Glucose Transport 4

(GLUT 4)

Probably one of the first things you think about when you first hear the word ‘diabetes’ is insulin. Well...it shouldn’t be. Insulin has pretty much nothing to do with ‘type II Diabetes’. As a matter of fact... the reason a person has type II Diabetes has so little to do with insulin it should not even be called diabetes.

The only reason it was called Diabetes was because one of the side effects of the disease is an elevated blood sugar...the same as Type I Diabetes. In ‘Type I’ the pancreas does not produce enough insulin. In ‘Type II’ the pancreas actually tries to over compensate the high blood sugar and produces too much insulin. The problem lies in the inability of insulin to deliver.

In the center of each and every 67 trillion cells of your body are some protein molecules called ‘Glucose Transporters’. There are several different categories of Glucose Transporters, 1 thru 5 are the main ones, but I think so far 12 have been identified. The main one that is found in muscle and fat cells is GLUT 4. It also requires insulin to activate the GLUT 4 molecule.

How insulin, glucose and GLUT 4 interact with each other is exceedingly complex but don’t worry...I’ll explain it in simple terms.

This is how it works...

When you eat carbohydrates the body converts all sugars to glucose. It enters the blood stream and the pancreas produces insulin to distribute it, the more sugar the more insulin the pancreas produces.

The body uses the insulin like a delivery man. The insulin picks up the package (glucose) and goes out to make its delivery to all your cells. The insulin comes up to a cell and knocks on the cell door “Hey, your glucose is here!”. This activates the GLUT 4 molecule from the center of the cell. It gets up off the couch and goes to answer the door!

The pathway that the GLUT 4 molecule takes is carpeted with Essential Fatty Acids (EFA’s). When the GLUT 4 gets to the outside of the cell membrane (which is also made up of EFA’s) and opens the door and receives the package...says “thank you very much” and goes back to the center of the cell where the sugar is used by the mitochondria for fuel or cell repair.

Now!...the fatty acids, especially Omega-3 fatty acids, are incorporated into the membranes of cells. They lubricate the cell; improve flexibility and allow communication among the cells. Cell membranes allow waste materials to pass out of the cell and allow nutrients to move into the cell. When the body does not have adequate levels of good Omega-3 fatty acids, it will replace it, the body (cells) needs the fat, if it can’t get good fats the body will use bad fats...it doesn’t care...it just needs fat.

So, it will use the fats that look similar to Omega-3 fatty acids. Bad fats will now be incorporated into cell membranes if Omega-3 levels are very low. This substitution disrupts the delicate balance of the cell wall. What happens is the cell wall becomes more rigid and less permeable. When I say bad fats I mean fats that have been heated above 38 Celsius including cooked meats, or oils that have been hydrogenated (trans fats) to prolong shelf life.

Think about dropping a marble into a jar of olive oil and watching it quickly sink to the bottom, and then now think about dropping a marble into a jar of lard and watch how fast it sinks to the bottom.  This is what happens when the bad fats line the GLUT 4 pathway...the GLUT 4 molecule just can’t get to the outside cell membrane.

Here’s the problem...

The North American diet does not include any good Essential Fatty Acids. I would say 80-90% of our food is cooked which destroys all Omega-3 fatty acids and turns most if not all fats and oils into bad fats.

But...wait now!! What you eat is just 50% of the problem for diabetics and over weight people...

Another problem is not exercising. Each cell contains many doors for many GLUT 4 molecules to receive glucose. It is up to you to keep these doorways open and available.

The surface of each cell is lined with protein molecules called receptors. There are hundreds of different types of receptors on a cell’s surface, however, each receptor is unique and recognizes ‘specific’ messenger substances; for e.g. there are receptors for neurotransmitters, hormones, histamines...etc.

Think of a cell’s surface as comparable to an apartment building. All the apartments in the building have the same street address (the cell), but each apartment in the building has its own doorman (the unique receptor) for entry and deliveries of packages addressed specifically to that apartment.

But, when the body stops getting exercise these doorways begin to close and remain locked. So, it’s a double whammy...a tough ridged pathway from toxic fats and no doorways when the GLUT 4 molecules get to the outside of the cell.

So what happens?

The glucose remains in the blood stream (elevated if you have diabetes) and the body has no choice but to store it as fat. 

I could never understand how you could lose weight by eating tablespoons of omega oil.  It simply allows the body to function optimally by burning the sugar instead of storing it as fat in your adipose tissue.

Hopefully you are not eating toxic fat but even if you still are you can still help yourself by getting lots of exercise and getting good omega’s into your daily diet so that the body doesn’t replace the cells from good fats to bad fats. I recommend 3-6-9 Omega oil on your salad and try to get avocados and coconuts into your diet every day.