Consuming glucose or plant-based foods alongside meats can increase insulin levels, as plants digest into glucose, which stimulates insulin production. Elevated insulin, in turn, activates mTOR pathways. While this process is manageable during the day due to increased mitochondrial activity, which helps clear glucose molecules quickly from the bloodstream, the situation changes in the evening.
As the body transitions into a state of sleep or rest, mitochondrial activity decreases, resulting in reduced glucose consumption. This causes glucose molecules to accumulate in cells, waiting for the mitochondria to reopen. If the queue of glucose becomes too long, the excess glucose re-enters the bloodstream, leading to elevated blood sugar levels (hyperglycemia).
This situation becomes even worse when high levels of glucose remain idle in the blood at night. The ribosome’s primary role is to construct proteins by assembling amino acids based on instructions received from areas of inflammation or stimulation. These proteins need to travel through the bloodstream to reach their targeted locations, where they can facilitate repair and recovery. Ideally, the bloodstream at night should function like a clear, open highway with few obstructions, allowing proteins to travel quickly and efficiently to their destinations.
However, when excess glucose molecules congest the bloodstream, they act like a traffic jam, blocking the smooth passage of protein molecules. Worse yet, glucose interacts with the proteins, colliding and deforming their structure. The proteins, essential for repair, fight to maintain their shape, but the overwhelming number of glucose molecules gives the advantage to the glucose. This results in fully deformed proteins that are no longer functional. These damaged proteins are then flagged for removal and dragged to the kidneys for excretion.
Here is where the problem escalates: the damaged proteins, now unrecognizable and malformed, are blamed for clogging the kidney’s filtration system. However, the true culprit remains the excess glucose, which caused the damage in the first place.
Therefore, to support effective nighttime repair and avoid this cascade of issues, it is critical to provide the body with the necessary amino acids for protein synthesis while minimizing glucose intake. By keeping glucose levels low, the bloodstream remains clear, ensuring proteins can travel unimpeded to areas of need, facilitating repair and reducing unnecessary stress on the kidneys.
