Structural integrity, flexibility and permeability of cell membrane are crucial for any organism and diabetes is primarily a result of an improper cell membrane structure. This may surprise the mainstream which is obsessed with insulin based theories such as pancreas not producing enough insulin to meet body’s needs. Real problem in Type 2 diabetes is not lack of insulin but in most instances an excess of insulin which is ineffective against hardened cell membrane. When insulin knocks at the cellular door, a series of chemical reactions activate glucose transporters and for simplicity, let us discuss GLUT 4, which travel from inside of the cell towards membrane to facilitate glucose entry into the cell. The pathway all along is heavily a fat based construction on which these transporters go through.

It may be surprising to the fat haters who blame everything on fats, but in reality our cellular membrane structures are heavily dependent on fats as the structural element. If these are Omega 3 fatty acids, the cell membrane structure is supple and flexible enough for easy entry of not only sugar but other necessary molecules. If the body does not get sufficient amounts of these Omega 3 fatty acids, it substitutes whatever fats it is supplied with. These may be trans fats, hydrogenated oils, short and medium chain fatty acids. All these pose problems for proper entry of sugar and insulin becomes less effective as the GLUT 4 will have difficult passage to go through the stiffened membranes of wrong fats. Trace element Chromium helps to a certain extent to ease this condition, but it can only go so far under wrong structural integrity to begin with which is the main problem of diabetes.

This requires a paradigm shift in thinking on how to address the fundamental issue in diabetes which is the improper cell membrane. Diabetes is the result of food industry’s profit oriented thinking of long shelf life with wrong fats such as trans fats, hydrogenated, partially hydrogenated, short and medium chain fatty acids at the expense of long term health consequences of the population. This is only the partial story, as there is the other main culprit which is an extensive and indiscriminate use and promotion of refined sugars based products all over the super market shelves beyond what is a reasonable limit if any.

More later in the coming days…

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Some of the real causes of the heart disease are

• Inflammation
• Problems with Nitric Oxide Production
  
• Lack of Collagen Integrity
• Inadequate Methylation and High Homocysteine Levels
• Oxidative Damage
• High Sugar Diet
• Insulin Resistance
• Improper Digestion
• Poor Liver Function
• Imbalanced Omega 6 to Omega 3 Ratio
• Trans Fats and Hydrogenated Oils

It may be surprising to see that cholesterol may not even figure in one of them. Total obsession and unwarranted fixation on cholesterol as the main cause of the heart disease for several decades side tracked the whole set of issues that need more attention to build a healthy life style for the humanity. Cholesterol is a life sustaining substance, forms part of the cellular membrane, is the basic raw material for all the hormones, is used for repair and rebuilding and Vitamin D is made from it. Almost 80% of the cholesterol is manufactured by the liver, so one can see the importance of it. While cholesterol in itself may not be a culprit, an oxidized cholesterol can initiate the damage, but oxidative injury is not just limited to cholesterol alone, but to all components of the body.

Cholesterol is C₂₇H₄₅OH with a hydroxyl group, four hydrocarbon rings and a hydrocarbon tail. Cholesterol is an alcohol because of its hydroxyl group (Ethanol is C₂H₅OH) and is a steroid because of its four ring structure making it a sterol in the end. Cholesterol is a fat like waxy substance to which liver mixes lipoproteins called VLDL (very low-density lipoproteins) and high-density lipoproteins (HDL) to make it mix in blood for circulation. VLDL becomes LDL in the bloodstream. In addition to producing cholesterol, liver also clears cholesterol through receptors and this clearing can get into issues if the liver is congested when regular flushing is not happening properly. Liver also participates in a feedback loop to adjust its production of cholesterol if there is excess dietary cholesterol coming in. As per the flawed theory of heart disease, cholesterol combines with cellular waste products, calcium, fibrin etc. and deposits itself on the surface of the artery walls there by constricting them and an increase in cholesterol can pose bigger threat. This theory fails to explain why there are no extensive blockages all over the body if there is an excess of cholesterol.

A sensible analysis of the problem of why heart disease occurs in the first place does not have much of a role for cholesterol. Arteries near the heart are mechanically strained every second by contracting and expanding and have high amounts of muscle tissues to meet this mechanical stress, which is not the case with rest of the veins in the body. A lot of things can go wrong with arteries making them injured and inflammed. Body uses cholesterol to patch the injury sites as a means to save our lives without which we would be bled to death internally without even knowing it. Cholesterol in fact is a savior of sorts. A hight cholesterol itself is not the issue here. The injury process of the arterial wall is the main issue in heart disease and not the high cholesterol by itself. There are no short cuts to fixing heart disease by just taking cholesterol lowering pills. Though statins may be useful because of their anti inflammatory component to a certain extent but not because of their cholesterol lowering effect, there are several other much safer ways to achieve anti inflammatory benefits. Unless arterial wall injury process is addressed in a comprehensive fashion by taking several healthy steps as outlined in the beginning of this post, true relief from heart disease cannot be obtained.

Rest of the posts in this series will take a comprehensive look at addressing the real causes of heart disease as outlined at the beginning of this post.

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Fundamental building blocks of all living and nonliving substances are atoms, which are made up of electrons, protons and neutrons.  Atoms combine to give molecules, which in turn group together forming complex structures.  Properties of materials are mostly determined by their reactivity, which is determined by the number of electrons in the atoms.

Without going into the complex details of theoretical physics, let us get to the simple definition of a free radical as one which has unpaired electron in it’s structure.  Free radicals are formed as part of normal metabolic reactions within the body.  A free radical is highly unstable and tries to grab the needed electron from whatever it comes into contact with.  When it comes in contact with any tissue, it will create a chain reaction of sorts by grabbing and creating more free radicals in the process.

Antioxidants are electron donors to the free radicals there by neutralizing them.  Body has antioxidant enzymatic processes to keep the free radicals in check.  But, it gets overwhelmed if not supplied with additional antioxidants in the foods that we eat.  Fruits and vegetables supply with us good amount of antioxidants as plants themselves go through the similar process in their survival against the free radical damage.  Vitamin C and Vitamin E are other good sources of antioxidants.

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Folic acid is one of the important B vitamins. It is a methyl group donor and is instrumental in reducing homocysteine levels. People know it to be an important ingredient during pregnancy to prevent neural tube defects. But, it is important for all population and age groups as homocysteine can pose a significant threat to one’s overall health and well being. To give an analogy, homocysteine is like a sand paper scratching the surface of arteries and if not put in proper limits, can damage the arterial integrity leading to inflammation and subsequent blockages that can lead to heart disease.

Here is an article from National Institutes of Health that talks in detail about folic acid’s role in heart disease, stroke and cancer etc.

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