Today we return to Examine.com and a summary of an perfect example of not understanding simple biochemistry as a team of incompetent researchers who analyzed several 14-week randomized controlled trials in 43 adult participants with prediabetes or type 2 diabetes, who supplemented with carnosine (2 grams/day) to observe its effect on body composition, muscle strength, bone health, vascular and metabolic markers compared to placebo.
Key study details
“The participants (median age of 53; 30 men, 13 women) had an average BMI of 29 and did not have musculoskeletal conditions. Current smokers and individuals with high alcohol consumption were excluded.
The primary outcomes of the original trial were vascular and metabolic measures, which remained similar between the carnosine and placebo groups. Inflammatory markers also remained similar between groups.”
Well, let’s begin from the start. Carnosine is a dipeptide molecule that the human body manufactures from the amino acids beta-alanine and histidine. It is highly concentrated in muscle and brain tissues and is found in all vertebrates. Carnosine was discovered in 1900 as an abundant non-protein nitrogen-containing compound of meat. It plays a significant role in various physiological functions and is present in high concentrations in tissues such as skeletal muscle, brain, and gastrointestinal tissues.
Humans can also obtain carnosine directly from their natural diet, from animal-based foods. Carnosine is naturally present in high concentrations in meat and fish, making these foods significant and important dietary sources. Carnosine is not found in any kind of plant-based edibles, as with many other essential nutrients that are lacking in plants. Unlike carnosine synthesis, which is limited by the availability of beta-alanine, dietary carnosine from animal-based foods can be absorbed directly into the bloodstream and utilized by the body.
As for cardiovascular, cardiometabolic and metabolic effects, carnosine scavenges free radicals, such as peroxyl radicals, hydroxyl radicals, peroxynitrite, singlet oxygen, and other reactive and highly damaging aldehydes that are found in any kind of unsaturated fats, as in plant-based seed/vegetable oils, protecting cells from oxidative damage. Carnosine also reduces the formation of advanced glycation end-products (AGEs.)
Carnosine has a pKa value of 6.83, making it an effective buffer in the pH range of animal muscles. It constitutes 10-20% of the total buffering capacity in type I and II muscle fibers, which makes it a crucial component for any kind of physical activity and performance as it neutralizes excess lactic acid.
Due to its antioxidant properties and ability to manage circulating Insulin Like Growth Factor Binding Protein 1 (IGFBP1) levels and liver expression of IGFBP1, carnosine plays a role in controlling glucose and HbA1c levels and rectifying an deficiency in carnosine in diabetics have shown to reduce glucose and HbA1c levels in some studies, supporting these discoveries.
With this in mind, you also need to understand that physiological processes in the body work on a sliding scale. Either they work as intended, at maximum, as when everything your body needs is available and the organs and tissues involved are healthy and functional. If there is some damage to involved tissues or organs or if a nutrient is lacking that is necessary for these processes, they will be hampered, as in slowed down or even temporarily stopped.
This also means that if you increase a nutrient that is needed for a certain process that you are interested in, as in this case increasing carnosine for its role in insulin production and protective mechanisms, you will only notice an effect if you were deficient in only carnosine to begin with. You cannot increase the efficiency of a process above its normal levels by taking more of a nutrient that is involved in the process.
And again, if the involved organs are damaged, as often seen in diabetics, not even increasing a lacking nutrient might help to increase its processes, as the limiting factor is its functionality. Instead you need to remove what is causing damage and let the organs and tissues heal to restore their normal functionality and capacity. That is simple common sense. So, in diabetics, supplementing with various nutrients might help if there is only low levels of damage and that person actually was deficient in that exact nutrient to begin with.
However, if you supplement with a nutrient and that person either has very damaged organs or has other nutrient deficiencies that also are involved in these processes, or if that person already has sufficient levels of that nutrient, absolutely nothing will happen.
Again, common sense. And this is why some studies show some positive effects and this study did not. And in all fairness, it’s mostly plant-based retards and zombified vegans and fruitarians that have deficiencies in carnosine, as well as most other nutrients.
Examine.com’s take
“Carnosine has been explored as a potential therapeutic option for type 2 diabetes, but evidence remains limited. Additional research is needed to determine whether specific populations with type 2 diabetes (such as older adults or those with advanced metabolic dysfunction) might benefit from carnosine.”
Yes, the findings remain limited and also contradict each other because there are many factors that influence the outcome, as I described above. And that is why this approach with supplementing various nutrients is totally backwards and retarded.
The only way to fix a problem is by removing the cause of the problem. And when it comes to any kind of disease or ailment it’s almost always the diet that is the problem, as in people consuming a species inappropriate diet of toxic plant-based and processed foods, especially carbohydrates and seed/vegetable oils. Remove these offenders and focus on our species-appropriate, species-specific natural human diet of animal-based foods to supply the body with fully bioavailable nutrients without any toxins, and the body will be able to heal.
Again, supplementing with a nutrient, or focusing on a food with a specific nutrient to “boost” that nutrient within the body will do nothing unless you’re deficient in that specific nutrient and that you’re lucky enough to have enough of the other nutrients needed in the same processes.
If you happen to be deficient in other nutrients as well, nutrients that are needed in the same processes, absolutely nothing will happen if you only “boost” one of them.
And again, any process will only work as good as the health status of the organs and tissues responsible, and they cannot be “boosted” above their optimal rate, which is that of a fully healthy human.
The only way to optimize any process and metabolic function and to return the body to a healthy status, is to remove any toxic load, heal the body, and provide it with its species-specific and natural diet, as in animal-based foods and running the body on a fat-based metabolism. Eat as nature expected you to eat, and you’ll be healthy. It’s that simple.
If you need help with any kind of health problems or transitioning from your current way of eating to our natural species-appropriate, species-specific way of eating, I’m available for both coaching and consultation.
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