Andrew Koutnik is a passionate biomedical researcher focused primarily on nutrition, metabolism, and their connection to various medical conditions, especially type 1 and type 2 diabetes. This podcast offers listeners an opportunity to learn a vast amount of information about how nutrition affects the body and its processes, and is a must-listen for anyone with diabetes.

Koutnik provides a thorough overview of select research he has conducted at the Metabolic Medicine Lab, University of South Florida. He gives an in-depth explanation of type 1 and type 2 diabetes. Koutnik states that type 1 diabetes is essentially an autoimmune disease that presents due to an inappropriate immune response.

This immune response unfortunately targets cells within the pancreas that are responsible for the production/secretion of insulin and the inappropriate targeting elicits an attack response by the body. When this happens, the patient must self-manage their insulin and glucose, as the body has abandoned what would normally be one of its important jobs. Koutnik provides an explanation of type 2 diabetes, which is essentially insulin resistance.

Koutnik talks about some of the emerging treatment protocols for diabetes and he examines dietary issues for diabetics in regard to insulin, treatment, and wellness. Koutnik explains many related issues such as the impact of elevated blood sugar and carbohydrates, and he provides a wealth of detailed information on proteins, and the kinetics of proteins specifically.

Going further he discusses how sleep and glucose control are related and outlines the many factors that often influence one’s insulin sensitivity, such as the time of day, or stress, and even caffeine. And he stresses the importance of exercising on a regular basis.

Expounding on the importance of nutrition, Koutnik discusses his own personal journey and how switching to a low carbohydrate diet really made a great difference in his health. He provides a detailed analysis of ketones and ketoacidosis, a complication of type 1 diabetes mellitus that is initiated when there are extremely high levels of ketones and blood sugar. Koutnik wraps up by talking about the dietary shifts that diabetes patients really need to make in order to feel better, control their lives, and be their best.

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