Consult your Physician before making any diagnosis, changing medications, diet or other therapies. The information on The Sand Hill Philosopher is not intended to Diagnose or Treat any Medical Condition. Please see previous Blog Warnings in this Fibromyalgia Series.
In the last post I drew a relation between five diseases, nominated "The
Fibromyalgia Pentad." These are five diagnoses that are closely related. I also pointed out the timing of the onset of Fibromyalgia (FM) Symptoms, co-morbid diseases, and correlated these with the use of High Fructose Corn Syrup. The Pentad include Fibromyalgia, Diabetes (or, Glucose Intolerance), Fatty Liver Disease, Obesity and Depression.
Since so many false cases of Fibromyalgia are made (doctors call a disease that is subjective, and cannot be proven or disproven, a "trash can diagnosis"), for this disease to count as one of the five diseases in the Pentad, it must be re-confirmed by current rheumatological criteria, primarily the Trigger Points.
When at least Four out of the Five co-morbid diseases are present, I believe that the case is Fibromyalgia Syndrome, and will respond to the therapy described in The Diabetes Solution, by Dr. Bernstein.
Previously going to lengths to show that these five diseases are commonly found together,
I suggested that diet is related to all of them. In Part Two, we reviewed most of the "normal" findings in FM, specifically those that do not reveal why Trigger Points are tender, when all physiology/pathology indicates a normal condition in the muscles and peripheral nerves, including the reflex loop.We now face a look at each of these co-morbid conditions, and why I believe they are related to the soaring rate of glucose (especially, High Fructose Corn Syrup) and its metabolism in these conditions.
Let me begin with the simpler disease of Obesity. Health Professionals and the Public all know that sugars (High Fructose Corn Syrup is changed to Glucose for body use) are high in calories, and this leads to obesity. While Obesity is common in America, and increasing, so is the incidence of both Obesity and FM. As previously shown, it takes approximately 10 years of increased caloric intake, to the point of being Obese (~20% above ideal body weight, or BMI). From the point of obesity to the development of Glucose Intolerance (which when extreme enough, develops into Diabetes Mellitus) typically takes another 10 years, depending upon such factors as family history (genetics), rate of weight gain, and sporadic nature of diets in attempts to lose weight.
The way that the body works in metabolizing glucose is key to the understanding of this Pentad.
Increasing glucose levels in the blood cause the Pancreas (through Islet of Langerhans cells). There are Insulin Receptors on each of the cells of your body. While most tissues can burn alternate forms of energy, the Central Nervous System (CNS), which includes the brain and spinal cord, can only utilize Glucose for its energy source.
Insulin Cell Receptors (an internet search will lead you to some great pictorials). The insulin fits into these receptors like a key in a lock, thus opening two channels in the cell wall membrane. One of these is to allow the larger glucose molecule into the cell, and the other channel releases a single Sodium molecule (NA+) into the blood, and a Potassium (K+) molecule is co-transported with the glucose.
[The complex explanation, but not necessary to know for this FM discussion, is that the cell membrane must take a Potassium (K+) in with the glucose, which allows water to follow, dehydrating the blood slightly for each glucose molecule taken in. On a large, full-body level, this can lead to serious water balance problems, changing the osmolar balance of the blood. Also, as the Potassium (K+) enters the cell, a Sodium (Na+) molecule is expelled into the blood, in order to maintain ionic balance across the cell membrane.] Eventually, as other nutrients and water are added to the blood, the Sodium returns to the inside of the cell, if needed, and the blood is watered down by water intake, and Potassium must be replaced. The Osmolar condition in the blood is similar to the mechanism that causes Diabetic patients to get thirsty.]
In the next post, we will look more at glucose and insulin as mediators of normal cell function, and what can happen to the body when these normal balances are deranged by improper diet, often leading to the Fibromyalgia Pentad.
Having Thought, The Sand Hill Philosopher
Fibromyalgia, Part One http://su.pr/4hxq9E
Fibromyalgia, Part Two http://su.pr/AdCUEY
Fibromyalgia, Part Three http://su.pr/2V4kvW
Fibromyalgia, Part Four http://su.pr/26pacQ
Fibromyalgia, Part Five http://bit.ly/3cvXWr
Copyright 2009, C. Dwayne Shafer, MD, PhD
