EUGENIZATION.

It’s always premature to trumpet the latest, greatest scientific discovery until the science itself is examined (meaning, no, I haven’t read the study yet), but this article was just too compelling to pass up.

Can you believe it? The key to a longer, healthier life is minimizing insulin production.

I previously blogged about how insulin functions in the body to keep blood glucose levels stable by transporting “sugar” out of the bloodstream and into the cells. If high levels of insulin (due to high levels of blood sugar) are maintained, then over time the body’s cells grow resistant to insulin’s effects and no longer accept the entry of sugar. The pancreas responds by pumping more insulin into the bloodstream, and the cells grow more and more insulin-resistant until - boom - you’ve got diabetes.

It doesn’t take a PhD in Nutritional Science to figure out that if you want to be healthy, you want to be insulin-sensitive. Some things that make you more insulin-sensitive are:

1. Exercise. Especially strength training.
2. A diet low in carbohydrates, particularly starches and grains.
3. Fasting. (Dr. Mike Eades, Art DeVany, and Ori Hofmelker have all written extensively on this topic, but I might consider throwing my hat in the ring in a later post).
4. Consumption of Omega 3 fatty acids. Eat your marine animals, kiddies.

Increasing your insulin sensitivity will help you maintain good health and a lean physique, but the (admittedly premature) results of Dr. White’s study suggest that minimizing insulin levels will increase your longevity (by decreasing brain levels of the gene Irs2).

Just another small benefit of following a healthy lifestyle.