level will be high, and you should not take any additional insulin as I do until you lower your insulin resistance.
I have a bottle of regular soft drink, with sugar, on hand as my
"fire extinguisher" in case I would have to put my glucose levels up. This
happened to me twice when I was barely learning to use insulin. (I did not have a teacher or doctor to teach me how to use insulin, because there was no other person that I know of who is not a diabetic and was using insulin, and no doctor that I know of who would prescribe insulin to anybody who is not a diabetic.)
I took insulin, but I neglected to eat anything for about an hour, because I didn't know then that it is so necessary. Once I measured my glucose level in the low 50's mg/dl. That is hypo-glycemia. I knew something was wrong because I was sweating and I had a buzzing feeling.
Fortunately it was not low enough to make me pass out... (I drank a glass of soft drink and I ate some bread, and I felt better immediately... in less than one minute.) Fortunately, too, I was still using "R" insulin because I was learning, and not Humalog, which I knew is faster and more powerful.
The danger of taking insulin is that you might lower your glucose levels
too low, in what is called "hypo-glycemia". I have measured my glucose in
the low 50's mg/dl. That is hypo-glycemia, but not low enough to kill me,
yet.
I was still very conscious and able to think and function very well,
but I felt a little dizzy, a buzzing in my body, and I was sweating cold. It
is a very strange feeling, and I knew it was bad but it could have become worse.
I knew enough that I drank a regular Coca Cola, and I felt better right away.
I have read that some persons lose consciousness at about 25 mg/dl. and it
is possible to die if it goes lower than that.
Before I decided to try insulin, I knew that I was either a "mild diabetic" or "Normal-Max" on the glucose tolerance test, above. Then I had to determine my correct dose. I started from the bottom. I hit the correct dose at 3 iu of "R" Humulin insulin, but if I were to do it again, I would try 2 iu first.
To make certain that I wouldn't accidentally pass out without anybody knowing the reason, I told somebody else that I was going to inject insulin. I already knew how to test myself with a glucose meter. I had a bottle of soft drink or a glass of fruit juice nearby.
Now I am always sure to eat a small piece of cheese, or a slice or two of turkey, and then I eat my meal 30 to 40 minutes after I injected.
I always remember to eat something WITH insulin, a few minutes after I inject it. This is my insurance policy, so I know my blood glucose will never drop like a rock. At first I tested my blood glucose every 20 minutes for 2 hours.
Today I test much fewer times, because I have tested myself enough so that I can predict glucose levels after the meal I ate pretty accurately, and I know it will never be below 70 if I ate a good meal.
Remember that I am not a doctor. The above is true for me, and it is not medical advice. I know that insulin is a very good hormone if used correctly, but it can be very dangerous if I make a mistake. For this reason I do not sell insulin because I do not want to be responsible for selling some fool a medicine that he used incorrectly.
Read: The Glucose Theory of Aging: The Correct Interpretation of Blood Glucose Levels
Using Lantus
The Bernstein HbA1c to Average Blood Glucose Conversion Table
Assess Your Pancreas: The Poor Man's Glucose Tolerance Test
Typical Glucose Tolerance Test Results: How to Interpret The Poor Man's Glucose Tolerance Test
Using Insulin Frequently Asked Questions
Using Insulin, Frequently Asked Questions
Have you ever had any contact with Dr Bernstein? If so, what type of contact has it been, that is, phone calls, e-mails, personal visits etc?
In April, 2007, I went to New York and I met Dr. Bernstein in person.
I was present for two consultations with a subscriber of my forum, for
a total of three hours. I also asked him a few questions, but I did not ask
him what he thinks that I use insulin and I am not a diabetic.
Of course I have listened to his phone calls on teleconference, and of course I have read his book. I know somebody who went to see Dr. Bernstein personally, and this person told me that there is somebody who is an assistant to Dr. Bernstein who is not a diabetic and who also uses insulin... I learned this after I had started to use insulin. So I SUPPOSE that Dr. Bernstein would not be opposed that I should use insulin to control blood glucose, as do almost all doctors, since I have never gotten hypoglycemia except at the very beginning when I did not know how to use insulin and I forgot to eat after taking insulin...
At the beginning, I used to inject insulin and wait 45 minutes before I would eat, because this is the time that it takes the insulin to act, and I thought that was how I should take it so that it would be in my blood, etc... There was NO DOCTOR who would or even who could show me what to do... (except Dr. Bernstein, who I couldn't get in touch with...) And once or twice I "forgot" to eat, once I was in a restaurant and the food was still not brought to me, when I started to feel a buzz... I did a huge fuss with the waiter because he didn't understand what I meant when I said " RIGHT NOW" as I was getting more and more panicked...
That was the LAST TIME I would ever risk such a situation, so I changed how I
would use insulin.
Now, I inject insulin and I always eat a bite of SOMETHING... anything... right away, or soon after, ie, I inject, and the next task I do in the following 10 minutes is to decide what should I eat... an egg... a small fruit (not a good choice, but I do eat it...)... a small piece of cheese... a slice of turkey or chicken... etc...
What does he think of the various protocols you use to stay young?
Let me say, immodestly, that I think I know more about using growth hormone than Dr. Bernstein does because he doesn't use it, or else he would have mentioned it... I think he thinks that it is bad for diabetics, and I am convinced it is not bad for diabetics... but the myth is that it is bad for diabetics, that it causes insulin resistance, and that it causes diabetes... pure baloney, by doctors who know nothing about growth hormone, who are opposed to its use, and who say it is a very dangerous hormone.
I don't know what Dr. Bernstein thinks of the protocols that I use to stay young, but I know what I think about the protocols I use to stay young: nothing that I do is dangerous... nothing that I do has side effects... and nothing that I do does not work... - Ellis
Why do you use insulin, if you are not a diabetic?
I use insulin because I am convinced it will PREVENT me from becoming a diabetic sooner than if I would NOT use insulin... it will POSTPONE the day that I will become diabetic. It doesn't HURT, it is extremely CHEAP, and IT GIVES ME GOOD RESULTS ON THE GLUCOSE METER. I don't care what anybody says... no doctor... no "expert"... I only go by the results I get on my glucose blood tests. Period. I have taken more than 7000 blood glucose tests, so unless a doctor has taken at least 1000, he should not give me advice, he should take advice from me.
BOTH of my parents were diabetics by age 65. My father injected insulin and, unfortunately, my mother did not, which was incorrect but dictated by "doctors". She "controlled" her diabetes with metformin, as well she could, which is not well enough. I am convinced that using metformin instead of insulin was a big mistake. If I had known then what I know now, I would have convinced my mother to use insulin also.
I received this, from S.G.P. who is not a diabetic and has been using insulin if his blood sugar is above 95 mg/dl for longer than I have. I paste our e-mail correspondence:
SGP: You�d be proud of me � I�ve been taking my waking Blood Sugar for 10 years and use mostly Glucophage to keep it in check (there is no doubt in my mind that GH has big diabetagenic effects due to the cross binding of IGF-1 to insulin).
I also take a half unit of insulin if my Blood Sugar is above 95 in the morning.
Ellis: That is great but... HOW do you MEASURE half a unit of insulin?
SGP: I dilute it in bacterstatic water by a factor of 10
Ellis: What kind of insulin do you inject? (I inject Humalog or Humulin "R" or I mix 67% Humulin "R" with 33% Humalog.)
SGP: Humulin "R" ("regular")
Ellis: Do you dilute a vial of insulin in order to be able to inject half an iu?
SGP: Yes.
Ellis: How often do you measure your glucose levels?
SGP: Every morning and sometimes a half hour after a big meal.
Ellis: What glucose level are you trying to bring 95 down to when you inject?
SGP: 80
Ellis: Which brand of glucose meter do you use?
SGP: Accuchek Aviva
Ellis: Why do you consider 95 mg/dl so high that you inject insulin?
SGP: When I go off of GH, my waking Blood Sugar is around 80, which from what I've read is pretty good.
Ellis: How do YOU interpret blood glucose levels, compared to how I interpret it?
70 to 85 mg/dl is OPTIMAL
85 to 100 is O.K.
110 is HIGH
120 is BAD
140 is TERRIBLE
160 is HORRIBLE
180 is DEATHLY
200 and above is SUICIDAL
SGP: I would agree with that!
A Diabetic II wrote: I control my blood sugar completly by diet and have
no need for Insulin
If you think you don't have need for insulin, you probably are not
checking your blood glucose enough. I suggest you should check
your blood glucose 30 minutes AFTER you eat, and if it is above
100 mg/dl, check it again 30 minutes later (ie, 60 minutes after eating.)
IT IS VERY EASY TO BECOME HAPPY that your blood glucose
is "controlled" because you get some good results, and then you
don't check anymore... and that is when you will make mistakes...
YOU CANNOT TELL IF YOUR BLOOD GLUCOSE IS ABOVE 100. YOU CANNOT GUESS, BECAUSE 5 years and 7000 glucose tests later, if I don't use insulin, I still often find that my blood glucose is above 100. THE ONLY WAY TO KNOW IS: YOU HAVE TO CHECK
IT WITH A GLUCOSE METER!
That happens to me, and I AM NOT A DIABETIC... and YOU ARE A DIABETIC.
So I am certain you do have need for insulin. Every diabetic can use
insulin, and most non-diabetics would benefit greatly, also in my opinion.
Diet is extremely important, I agree, but insulin is also important to
fine tune, because we don't stay at 83 mg/dl after we have eaten.
I am amazed at how little of the wrong food it takes to get glucose up to 110 mg/dl, which I am convinced is bad for us in the long run. The trouble is that the "long run" is 20 years down the road, so we don't worry about it today... but what we do to stay healthy today is what determines our health in the future.
I went to see Dr. Bernstein (April, 2007) and I asked him: what do you do if your blood glucose is 100?
He answered: he injects insulin to try to bring it down to 83 mg/dl
(83 mg/dl is his target.)
Both my parents are diabetic, as are my grandparents and my uncles... I am not diabetic yet, but I know I will become diabetic some day.
I would like to know if authentic injectable growth hormone might cause diabetes to develop sooner in me?
You are mistaken on several counts. 1) Diabetes is not caused by growth hormone... It is caused by EATING INCORRECTLY for many years previous to when it becomes manifest. And 2) "according to Ellis" diabetes is NOT inherited from your parents... YOU LEARN to be a diabetic, because YOU LEARN TO EAT the same foods that caused your parents to become diabetic. If you change your eating habits NOW to prevent high blood glucose levels, you might never become a diabetic, or perhaps you will become diabetic when you are 90 years old.
The answer is too long to answer fully here. Please see this page, where I answer this same question:
Does HGH Cause Diabetes?
from: Bob Burtis
Hello Bob,
>After an afternoon of Thanksgiving turkey and too much food,
I was thinking you might have some information or thoughts about
diet, hunger, and tryptophan and serotonin. The glucose aspect is probably
a part of it, as well.
>I used Phen-fen about five years ago and found it to be the best weight
loss regimen I have ever come across. The main effect seemed to come from
the serotonin re-uptake inhibitor characteristics, that seemed to give one a
feeling of fullness and satisfaction along with some positive mood enhancement.
According to Dr. Ward Dean, metformin is almost the same but perhaps
better than Phen-fen.... On the other hand, and this is only according to me,
I prefer taking a shot of insulin before each meal. I know this is anathema to
most doctors, and it might sound crazy or maybe I sound crazy, but I am
convinced that insulin is far better than metformin. In the first place, it is
the natural hormone found in our body. There is NO REASON to be so
frightened of insulin, IF YOU USE IT CORRECTLY, in the CORRECT DOSE...
and that is not so difficult to learn to do !
The problem with insulin, of course, is that you have to be relatively careful
with it... so... I AM EXTREMELY careful with it... So what ? I get perfect
results with it, much better than if I don't use it, and it is not my opinion,
it says so on the glucose meter. It is very objective.
I don't know if taking insulin would help somebody with eating disorders to
eat correctly, but it might. I think insulin probably does have an effect on
the brain, on the "serotonin re-uptake inhibitor characteristics, that seem
to give one a feeling of fullness and satisfaction along with some positive
mood enhancement"
>This could move in the direction of Prozac and many more serotonin-related
products that I know too little about and don't have much interest in. I'm not
looking for mood-altering, but the Phen-Fen combo of satiety and good
mood was unique.
I really think that insulin could do all this and more...
>Whether the heart valve side-effects were the result of prescription abuse or
inherent dangers, is academic, since it's been pulled off the market.
That is what happened with Phen-Fen... metformin does not have that problem,
but metformin does have some chance of side effects... I would say insulin is
much safer, if it is used correctly. Of course, 500,000 doctors would disagree
with me, and 500,000 doctors would be mistaken... they have never tried insulin
on themselves, so they are all just repeating what the books say, which is mistaken.
>The key seems to be with the serotonin and almost every resource I've come across
seems to look at it from their unique point of view. If something as simple as eating
can produce tryptophan and then effect serotonin to create feelings of fullness and
satisfaction, wouldn't there be a way to supplement a reduced calorie diet regimen
and create the same result, without prescription drugs and side effects?
Bob, everybody has to come up with complicated explanations in order to seem to
be thoughtful and original... I like simple explanations... Insulin is what we need to
metabolize food correctly, and if we metabolize food correctly, I don't care to know
how or why I feel better, I just do feel better. I can't explain why, but I know I
do.
>I've read up on 5-HTP and related supplements, but still no one seems to have
any research or theory on how the process works and could be simulated by
natural supplementation. I suspect the glucose aspect is a part of this, as well,
but in the end, we're dealing with brain chemicals and particularly serotonin.
>A lot of my eating is mood based - not the manic depressive kind, but simple
mood swings. I am self-aware enough to see this in myself (and others), but will
power alone is not enough to deal with what I sense is more a body and brain
chemistry equation than anything else. It's also quite complex, I'm sure.
>But on the surface, it seems very fundamental....
>I'm hungry, or feeling a little down, so I eat a sandwich, and I feel better. What is there
in a ham sandwich that we cannot duplicate and mimic with half a sandwich and a few
supplements?
Try doing the same, but without the bread. Keep your blood glucose levels low.
I have thought of something VERY INTERESTING... your BODY TEMPERATURE fluctuates
according to what you eat... I am going to document this in myself... unfortunately, that
means I have to break all of my rules, in order to get my glucose levels sky high so I can
show there is a change of body temperature, but I will sacrifice myself for the sake of
science! So... I'll drink a large glass of orange juice, for the sake of science !!!
Yes, I know I sound like an eccentric nut, but I am not an eccentric nut, I just know that a glass of orange juice will shoot my glucose levels sky high (or at least it is "HORRIBLE according to Ellis") and I know that is bad for me, as it is bad for you too... and I simply try to do things that will result in a prolonged healthspan, and not do things that I KNOW will result in damage to my body in the long run.
>Just wondered if you had any thoughts along these lines...
Yes.. a few... The problem in this world is deciding "Who Will I Believe?" There are thousands of "doctors" with diplomas from Harvard and Stanford and the best and most famous universities in the world, and EACH ONE OF THEM thinks differently, and many times totally contradictory one with the other. So it is not enough that somebody is a "doctor", they also have to be smart. And there are some truly hard-headed doctors out there, as well as some doctors with what I consider to be some very strange ideas (which I won't get into.)
So... Just because I am NOT a doctor is not a good reason to think I must be mistaken and they are correct. On this issue of taking insulin when I am not a diabetic, I know that the correct dose of insulin has not done anything BAD to my pancreas, as I have heard doctors preach, incorrectly.
It is also true that if a child behaves badly and you do not punish the child then, the child does not learn to behave well... If the punishment comes later, or many years later, the childe does not learn...
This is precisely the case with eating incorrectly. When we eat incorrectly NOW, the punishment does not come until TOMORROW... maybe YEARS later... Think about it... EVERY TIME YOU EAT POORLY, YOUR BODY WILL BE PUNISHED, but not right away! It could be a few months before you have gone UP in weight, or it could be a few years before your SKIN IS WRINKLED, or it could be a few decades later that you are INSULIN RESISTANT, or you have a BIG FAT BELLY, or you are BECOMING DIABETIC.
So... if the PUNISHMENT comes DAYS or MONTHS or DECADES LATER, we DON'T LEARN OUR LESSON unless we study what happens. This is why I have decided to study how to eat correctly, and for a long time I ate according to what the experts told me to do, but today I eat according to what I finally figured out for myself... and that is:
"Don't believe Dr. Atkins... Don't Believe Dr. Barry Sears... Don't Believe Dr. Dean Ornish... Don't Believe The U.S.D.A. Food Guide Pyramid... Don't Believe Dr. McDougal (strictly vegetarian)... Don't even believe ME !!!
YOU CAN ONLY BELIEVE THE GLUCOSE METER ! KEEP YOUR GLUCOSE LEVELS LOW, and you will avoid diabetes, perhaps forever. If you are already diabetic, of course you have no choice: you either keep your glucose levels under control, or you will die sooner. Period. I hope you decide to keep your glucose levels under control." - Ellis Toussier
read this page:
The Glucose Theory of Aging http://www.rajeun.net/glucose.html
Ellis Toussier
If you are not diabetic, why do you use Lantus and Humalog?
There are many reasons why I use Lantus and Humalog, but here are five reasons:
1. It is almost free. It costs less than 3.00 per day, including syringes and test strips. Insulin itself costs about 50 cents per day.
2. It does not HURT at all... zero... nothing... it doesn't hurt, period.
3. In theory, it is good for my health because it helps me to keep blood glucose between 70 and 100 mg/dl almost 24 hours per day, every day.
4. There is no good reason why I should NOT use insulin, except that I could perhaps die of hypoglycemia if I overdose. But I have not gotten even close to overdosing or hypoglycemia in 14,000 shots in 7 years that I have been using insulin. So if it doesn't harm me and it benefits me, then I think this is a good reason to use it.
5. Theoretically, keeping my blood glucose from soaring an average 30 points more, as it would have otherwise, will help me to NOT LOSE NEURONS... Nobody has ever done this before, but I am doing it now, and we shall see how I will be when I am 98 years old.
In the meantime, the proof is in the pudding... I think I might be one of the healthiest Old Men age 63 in the world today.
>Bob Burtis
I have purchased two (2) vials of insulin and a few packs of the 1cc and 1/2cc syringes. Can you coach me as to how to inject (which marks on the needle, when to poke and how often)?
O.K... here goes:
FIRST, you should have a good idea how you react to
carbohydrates... if you get a FLAT RESPONSE after eating a lot
of carbohydrates, then insulin might not be such a good idea for
you, but it could be, if you can figure out what dose to take
that does not give you hypoglycemia (ie, glucose levels are too low)...
I get a bell curve when I drink a glass of orange juice, ie, my
glucose goes UP then it goes back DOWN... so taking insulin is perfectly
well indicated in MY CASE, because I don't want the high marks, and I
also don't want my pancreas to produce insulin if I can inject insulin
which will do the job... Some people might think I am crazy, but I'm not...
I want to prevent my pancreas from working now, so that it might still be
in good working shape all my life, or at least until I am perhaps 10 years
from my death from other causes.
So... read these two pages, then drink 400 ml of ORANGE JUICE and test
your glucose levels like I did, so you will have an idea how you react
to carbohydrates...
http://www.rajeun.net/gtt.html Typical Glucose Tolerance Test Results
http://www.rajeun.net/35minutes.html 35 Minutes going UP, and 35 minutes coming down!
http://www.rajeun.net/assess.html Assess Your Pancreas, a "Poor Man's Glucose Tolerance Test"
NEXT... You have to take a glucose test before you inject
insulin, so you know where you are starting from... and you have to have a normal Coca Cola (with sugar) handy while you experiment to see how you react to insulin... The only "problem" you can have is that glucose will drop too far without you knowing it... but this is not going to happen because you are going EAT before it drops too far, and you are also going to test your blood glucose AFTER you inject insulin, so you will always know where your glucose levels are... CORRECT?
The Coca Cola is there like a fire extinguisher on standby duty, so you will drink a glass of Coca Cola IN CASE you start to feel dizzy or a buzz or sweaty hands, etc... but that is not going to happen... RIGHT?
Now... this is what I do, but this is correct for MY pancreas, but it might not be correct for your pancreas... but we have no idea what your dose should be, and that is precisely what we want to find out...
If my glucose is 90, I inject 3 iu AND I EAT a good meal. THEN... I test my glucose 30 minutes after eating, and if it is 100 or more, I inject 2 iu AND I EAT a bite of good food.
If my glucose is higher than 90, I inject 3 iu AND I EAT a good meal... I test my glucose 30 minutes after... if it is in the low or mid 90's I do nothing else... if it is 100 or more, I inject 1 or 2 iu AND I EAT a bite of good food. Then I test an hour later, and depending on where I was before I injected the second time, I am usually close to 90, or at least under 100.
This means I ALWAYS DO THE SAME THING, EXCEPT if my glucose is LESS THAN 90, then I don't inject insulin. This hardly ever happens.
I suggest you start with 3 iu of "R" ("regular") insulin, as the dose to start with... 3 iu of insulin means "THREE LITTLE LINES" on the same syringe that is used for growth hormone, except when you take growth hormone if you take "ONE IU" you are filling to perhaps line 20 or 25 or 33, and for insulin you are filling to line THREE (3) which is JUST A LITTLE TINY BIT... and 2 iu is even less.
You are going "to poke" whenever your glucose levels are worth bringing down, and you are going "to poke" before any meal, so that your glucose levels
will end up about 90. 100 is too high for me, I inject 1 or 2 iu insulin, which seems like ridiculously little, but it isn't, it is the correct dose.. to bring glucose down to 90. What is important, in my opinion, is to bring glucose between 70 and 90 "by hook or by crook"
This may be a stupid question but, I thought insulin was
for those folks that could not produce enough sugar in their systems. That's the impression I got in the movies. You know when the dudes have to devour a candy bar or they'd get faint and fall over. And then they'd shoot up and be okay...
It is ridiculous, what they show in movies. I saw a movie
with a diabetic that supposedly goes into shock, then has to be rushed back home to take a shot of INSULIN! This is absolutely ridiculous and false.
INSULIN make blood glucose go DOWN, and GLUCAGON or FOOD makes blood glucose go UP... It is a balancing trick, where insulin is more powerful than glucagon, which is like the brakes of an elevator, but it is not as strong as the force of the insulin coming down.. however... USUALLY I end up at a perfect 90 or very near there, which means that the glucagon stops the fall at nearly the same place every time.
And NO... Insulin is not for those folks that cannot produce enough sugar in their body... it is for those folks who cannot produce enough INSULIN in their body, or for me or anybody else who wants to save the pancreas the trouble of producing insulin, or to get the glucose levels down as fast as possible to 90. Insulin is a direct substitute for human insulin, which is used to get blood glucose out of the blood system and into the cells.
FROM A POST TO REJUVENATION:
>Ellis wrote: [But you haven't heard of anybody dying of
injectible growth hormone, or insulin, or DHEA, or
melatonin, or EPO, or testosterone... If you have,
let us know about it.]
Chuck: I have heard of people dying from insulin. Ellis, I'm
concerned about you using insulin. Too much sugar is
bad, but too much insulin is also associated with
health problems. - Chuck
Ellis [Of course it is! Chuck, I am not taking TOO
MUCH insulin. I am taking the EXACT amount of insulin
that I need, at exactly the right time (there is a
range of time that is "exactly right": about half an
hour before eating, to about half an hour after eating
is o.k....)
I also am MONITORING my glucose level very closely.
Don't worry about me, I have it well under control, and
I do not abuse of taking insulin for any reason at all.]
Chuck: Your interpretation of this is that it is really the
glucose that is causing the problems and the insulin is
just a result of that. I understand your point.
Ellis: [No, it is the FOOD YOU EAT that causes the glucose
to go UP, and it is high glucose that causes your pancreas
to release insulin. High glucose levels are the cause of
higher Hb-A1c (glycosilated hemoglobin), and high glucose
levels are the cause of damage to the circulatory system,
and damage to the kidneys, and beta cell burnout.
The pancreas wears out in time, both because it has been
forced to produce insulin, and maybe because the high glucose
levels harm it. In any case, I stumbled on to this idea
when I was 56 years old, and I had been eating high carbs
low fat for a long time. I know I am still not diabetic,
because I know my pancreas is still working well enough,
but I also know it is not working as well as I have seen
in young persons, so I know some damage has already been
sustained.
Assess the State of Your Pancreas
What I am doing now is I am taking 3 iu of insulin BEFORE
I eat, and I am checking my glucose levels AFTER I eat, and
then I might decide to take 0, or 1, or 2 iu of insulin.
I decide according to my glucose level taken after I eat.
1 iu will lower glucose ABOUT 10 points, and 2 iu will lower
glucose ABOUT 20 points. If I have 140 (very very seldom)
I still only take 2 iu, then I test glucose after a while
and I might take another 1 or 2 iu, depending on the result
of my glucose test. I really know that I won't go down to
50's, not even accidentally, because 1 or 2 iu can't make
me get down to 50's... I know, because I have tried it many
times, and it doesn't... and 50's is not fatally dangerous,
either.
I am sure you have never heard of anybody who died taking
5 iu of insulin AND ate... you have heard of people who took
much more insulin AND tried to balance it with a high carb
meal... if they ever FORGOT to eat, it's all over. That
can't happen to me, because I am not even taking 5 iu
together, I am taking 3 iu, and later maybe 0 or 1 or 2...
and 3 iu will only lower my glucose 30 points, so EVEN IF I
WOULD FORGET to eat, which doesn't happen anymore, it might
take me to 60's.
In any case, I have only had lower than 60 once, several years
ago, when I started to use insulin and I had nobody to teach me
how to do it. That won't happen again soon, I assure you.
- Ellis]
Chuck: But have you thoroghly examined these studies to see what
the glucose levels were for the subjects that had high insulin
levels accompanied with health problems? If their insulin
levels were high but their glucose was in the normal range,
then they should not have had any problems if we follow your
way of thinking.
Ellis: [I have not thouroughly studied anybody else, I have only
thoroughly read Dr. Bernstein, and I have only thoroughly
studied my own glucose results. I have no problem taking
insulin the way I take it. I didn't learn to take insulin
from Dr. Bernstein, by the way, because his book doesn't teach
anybody how to take insulin, although he does discuss insulin
a lot... but he doesn't give doses or how to take it, etc.
However, I got the idea of injecting insulin from him, because
he insists that taking insulin is exactly what his diabetic
patients need, and anything else is less good... I agree
completely with him...
So I thought to myself, I am on the Road to Diabetes anyways,
so why don't I try to take insulin too, and slow down the speed
at which I will get to diabetes? This happened right after
I had scolded somebody on Rejuvenation who had written that
he was taking or thinking of taking insulin... I took the
"holier than thou" position like an adult scolding a child,
that insulin is a very dangerous hormone and it can kill you,
etc. etc... But then I thought to myself, "What if there is a
correct dose of insulin?"
So that is why I experimented with a truly tiny dose of
insulin, and I am very very glad that I did. I am really
convinced that taking insulin is the single best anti aging
therapy of all, and the least expensive too. I am certain
that I had much higher glucose levels before I began to
experiment with insulin, because I switched to low carb when
I began to experiment with the glucose meter, so I was
already using the glucose meter. I only saw the improvement
from LOW CARB to LOW CARB + INSULIN. (I do not have records
of glucose levels in my High Carb Low Fat days, but I have
records of what my blood glucose goes to if I eat high carb
low fat.) That is why I stuck to this, because I saw it gives
me much better control of glucose levels, and I think that
is extremely important, in the long run...
Non-Diabetic Use of Insulin, how I do it
This is the single most important anti aging therapy of all:
KEEP YOUR GLUCOSE LEVELS UNDER CONTROL.
Correct Interpretation of Blood Glucose Levels
So... Thanks for your concern, but really, I am concerned
about YOUR health because you are not doing what I am doing, and
I am 100% convinced this is the best anti aging therapy, so I
think your blood glucose is not as well controlled as mine...
I wish for your sake that it would be.
What will finally kill us someday will be Diabetes, I don't
care if it is at age 120 or 175, it will be Diabetes that gets us
at the end. Or it will be a disease caused by glucose levels
finally having spoiled the circulatory system, or the kidneys,
or the nervous system, or the heart, or damage to a cell that
causes cancer, etc. High glucose levels for many years is the
really fundamental down at the bottom cause of most deaths today,
and it will be the cause of most deaths tomorrow.
Thanks for writing, and thanks for worrying about me. Keep me
on my toes, I don't want to do dangerous things. I do this
because I want to stay healthy, and I would like you to stay
healthy, too. - Ellis]
