Posted on 02/25/2024 9:09:23 PM PST by ConservativeMind
Glucagon, a hormone best known for promoting blood sugar production in the liver, also appears to play a key role in maintaining kidney health. When researchers removed receptors for this hormone from mouse kidneys, the animals developed symptoms akin to chronic kidney disease (CKD).
Researchers have discovered that cells in the pancreas produce glucagon when blood sugar, or glucose, dips below a certain threshold. This hormone migrates through the bloodstream to receptors on the surface of liver cells, prompting the liver to produce glucose that fuels cells throughout the body. More recent research has shown that the kidneys also bear glucagon receptors, but besides stimulating production of a minor amount of glucose, their role has been unclear.
To better understand, Dr. Scherer and his colleagues used genetic techniques to eliminate the receptors in mice and compared them to mice without genetic manipulations and others with glucagon receptors deleted in the liver.
Unlike the other two groups, the mice that had glucagon receptors removed in the kidneys showed a host of pathologies that plagued this organ. These included inflammation, scarring, and excess lipid deposits similar to what is seen in fatty liver disease, as well as high blood pressure and associated kidney-related damage, alterations in the activity of energy-production genes, and signs of high oxidative stress.
Mice without kidney-based glucagon receptors also had a range of deficits stemming from kidney dysfunction that affected their entire bodies, such as a dysregulation of nitrogen, problems maintaining water and electrolyte balances, and heart problems.
These issues largely mimic those in patients with CKD, noted May-Yun Wang, Ph.D. Studies have shown that individuals with CKD have fewer kidney glucagon receptors, although it's unclear which occurred first—kidney pathology that decreased receptor numbers or pathology that arose from an insufficient amount of receptors, Dr. Wang said.
(Excerpt) Read more at medicalxpress.com ...
You can get your body to naturally make glucagon by fasting, which forces your pancreas to make glucagon, which makes your blood sugar naturally go up to levels your body needs, via the liver.
Glucagon is the opposing hormone to insulin.
bttt - glucagon - fasting
.
How does that affect diabetics taking insuline?
Dr. Jason Fung. MD has written books about a protocol which has successfully reversed insulin-dependent Type 2 diabetes by diet alone: low carb plus two or three 36-hour fasts every week.
Bttt
Thanks.
So, a 20 hour window to eat, once a week? Sounds a bit excessive. I like IF but…
Dr. Fung has a lot of videos on YouTube.
I’ve started doing 72-hour fasts at the start of every month.
A word of caution, be careful about how you break a long fast, Refeeding Syndrome can cause issues, if you try to eat too much after a long-term fast, take it slow, and especially avoid carbs to break a fast.
That is for extreme cases.
Or maybe I’m misremembering a bit; 2x36 instead of 3x36
.
Or 3x24
This is what Trulicity and Ozempic work on. They are GLP-1 agonists. Glucagon Like Proteins that fool you into not being hungry and drastically slows the food traveling thru your stomach and small intestines. You lose weight like crazy when you stop eating but the gut cramps from the Trulicity will haunt you for months. No fun!
*
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.