Lower incidence of diabetes and obesity living at higher elevations

Obviously being active, eating well, etc - leads to a longer life. Not in dispute.

But in regards to the OP about altitude - if you look at somewhere like Maine or Oregon or California, where people are also active, if they have still a higher incidence of diabetes then there may be something to the altitude thing? Just saying, the NIH tries to normalize these things.

South Carolina has likely the highest diabetes rate. Is it because were all fat (very possible), or at sea level, or does it have something to do with 40% of our population is ethnicities that have a higher incidence of it everywhere? Likely all of these reasons?

If you have a dog you live longer. Is it because of the dog? Probably not - its likely due to lowered stress. The blue zones are in places like Okinawa and Costa Rica - sign me up. Yes there active, but have lower stress vs someone in NYC.

You can normalize studies for age, etc. But its more difficult to normalize for behavior and stress, for exmple.
I am a firm believer in the nuts and bolts mechanism. And trust me, most of my life was statistics and cause and effect. Until the solid research of mechanism is found and validated repetitively, I stay in the "get off my lawn" camp with most all the studies.

So I am not saying yes or no to this, I am merely commenting.

"5. Conclusions
Several variables attempted to explain the inverse association between altitude and adult obesity. However, higher altitude continued to be inversely associated with adult obesity after adjusting for these variables. Various mechanisms were discussed that help explain why higher altitude may lower the risk of adult obesity. In addition, higher altitude indirectly influenced adult obesity, primarily through its relationship with physical inactivity, but also through smoking. Adult obesity was most strongly associated with physical inactivity followed by adult smoking, altitude, average daily sunlight, and average daily precipitation."


I mean this does not completely rule out fat people don't MOVE to higher altitudes because they can't handle it.

A couple months ago the headlines were screaming "Red meat causes diabetes". The study was based on food survey questionnaires. From previous months and years.
 
But in regards to the OP about altitude - if you look at somewhere like Maine or Oregon or California, where people are also active, if they have still a higher incidence of diabetes then there may be something to the altitude thing? Just saying, the NIH tries to normalize these things.
That's what the study gets at, exercise is great, but with hypoxia, it's even more beneficial. Which would lead me to speculate, that even without exercise, there is a benefit to living at a higher altitude.

If you took the population from SC and had them live at 5k feet, maybe they would see some benefits.
 
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A couple months ago the headlines were screaming "Red meat causes diabetes". The study was based on food survey questionnaires. From previous months and years.
Was it the "news" (term used loosely), or the NIH? Not saying the NIH can't be full of BS, but the bar for a NIH study to be published is a little higher, at least assuming there are no current events requiring it.
 
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Was it the "news" (term used loosely), or the NIH? Not saying the NIH can't be full of BS, but the bar for a NIH study to be published is a little higher, at least assuming there are no current events requiring it.
It was the news. I cannot remember the study. And again agree, NIH has a slightly higher bar, than some of the stuff out of Harvard.

2-4 year (looking into the) past food questionnaires is/are not science.
 
All I know is that lipid metabolism increases with altitude. I can see how that might affect other metabolic processes. Oxygen levels likely play into it. Erythrocytes increase at high altitude and that could have an effect on glucose metabolism.
 
Considering all of these peoples mitochondria probably work the same, IDK how their employment would make a difference?

I'm not a statistician so I don't really understand the details of your observation but it seems the correlation is pretty strong here and the science makes sense.

Just looked up cancer and elevation:

"Humans living at high altitude (HA) are exposed to chronic (hypobaric) hypoxia. Despite the permanent stress of hypoxic exposure, humans populating HA areas have reduced cancer mortality over a broad spectrum of cancer types. In fact, the majority of the physiological adaptive processes at HA occurring in response to hypoxia might be the driving force for reduced cancer mortality at HA."

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29389240/
Since you brought up mitochondria, you should check out Steven Gundry’s Unlocking the Keto Code… he goes in depth on “mitochondrial uncoupling” which he says is the key to health and weight loss.

Certain foods and eating behaviors go a long way towards mitochondrial uncoupling… I started using the methods and foods he described on Jan 3rd of this year, and as of yesterday morning I was down exactly 20 pounds in 23 days. At this rate I’ll lose what I want in about 4 months.
 
Certain foods and eating behaviors go a long way towards mitochondrial uncoupling… I started using the methods and foods he described on Jan 3rd of this year, and as of yesterday morning I was down exactly 20 pounds in 23 days. At this rate I’ll lose what I want in about 4 months.
Those are amazing results! Thank you for the book, I will check it out.
 
i had read that the more sun exposure NOT being blocked potentially raising vitamin D-3 thats a actually a very important pro hormone may contribute as well as higher D-3 is said to have tremendous health benefits + you wont overdose as the body controls intake + conversion.
 
My guess is during chronic hypoxia the body relies less on aerobic respiration and more on anaerobic respiration, using more glucose and fatty acids as fuel.
 
I think red blood cell count is statistically higher in people that live at higher altitudes. Seems I heard that tidbit somewhere along the way.
Hypoxia increases the levels of erythropoietin and increases RBC formation resulting in polycythemia. There is an upper limit of health here as uncontrolled polycythemia increases total peripheral resistance and blood pressure. This is why body builders have heart disease (supraphysiologic doses of steroids also increases erythropoietin production and leads to polycythemia).
 
https://www.cedars-sinai.edu/resear...s-obesity/areas/effects-of-high-altitude.html

"Adults in the United States living in high altitudes have better glucose homeostasis, which is associated with lower odds of having diabetes, than those living at altitudes below 500 meters."

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7285248/

"Hypoxia can occur at altitudes of 1,500 meters or higher. Physiological responses increase with more severe hypoxia, which can occur from higher altitude exposure. Hypoxia may change glucose metabolism and control appetite by altering the function of the nervous system and hormonal levels (e.g., plasma leptin). Hypoxia associated with higher altitude may also be protective against diabetes, cancer, heart disease, and stroke.

Previous results suggest a synergistic effect of physical activity and hypoxic exposure on body weight that may underlie the beneficial effect of living at altitude. This is consistent with the finding in the current study that physical inactivity was not sufficient to explain obesity. It has been shown that the combination of hypoxic exposure and exercise compared with exercise alone produces more favorable improvements in fasting insulin, insulin sensitivity, triglycerides, and body fat content. Furthermore, as hypoxia contributes to better cardiovascular health and positive clinical implications, greater physical activity may be possible."

Hmm, where's a nice high altitude city to move to?

Prescott? Flagstaff? Denver?
Leadville
 
Since you brought up mitochondria, you should check out Steven Gundry’s Unlocking the Keto Code… he goes in depth on “mitochondrial uncoupling” which he says is the key to health and weight loss.

Certain foods and eating behaviors go a long way towards mitochondrial uncoupling… I started using the methods and foods he described on Jan 3rd of this year, and as of yesterday morning I was down exactly 20 pounds in 23 days. At this rate I’ll lose what I want in about 4 months.
T3 via production of uncoupling proteins and a drug called dinitrophenol (DNP) are your prototypic uncouplers of oxidative phosphorylation. They essentially make pores in the mitochondrial membrane, dissipate the H+ gradient, substituting heat production for ATP formation - they make the electron transport chain less efficient and the body will compensate by using free fatty acids for energy production.

As a side note, DNP is very dangerous as overdose can result in "cellular asphyxiation" where someone is unable to maintain ATP levels sufficient to maintain cellular processes and cell death occurs, even in the presence of well oxygenated tissues. Again, the bodybuilders mess with this stuff and it's not hard to see why many do not make it out of their 50's.
 
Study released in UK (heard on radio this AM): Weight lifting absolutely lowers blood glucose and extends longevity. We all knew this about resistance exercise and IS better than just cardio.

Both are great but resistance helps A1C, stress, BP and beyond!
I'm big into lifting. I do very little "cardio" but get a lot of cardio during lifting. Yesterday was leg day concentrating on moderate weight and high reps on the hack squat. I do sets of 20, full-range of motion butt to heals, slow, pause at the bottom. First 10 reps are ok, reps 11-14 increase in difficulty with every rep, at rep 15, I usually need to stop for a few seconds and do some deep breathing and reset bracing my core, 16-20 are a grind that I take one rep at time. At 20 reps I'm at true muscle failure, heart rate is usually in the 140's or 150's and it remains elevate for some time and I'm just shotLifting is as much about maintaining range of motion and healthy joints as it is about strength and maintaining muscle mass for me. At 45 and 6'5" and 260 lbs I can easily go into froggy squat pose with no joint pain, no muscle pain, no muscle stiffness. This also takes me 5 mins, 1-2x per week, instead of endless time on one of the hamster wheels. I do some other high-rep bodyweight squat stuff too concentrating on quads (sissy squat) vs glutes but that's it.

As for no dedicated cardio, my resting heart rate is low 60s, I recently ran a 5k with no other training and while I didn't break any records, I was quite comfortable running at brisk pace being able to talk the entire time. I will not trade this in for the all the skinny-fat men I see constantly running on the hamster wheels machines who can't touch their toes due to muscle stiffness or do 10 body weight squats with a full range of motion.
 
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https://www.cedars-sinai.edu/resear...s-obesity/areas/effects-of-high-altitude.html

"Adults in the United States living in high altitudes have better glucose homeostasis, which is associated with lower odds of having diabetes, than those living at altitudes below 500 meters."

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7285248/

"Hypoxia can occur at altitudes of 1,500 meters or higher. Physiological responses increase with more severe hypoxia, which can occur from higher altitude exposure. Hypoxia may change glucose metabolism and control appetite by altering the function of the nervous system and hormonal levels (e.g., plasma leptin). Hypoxia associated with higher altitude may also be protective against diabetes, cancer, heart disease, and stroke.

Previous results suggest a synergistic effect of physical activity and hypoxic exposure on body weight that may underlie the beneficial effect of living at altitude. This is consistent with the finding in the current study that physical inactivity was not sufficient to explain obesity. It has been shown that the combination of hypoxic exposure and exercise compared with exercise alone produces more favorable improvements in fasting insulin, insulin sensitivity, triglycerides, and body fat content. Furthermore, as hypoxia contributes to better cardiovascular health and positive clinical implications, greater physical activity may be possible."

Hmm, where's a nice high altitude city to move to?

Prescott? Flagstaff? Denver?
Katmandu- you’ll live forever. And you can climb Mount Everest for exercise every weekend.
 
Type 2 diabetes is caused by one and only one thing; intercellular fat. Eating fat. The standard western diet. And is always reversible by simply changing diet.

Read "Dr. Neal Barnard's Program for Reversing Diabetes".
 
Type 2 diabetes is caused by one and only one thing; intercellular fat. Eating fat. The standard western diet. And is always reversible by simply changing diet.

Read "Dr. Neal Barnard's Program for Reversing Diabetes".
Incorrect.

All kinds of people eat fat free foods, nothing but - diabetes gets WORSE. Hmmm

Yes much of the western diet is high in processed seed oils, simple carbohydrates, and all sorts of additives. Diabetes.

When docs started advising eating less fat, obesity REALLY started going up.

Sugar makes you fat. Sedentary life makes you fat. If you are these and eat lots and lots of fat, well ok you will be fat and probably have diabetes. But blame just the fat is - incorrect.
 
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Type 2 diabetes is caused by one and only one thing; intercellular fat. Eating fat. The standard western diet. And is always reversible by simply changing diet.

Read "Dr. Neal Barnard's Program for Reversing Diabetes".
Simple carbs are a much more problematic than fats in the diet. When you eat excess of simple carbohydrates it is absorbed in the intestine and immediate enters the hepatic portal system which drains directly into the liver. The liver attempts to take this overabundance of sugar and store it as glycogen, when it can't do that it stores it as fat in the liver, and when it can't do that the remaining excess unstored glucose then enters systemic circulation. Insulin acts on tissues to cause those tissues to take up the glucose and use it for energy. Chronic hyperinsulinemia results in down regulations of the GLUT-4 receptors in tissues and they become desensitized to insulin (insulin resistance). Chronic hyperglycemia with insulin resistance causes even more hyperinsulinemia and eventually the beta-cells in the pancreas "burn out" for lack of a better term and they stop producing insulin. You now have someone with fatty liver disease and insulin resistance and chronic hyperglycemia - type 2 DM.
 
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THE largest factor is someones health is genetics. I almost hate to say that because I don't want that statement to be taken out of context and anyone to think I am saying "give up" on healthy exercise, eating and lifestyle. I am NOT! Those matter too!

With that hopefully understood, genetics play a huge role in longevity and quality of life. For example, short of suicide, some will live to 90+ regardless how horrible their habits are, like a Willy Nelson or a Keith Richards. Conversely, pro athletes can drop dead at 25.
 
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