Oxidative Stress and Insulin Resistance
As we have discussed before, insulin resistance is a cardinal feature of type 2 diabetes, and is an important factor in many other illnesses. Last year saw the publication of a study from Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York, showing that high levels of blood glucose induced an inflammatory response in fat cells, and reactive oxygen species was a key player in the process.
Now, a very interesting paper in the journal Nature indicates that fat storage cells exposed to chemicals (dexamethasone and tumor necrosis factor-α) raise the levels of reactive oxygen species and these raise insulin resistance. If the cells are then treated to suppress this production, insulin resistance falls. We have been interested in balancing the oxidant and antioxidant systems to reduce the risk of the complications of diabetes, but now it looks as if antioxidants may also help the underlying disease process itself.
In a future blog I’m going to explain why free radicals and oxidative stress are not all bad: they are key cancer killers!
And in one of the programs coming out later this year, I shall explain how to modulate oxidative stress to keep your systems in constant dynamic balance.
Technorati tags: Oxidative stress Inflammation Insulin resistance Free radicals
Dr. Richard G. Petty, MD is a world-renowned authority on the brain, and his revolutionary work on human energy systems has been acclaimed around the globe.
He is also an accredited specialist in internal and metabolic medicine, endocrinology, psychiatry, acupuncture and homeopathy. He has been an innovator and leader of the human potential movement for over thirty years and is also an active researcher, teacher, writer, professional speaker and broadcaster. He is the author of five books, including the groundbreaking and best selling CD series Healing, Meaning and Purpose. He has taught in over 45 countries and 48 states in the last ten years, but spends as much time as possible on his horse farm in Georgia.
