Fw: Diatebes Carbs Hep C

[Guest guest]

Just saw this on another forum. posted it. He uses alternative methods to keep his Hep C under control. Thought it interesting as carbs are the problem with diabetes as well. So, as I said, I am still searching for answers.

SuziQ

Category: Hep C and diet

The Hepatitis C virus replicates and infects cells by hijacking at least two cellular mechanisms, one of which is specific to liver cells; the RNA replication apparatus, which is essential in all cells (and thus is not a realistic target for nutritional therapy), and the mechanism which converts excess carbohydrate to triglycerides (fatty acids) and sends them to the blood stream to be stored in fat cells for later use.

The latter mechanism is largely optional, and is sent into overdrive by the high carbohydrate of the current, fashionable, “healthy†diet. The human body has evolved to function on minimal or no carbohydrates, because we evolved under conditions, before the invention of agriculture, where game animals, birds, and fish were plentiful and most available plant sources of nutrition were relatively low in carbohydrates and rich in polyphenols and fibre (bitter or tart, and stringy) compared to those we eat today. DGAT1 is an enzyme essential for HCV replication the production of which is triggered by insulin, which is the hormone the body produces in reaction to glucose, the digestion product of most carbohydrate foods. Blocking DGAT1 is considered to be a realistic target of drug therapies for HCV. However, it is doubtful that any drug it is possible to invent could lower the level of DGAT1 as completely as a diet with no use for it; that is to say, a diet with no more carbohydrate than can be burned for energy immediately (a very small amount unless you are an athlete in the middle of performance), or could lower DGAT1 without other unwanted effects. Once replicated, HCV escapes from infected hepatocytes via the membrane sites that release VLDL-cholesterol into the bloodstream. VLDL-C carries the triglycerides which have been formed to store the energy from excess carbohydrate (once these are dumped into fat storage VLDL-C becomes the notorious LDL-C. The more triglycerides packed into the original VLDL-C, the more harmful the type of LDL-C). Thus restricting carbohydrates produces two effects on HCV; replication is slowed, and infection of new cells is also slowed because less of the HCV is being freed from infected hepatocytes. A further benefit is the improved immune function seen on low carb diets, as high insulin levels compromise immunity. Fibrosis is also heavily driven by insulin and all inflammatory processes are slowed or stopped by the serious reduction of carbohydrates. Eating a low carb diet means eating more fats and protein, and these have positive benefits for liver health; protein is a mixture of amino acids, almost all of which have been shown to have anti-inflammatory or antioxidant effects at the concentrations in a high-protein diet, and none of which are harmful (there is no evidence that high protein intake harms the kidneys; the sole experimental finding that began this myth resulted from feeding a diet of meat and soy protein to caged rabbits, an animal which naturally eats very

little protein in its diet. If you feed a carnivorous or omnivorous animal a higher-protein diet its kidneys will, if anything, function better than they did before). As for fats, we have been lied to for years. Saturated fats do not cause disease, and polyunsaturated fats are not necessarily healthy. A diet including beef tallow, the most saturated of animal fats, protects the liver of rats force-fed alcohol, and such diets are at the heart of the so-called French paradox; populations that drink heavily and eat most saturated fat have the lowest levels of heart disease and cirrhosis. We do not need to invoke resveratrol to explain this result.