Aspirin for insulin resistance while low-carbing

[Stac3y]

Hi everyone,

I am new to the Ray Peat "system," and I am very interested in some aspects of the approach. I found the forum while researching thyroid glandular supplements, and as I began browsing, I came across many new concepts and supplements. One thing in particular about which I would be grateful for people's input is about aspirin on a low carb diet.

To give you some background, I am a woman in my 30s plagued with fatigue. My thyroid panel came back normal (though I am anemic), but I started taking Thyro-Gold last week (I plan on switching to Thyroid-S), so too early to speak of improvement. Every woman in my family has a thyroid problem, and I have every single symptom, so I thought it would be worth a try. I have been on a low carb diet (atkins) for over a year, but I have gained between 15-20lbs. I've done this diet several times in the past, and have lost weight, but this time, my body is packing on the pounds. I am highly sensitive to sugars, eating an orange gives me a head rush.

I suspect that I am insulin resistant, and I have to cut carbs down to 10grams for my body to go into ketosis. I am sure that the past 15 years of yo-yo dieting contributed to the insulin resistance, and, now I am dealing with the results. After reading many posts, it sounds like it is the concentration of PUFAs in the Atkins diet that may also be contributing. This is a revelation to me, as I take flax seed and evening primrose oil. So, I am stopping that and only using coconut oil and a little bit of olive oil.

What I would like to know is if anyone can speak to the use of aspirin for insulin resistance while low carbing? Some of the aspirin threads have left me a bit nervous, and I did not see many people reporting a significant change with aspirin as a supplement. I would like to be able to eat lentils, tomatoes, and some fruit at some point in my life, but I need to address why my body is so resistant.

Thank you,
Stac3y

 

[answersfound]

Try increasing your carbs to about 300-400 grams.

 

[Zachs]

Lol @ the above answer.

Sounds like your in for a heck of a battle. You are no doubt extremely insulin resistant, probably close to pre-diabetic levels. You also no doubt are hypothyroid since the liver needs glycogen (sugar) to produce the active hormone t3. There's no way your body can keep up glycogen production on a diet that low carb.

I don't have any advice to your main question because I think any supplements to your diet would be like putting a bandaid over a severed limb. You need to change your diet for good! Now you will go through a ton of bad times fighting to get back to insulin sensitivity. No doubt you will have even more fatigue, weight gain and other displeasures, but in the Long run you might just get your health back.

Cutting out all oils is a good start! If you are taking omega 3s of any kind, stop immediately. Coconut oil should be all you use because it does have some pufa displacing and insulin sensitizing properties. Next you should try to start bringing your fat macros down and carb macros up slowly. fruit and dairy are the bestate two to start with along with honey because they have more fructose which will not cause such bad insulin spikes and also help with t3 conversion. I'm guessing you eat a lot of meats, muscle meats in particular but in general all meats and eggs have a high amount of inflammatory and thyroid reducing aminos as well as high omega 6 and phosphorus, all which add to the problem. Swapping these out for she'll fish, warm water seafood, gelatin powder or gelatinous cuts of meat and dairy would help a ton, even if you are not getting a lot of carbs. Just eating a diet of dairy, shellfish and gelatin would be world's better than a diet of muscle meats, eggs and oils. Lastly, give the veggies a rest if you consuming a lot of them. Go for fruit instead, try low sugar ones first if you can't handle oranges and other tropicals but slowly work your way up!

Other supplements that will help this transition would be a bit of liver and oysters, vit E, niacinimide, coffee (caffeine).

 

[haidut]

I can testify that high dose aspirin (7g a day for 2 weeks as in the posted study) restored my insulin sensitivity but made me gain weight. So, after I restored insulin sensitivity I had to stop aspirin and niacinamide and use caffeine and vitamin K2 and I kept taking that for several months until I dropped about 30lbs. I did not diet in any way and did not exercise either.
My results matched the aspirin study almost perfectly. Insulin and fasting glucose went down by 30%-40%. My triglycerides were normal to start with so those did not change. Interestingly, liver enzymes did not change as well in contrast to some studies that found elevated ALT when taking more than 4g aspirin a day. Also, as in the aspirin study, I did not lose weight so I had to do other things for that problem. But I think aspirin is a good start to make you feel dramatically better, which gives you motivation to do other things that help metabolism.

 

[Stac3y]

Thank you all for your quick replies. I have to admit that I am afraid to change my diet. For the first time in my life, I can go most work days eating only 3 meals with one snack, but only if I eat a large salad with chicken breast for the first 2 meals. Usually, I am one of those chronically hungry people, which is why I turned to Atkins--I am much more satiated. When I was in my teens and early twenties, I was high carb/no-low fat, and I was having hypoglycemic attacks to the point of fainting. These happen on my present diet, but are far rarer.

Lookngforanswers, I think I would need to work up to that many carbs, or else my body would just freak out.

Zachs, I agree that I am really just putting on a bandaid at this point, but I am that desperate. I've actually fallen on the hypoglycemic-side of the spectrum, which is probably why my health is in such a mess (doctors only care about diabetes). I've spent too many years trying to address the underlying problem/s without any success. I do eat muscle meat and eggs. Other than cheese, those are the only things that make me feel full.I am hoping aspirin and a thyroid supplement will make a transition back to including carbs less painfully. From your input, it sounds like I have done every horrible thing I could do to my thyroid. I am also estrogen dominant, and am hoping that aspirin will help me with that.

Haidut, thank you for sharing your experience and the warning about gaining weight. I was very nervous about the dosage--some members have had scary reactions. At what point could you tell that you restored insulin sensitivity? What were the symptoms, and how did were they different from the insulin resistant symptoms?

Since I am on iron for anemia, I am already gaining weight from that. I have found that b-vitamins make me feel like I am starving, so I avoided them for a long time. Lately, I have mixed a b-vitamin complex with dmso and applied it to my wrist. This bypasses some of the hunger issues. I had stopped a pretty heavy coffee habit in September, but have started allowing myself one cup of instant in the afternoon, which makes me feel less cold all of the time. I do not know that I could be a ray peat diet purist, but at this point, I have made enough of a mess to try anything. I think a slow transition is better given the severity of my symptoms.

 

[SQu]

Zach just wrote a summary of my own health history of the past few years! I agree with his approach. Low carb may not have caused my fatigue but it definitely took it to almost crippling. It is an energy disaster.

Being on the other side of most of this adjustment, if I could do it differently I would try as fast as possible (taking into account stress responses of initially feeling good then bad after making big diet changes) to lower fat and keep pufa as low as you can. This may (someone correct me if I'm wrong!) limit fat regain. Aim for digestive comfort. Easier said than done but pivotal. Don't be surprised at setbacks and things getting initially worse. Coffee may not agree with your liver for a while. Lots of us have been through all this so if these things happen, do a search and you'll find reports. Try and incorporate gelatin. There's plenty of ways to do this, from oxtail stews to fruit jellies to drunk hot, sweetened and flavoured.

Increasingly I live on milk and fruit and nutrient dense powerhouses like liver (small quantities) eggs and seafood and would have adjusted towards more of these earlier if I were to have had the benefit of hindsight. But also I would have respected the damage done and the time needed for recovery. Most of all read Peat's articles and interviews. It does take time and patience. But then it's not just another diet. It's an education. You'll never look back. Best of luck.

 

[SQu]

I believe that with sufficient calories and abundant nutrition and minerals, especially calcium, low fat need not make you feel weak and faint (like you, I always did before.) My experience anyway, following others here. But it was true also that I had done a lot of rebuilding already when I retried it and that might be crucial too. I don't think you can shed weight and keep it off while you feel bad or stressed. (Again, my experience and people do differ.)
Also read what Peat has to say about progesterone for the estrogen problem.
Aspirin does lots for me and did even more when I began. Remember the Vitamin K.
Many things peat suggests raise metabolism which is maybe why vitamin b made you hungry. You do need to eat - the right things - very much including sugars - to get better and even ultimately to lose weight.

 

[haidut]

Thank you all for your quick replies. I have to admit that I am afraid to change my diet. For the first time in my life, I can go most work days eating only 3 meals with one snack, but only if I eat a large salad with chicken breast for the first 2 meals. Usually, I am one of those chronically hungry people, which is why I turned to Atkins--I am much more satiated. When I was in my teens and early twenties, I was high carb/no-low fat, and I was having hypoglycemic attacks to the point of fainting. These happen on my present diet, but are far rarer.

Lookngforanswers, I think I would need to work up to that many carbs, or else my body would just freak out.

Zachs, I agree that I am really just putting on a bandaid at this point, but I am that desperate. I've actually fallen on the hypoglycemic-side of the spectrum, which is probably why my health is in such a mess (doctors only care about diabetes). I've spent too many years trying to address the underlying problem/s without any success. I do eat muscle meat and eggs. Other than cheese, those are the only things that make me feel full.I am hoping aspirin and a thyroid supplement will make a transition back to including carbs less painfully. From your input, it sounds like I have done every horrible thing I could do to my thyroid. I am also estrogen dominant, and am hoping that aspirin will help me with that.

Haidut, thank you for sharing your experience and the warning about gaining weight. I was very nervous about the dosage--some members have had scary reactions. At what point could you tell that you restored insulin sensitivity? What were the symptoms, and how did were they different from the insulin resistant symptoms?

Since I am on iron for anemia, I am already gaining weight from that. I have found that b-vitamins make me feel like I am starving, so I avoided them for a long time. Lately, I have mixed a b-vitamin complex with dmso and applied it to my wrist. This bypasses some of the hunger issues. I had stopped a pretty heavy coffee habit in September, but have started allowing myself one cup of instant in the afternoon, which makes me feel less cold all of the time. I do not know that I could be a ray peat diet purist, but at this point, I have made enough of a mess to try anything. I think a slow transition is better given the severity of my symptoms.

If you are taking iron for anemia, aspirin could be a problem since it can deplete iron stores. Maybe you can finish the iron course and then do the aspirin or the other way around.
In terms of insulin sensitivity - I was able to eat much bigger portions of sugar without getting a "head rush" like you experience. Also, I was able to go much longer between meals (maybe up to 6 hours) without getting adrenalin/cortisol rush with cold/sweaty palms and brain fog. Things became much more "even" for a lack of a better word. If you do decide to use the aspirin regimen, try taking vitamin K with it as such large doses can increase the chance of bleeding.

 

[RPDiciple]

haidut: should aspirin always be taken together with food? why and why not ?

 

[haidut]

haidut: should aspirin always be taken together with food? why and why not ?

I don't know the answer to that, I guess it depends for each person. There are studies showing that combining aspirin with baking soda like in Alka Seltzer prevents any potential gastric damage so in theory you could take that form of aspirin on empty stomach. There are tons of studies showing combining aspirin with other substances like glycine, magnesium, theanine, caffeine, etc prevents damage or heals already existing damage caused by aspirin. I guess there are many option to mitigate aspirin dangers.
I don't know what the argument for taking with food really is. I mean, if you take with food there will be more gastric acid released and also aspirin will stay longer in the stomach, so there is more potential for damage. I would suggest finding out what causes the least amount of discomfort for you in terms of empty/full stomach or combining with mitigating substances. Everybody seems to react differently to aspirin.

 

[tara]

Stac3y

I'm with Zachs and sueq, including making changes gradually and being prepared for a bumpy road. My understanding at this stage says avoiding carbs in favour of fat is likely to worsen insulin sensitivity and thyroid function.

I would be surprised if you can recover insulin sensitivity without weight gain, but I would expect it to be worth the trade off. You may need to tolerate a period of higher blood glucose readings for a while too. I don't know how high you should tolerate, but some spikes above the standard levels may be inevitable.

I recognise your description - I spent a lot of my twenties hungry, sometimes close to fainting. So I read the advice I found then and restricted sugar for many years (but not starches - lots of complex carbs). I now eat lots of sugar and am seldom hungry, but I do still eat/drink often - wouldn't dream of trying to subsist on 3 meals a day at this stage.

Not surprised B vits made you hungry - they improve sugar metabolism in lots of ways. I'd try adding them back in, and eat/drink fruit/milk with them so you get the energy not just the hunger.
If you are really anaemic from lack of iron (as opposed to the other reasons for anaemia), I think Peat would suggest regular liver etc instead of non-food iron supplements.
Peat has pointed out benefits of including fructose with glucose in diabetes and insulin resistance.

There are no guarantees making the suggested changes will give you a smooth recovery. You get to figure out what makes sense to you.
I'd strongly advise reading (and if it takes you as long to get it as it took me, rereading) Peat's articles on sugar at raypeat.com/articles if you haven't yet. And the others too, when you get around to it.

Good luck

 

[Stac3y]

First-thank you all for you wonderfully informative replies. I've started the articles, but it is taking me time, as the model of health and nutrition presented is so different from all of the systems I have encountered before. I am a supplement person, and am happy to see that some of the supplements I use are recommended, so I am trying to map out the interactions in order to understand how best to apply them.

Haidut, the "adrenalin/cortisol rush with cold/sweaty palms and brain fog" is exactly what I experience, and it is so useful to read that it is possible to address the problem even if it is not easily solved. Also, thank you for mentioning that aspirin depletes iron. I am going to see if I can take the two supplements at different times in the day to avoid interaction, and perhaps up the iron.

I picked up aspirin and am presently taking it with food since the pill is uncoated. Once my vitamin k comes in, I'll up the dosage, but right now I am playing it safe.

Tara, I definitely want the changes to be gradual-I've put my body through too much already. Given the significant carb restrictions I have been using, my first step would be to include more sugar vegetables like tomatoes and peas, plus maybe some coconut flour into my diet. That does not sound like much to most people, but even yellow onions taste sweet to me. My goal would be to eventually be able to eat an occasional sweet potato without my sugar levels going out of wack, and I am hoping the aspirin will help mitigate so of the adversity in that transition. I hope to be able to introduce sweet potatoes by the fall or winter.

Again, thank you all for your input. I think I will have many more questions as I make changes to my lifestyle.

 

[tara]

Hi Stac3y,
I think gradual makes sense, but if you don't push it a bit, you'll never get there. Your eventual goal does not seem ambitious enough to resolve your issues. I was thinking more like aiming to get up to 300+g carbs over 2-3 mths. You'd probably have to reduce your fat intake to support this, because fat tends to reduce the cells' ability to burn sugar (Randle cycle). If you haven't read TheBigPeatowski's log, I'd recommend it. She made a massive improvement in her ability to oxidise sugar over a few months by using a radical strategy.
Yes, the articles take a bit of getting my head around, too.

 

[thebigpeatowski]

Hi Stac3y....my oh my....your story is nearly identical to mine. Zachs, haidut, tara etc. are spot on. In my opinion, based on a year's worth of research and self-experimentation, there is only one way out and it isn't always fun....looking back, I can laugh now, but there were some scary stressful times for sure.

Luckily, you have a stellar support system here and I can assure that Peat's writings on insulin resistance/diabetes/PUFA are 100% correct....I truly put his ideas to the test. It works. I went from severely insulin resistant to fully diabetic to completely normal. I can now eat anything I want (tho still no PUFA) without the wild swings, which is something I could NEVER do while following a low-carb high fat diet.

In a nut shell this is what I did and it worked very well: cut all starch, make sure you're getting enough protein (for me that was 100 grams per day on average), lower fat intake substantially (I dropped mine to 20 gms a day, but YMMV), ABSOLUTELY ZERO PUFA, and raise fructose intake to 300 grams a day. I used 100% pure non-GMO fructose powder in place of sugar and also LOTS of OJ and honey. Also, increase coffee intake (5 or 6 cups a day with the fructose powder and milk). Also lotsa B vitamins, calcium and I took enough thyroid meds to get my TSH under 1. I'm sure I forgot something so I hope others will fill in...

And put away the glucose monitor or you might freak out. If I were you, I would drop the iron supplement, it's poison and your weight gain could be a signal that your body is trying to buffer the toxic effects. Try to get your iron from oysters or clams if you truly need it. All of this is merely my opinion :2cents

GOOD LUCK and keep us posted!!!

 

[Stac3y]

Thank you for your advice. It's scary--sugar has been a sin for so long, and I have have such negative reactions to it in any form that I am truly afraid. Essentially, my system is fundamentally out of wack hormonally from working fulltime (or 2 partime), going to school fulltime, and taking care of disabled parents from 18 until I turned 30. Adrenals and thyroid are exhausted, I have a family history of pocs (not diagnosed, but have symptoms). Doctors have been spectacularly unhelpful, only trying to get me hooked on antidepressents when I complain about fatigue.

I've started implementing changes (lower fat/raising sugar), but I've not made it to 300grams. I stopped all coffee in September, and now drink 2 cups of instant a day (adrenals are over worked, so too much coffee is not a good idea for me). I am already having low blood sugar attacks since lowering fat and adding fruit to my diet; I had to wake up twice last night to eat. I started aspirin and pregnenolone. I have been taking wild yam and many companion nutrients. I am going slowly, as I will be switching from Thyro-gold to Thyroid-s, which is stronger, so I want to have my system adjust before I attempt the 300 gram fructose.

One question I have: I began looking at the Ray Peat information on aspirin because I have high insulin resistance, which was obvious because I was gaining weight while consuming under 25 carbs a day. Why, while on the RP diet, do you consume such high levels of sugar while using hypoglycemic supplements? I've read that people feel their system treats fructose differently, but to me, fruit and honey have the same effect as granulated sugar. What is the difference between eating that much sugar and taking supplements to suppress it versus just not eating the sugar in the first place? Does that make sense?

 

[thebigpeatowski]

It's scary--sugar has been a sin for so long, and I have have such negative reactions to it in any form that I am truly afraid.

I was too, it was absolutely terrifying. I suspect I was actually fully diabetic earlier because I read that fasting blood glucose is the last marker to show, who knows? I did a lot of research prior to jumping in, but couldn't find anything to actually CURE my condition....except Peat's writings. Everyone's path is different based on their own uniqueness, you'll find your way.

Essentially, my system is fundamentally out of wack hormonally from working fulltime (or 2 partime), going to school fulltime, and taking care of disabled parents from 18 until I turned 30. Adrenals and thyroid are exhausted, I have a family history of pocs (not diagnosed, but have symptoms). Doctors have been spectacularly unhelpful, only trying to get me hooked on antidepressents when I complain about fatigue.

Me too...mine were a different set of stressors (being a single parent, running a business AND homeschooling my kids). I have never been formally diagnosed with PCOS, but have many symptoms: whacked blood sugar, acne, weight gain and a beard.

One question I have: I began looking at the Ray Peat information on aspirin because I have high insulin resistance, which was obvious because I was gaining weight while consuming under 25 carbs a day. Why, while on the RP diet, do you consume such high levels of sugar while using hypoglycemic supplements? I've read that people feel their system treats fructose differently, but to me, fruit and honey have the same effect as granulated sugar. What is the difference between eating that much sugar and taking supplements to suppress it versus just not eating the sugar in the first place? Does that make sense?

I can't answer your question on aspirin because I haven't personally used it as a regular supplement, nothing beyond the occasional tablet here and there. Perhaps someone else can chime in...

 

[tara]

I have been taking wild yam and many companion nutrients.

Progesterone is synthesised in a lab from a component of wild yams, but our bodies can not make this conversion. Wild yam supplements are more likely to be estrogenic, if anything. I would recommend stopping this supplement.

One question I have: I began looking at the Ray Peat information on aspirin because I have high insulin resistance, which was obvious because I was gaining weight while consuming under 25 carbs a day. Why, while on the RP diet, do you consume such high levels of sugar while using hypoglycemic supplements? I've read that people feel their system treats fructose differently, but to me, fruit and honey have the same effect as granulated sugar. What is the difference between eating that much sugar and taking supplements to suppress it versus just not eating the sugar in the first place? Does that make sense?

Because from Peat's PoV, we benefit in many ways from generating energy by oxidising sugar. Some of the supplements are hypoglycemic precisely because they assist the cells to turn sugar into energy efficiently. This is a very good thing as long as we can supply sufficient sugar, and all the minerals and vitamins that are also needed along with the sugar (which you get more of from fruit, milk etc, than from refined sucrose). Sugar also directly supports conversion of T4 to the active thyroid hormone T3, which helps with many things. Sucrose, honey and fruit all digest down to a mixture of the monosaccharides fructose and glucose. Some people seem to do better with more fructose, but a lot of people do fine with a mixture as found in natural foods like fruit, milk, honey, sucrose.

If you try to run for a long time on mainly fat and protein with very little carbs, it results in chronically high stress hormones, which are useful to keep you alive and functioning in the short term, but they all have metabolic costs in th medium to long term. (Lots of stories from other posters illustrate this).

That you having low blood sugar attacks since trying to switch seems to indicate that you do not have diabetes, right? It does take a bit of effort and planning to keep up the increased fuel supply. You can try drinking juice every hour, etc. I still keep snacks by the bed in case I wake up hungry, but seldom have to use them now, as long as I eat enough through the day - including lots of sugar. I was blown away when I read what normal non-dieting weight-stable women normally eat - about 2500 cals - more if hutaller, or heavily active, or breastfeeding, etc. If only I'd known in my twenties that part of the soulution to my low blood sugar problems was so straight-forward as eating more sugar so it didn't run out so fast. I'm pretty sure the B-vits I take help me use it all better, too, and the protein.

 

[Stac3y]

I have had better experiences with wild yam, and I am an herbalist who tends to favor plants. I've not had much effect with progesterone creams.

I am the opposite end of the spectrum. I am hypoglycemic and always hungry. My stomach is growling within an hour after eating a well balanced dinner.

I am waiting for my Thyroid-s order to come in (in addition to finishing off some non-Peat food) before attempting the Pig Peatowski's low fat high sugar "intro diet" for 3 months. I have found 3 months to be a great "reset" time frame, both in terms of health and changing eating habits. I'll probably begin in earnest in the beginning of May. I log my experience into the appropriate area on the forum.

Thank you everyone for your advice.

 

[thebigpeatowski]

the Pig Peatowski's

Ha ha...well I been called a lot of things, Pig Peatowski works too

I'll probably begin in earnest in the beginning of May. I log my experience into the appropriate area on the forum.

Thank you everyone for your advice.

I'm eager to hear how things go for you, I find this journey FASCINATING....All the best!!!

 

[Stac3y]

Sorry about the typo. Is there a blushing emoticon?