Insulin: The Key to Longevity?

by D.M. Murdock

Several important studies have shown that chronic high insulin levels - indicating insulin resistance - are detrimental to human longevity. One of the major spokespersons on the subject of insulin-effect on longevity, Dr. Ron Rosedale, calls aging a "disease." Says Dr. Rosedale:

"We know now that aging is a disease. The other case studies that I mentioned, cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis, obesity, diabetes, cancer, all the so-called chronic diseases of aging and auto-immune diseases, those are symptoms. 1"

Rosedale also points out that vitamin C competes with glucose, the most refined form of sugar, for entry across the cell membrane. Because of this competition, vitamin C is not always effective in assisting the immune system to fight off illness. He calls insulin's purported purpose of lowering the blood sugar a "trivial effect." Dr. Rosedale further says, "Insulin's evolutionary purpose as is known right now, we are looking at other possibilities, is to store excess nutrients." In all, the insulin research points to it being one major key in the quest to increase human longevity.

Another of insulin's functions is to store magnesium in the cells. Magnesium is a mineral crucial to the health of the heart. Magnesium deficiency can lead to cardiac arrest. The insulin resistant individual excretes excessive magnesium and may therefore have heart problems.

Pregnant women should take note of the following information provided by Dr. Rosedale:

Insulin sensitivity starts to be determined the moment the sperm combines with the egg. If a pregnant woman eats a high-carbohydrate diet, which turns into sugar, animal studies have shown that the fetus will become more insulin resistant. Worse yet, researchers have used sophisticated measurements and found that if that fetus happens to be a female, the eggs of that fetus are more insulin resistant. Does that mean it is genetic? No, you can be born with something and it doesn't mean that it is genetic. Diabetes is not a genetic disease as such. You can have a genetic predisposition, but it should be an extremely rare disease....

Insulin helps control sex hormones estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone as well. Insulin helps control the manufacture of cholesterol and where do all the sex hormones come from? All the stearic hormones are originally derived from cholesterol, so that's one way. Dr Nestler from the University of Virginia who has spent the last eight years doing multiple studies to show that DHEA levels are directly correlated with insulin levels, or I should say insulin resistance.

The more insulin resistant you are, the lower your DHEA levels. He firmly believes, and has a lot of studies to back it up, that the decline in DHEA is strictly due to the increase in insulin resistance with age. If you reduce the insulin resistance, the DHEA rises. And how are these sex hormones carried around the body? Something called sex hormone binding globulins. The more that is bound, the less free, active hormone you have. Sex hormone binding globulin is controlled by what? Insulin. There is not a hormone in the body that insulin doesn't affect, if not directly control.

Any time your cell is exposed to insulin it is going to become more insulin resistant. That is inevitable; we cannot stop that, but the rate we can control. An inevitable sign of aging is an increase in insulin resistance.

That rate is the variable. If you can slow down that rate, you can become a centenarian, a healthy one. You can slow the rate of aging. Not even just the rate of disease, but the actual rate of aging itself can be modulated by insulin. We talked about some of the lower animals and there is some pretty good evidence that even in humans we still retain the capacity to control lifespan at least partially. We should be living to be 130 to 140 years old routinely.1

High insulin levels - a symptom of insulin resistance, or the inability of the cell to admit insulin - also prevent the absorption of calcium, which in turn can lead to osteoporosis. In order for calcium to be utilized, vitamin D must also be present in adequate amounts. However, in many places around the world, including sunny areas, too many people do not have enough vitamin D in their bloodstreams for the production and maintenance of healthy bone. Vitamin D is actually another hormone.

Clearly, insulin resistance is a tremendously important factor in decreasing human longevity. One way to avoid it is to avoid consuming simplex carbohydrates, i.e., sugar. Interestingly, however, although wine, like all alcohol, is essentially sugar, the consumption of alcohol by the world's oldest documented person, Frenchwoman Jeanne Calment, apparently did her little harm - unless one considers 122 years old to be a short lifespan! That does not mean, however, that anyone can go about consuming large amounts of alcohol. It is clear that excess alcohol consumption will shorten your life. One need only look at those alcoholics who suffer from chronic malnutrition: Their skin is red, saggy, wrinkled and, in essence, prematurely aged. A steady diet of alcohol and little else will do that.

The proponents of the insulin-resistance theory also are very negative about the consumption of grains. "Man does not live by bread alone," is a commonly held "truism." However, the low-carbohydrate advocates claim that Man does not live by bread at all! Such assertions seem to fly in the face of common wisdom, as well the long-known fact that many whole grains contain significant amounts of B vitamins, vitamin E, potassium, selenium, chromium and other nutrients. Could it be true that we are better off without grains? Possibly. However, we can point again to Jeanne Calment, who apparently did nothing special with her diet, except, possibly, to eat mostly traditional French foods. Did she religiously avoid grains? It is unlikely, given the French appetite for breadstuffs.

In the question for longevity, it will likely come down to another ancient truism: Nothing in excess. Also found at the Temple of Apollo in Delphi: Know yourself. Attitude is another major key in the increase of human lifespan and the achievement of longevity.

In order to achieve greater insulin sensitivity, healthcare practitioners such as Dr. Rosedale advocate increasing the consumption of oils containing large quantities of omega 3 fatty acids, such as flaxseed and fish liver oils. It is well known that such oils start becoming rancid the moment they are pressed and that such rancidity, which is caused by oxidation, can damage your heart. Therefore, vitamin E and other antioxidants are necessary when increasing your consumption of oils. However, vitamin E is a blood thinner, and too much of it will cause internal bleeding, noticeable by ease and increase of bruising. Longterm blood-thinning caused by vitamin E may also create anemia. So, many people are unable to consume large amounts of vitamin E, although they may not know it. Also, vitamin E is found in significant amounts in nature only in whole grains, particularly in wheat germ. So, what happens if we cut out all grains? How are we to consume enough vitamin E, and is it a good idea to take it in an unnatural form? One possible compromise is to put a couple of capsules in the bottle of oil, as soon as it is opened. Vitamin E itself may not be enough however, as there are other forms of vitamin E, including not only tocopherols but also the relatively newly discovered tocotrienols.

Find all of this information confusing?

Other health advocates insist that veganism is the way to go, consuming large quantities of grains, pasta and potatoes - the very things that purportedly cause high insulin resistance and lead to premature death, according to Rosedale and others.

We are faced again with a dilemma. Those of us who love grains or root vegetables such as potatoes - a seemingly abundant source of many nutrients - are loathe to give them up. Yet, are they killing us? It seems that we will once more need to keep in mind the ancient adage, "Everything in moderation."