QUOTE from Dr Fung (emphasis mine):
The same phenomenon exists during extended fasts, which induce the same hormonal changes as shorter overnight fasts. Insulin drops, so the liver releases some of its stored sugar and fat. This is natural.
In type 2 diabetes, all that sugar pent up inside the fatty liver whooshes out too quickly and shows up, like an uninvited guest, as glucose in the blood. Even if you have not eaten for a while, the body will still release its stored sugar. Is this a bad thing? No, not at all. We are merely moving the sugar from storage in the liver, where we could not see it, into the blood where it becomes visible.
The dawn phenomenon, or higher blood glucose in the morning during fasting, does not mean you are doing anything wrong. It’s a normal occurrence. It just means that you have more work to do to burn off all the stored sugar in the body. If your blood glucose rises during fasting, ask yourself where that glucose came from. The only possibility is that it came from your own body. You are simply moving some stored food energy out from the body and into the blood for you to use. [1]
NOTE – What does it say?
When we stop putting anything nutritious into our body by our choice, it is to fast. Whether fasting is for a short time or several days, known as extended fasts, they induce the same hormonal changes which lead the body to switch from burning carbohydrates to burning fat.
Insulin drops, so the liver releases some of its stored sugar and fat. This is natural.
As insulin drops the liver releases some of its stored sugar and fat and this is normal. If a person is a type 2 diabetic it might lead to a temporary large increase in glucose in the blood. The stored sugar in the liver is there to fuel the body until the switch to ketogenic or fat burning occurs.
This is one reason, no matter whether you were eating or not, blood sugar is typically higher in the morning. This is called the dawn phenomenon.
If your blood glucose rises during fasting, ask yourself where that glucose came from.
Whether I choose to fast for 16 hours, eating in an 8-hour window, or for periods of 24, 36 or even 48 hours, the same hormonal processes happen.
MY STRATEGY: It is a good thing for the liver to release stored sugar and fat, as I have fatty liver. I will track the dawn phenomenon, but not be anxious about it.
QUESTIONS
What gets my attention?
Do I understand the need or problem?
Do I understand the potential solution?
Do I understand how to apply that strategy?
What questions do I have for the experts? What might be the answers?
Who needs to hear this?
What do I do next?
SOURCE – Footnotes:
[1] Quote from The Diabetes Code: Prevent and Reverse Type 2 Diabetes Naturally by Dr. Jason Fung; Greystone Books (April 3, 2018). Page 241.
Photo Fasting-a-glass-of-water-on-an-empty-plate, via Wikimedia Commons
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Key: Fung-13 Shipped: 05/04/2021. Updated 01/11/2022.