Glucose Linked to Increased Free Radical Production in Leukocytes
Remember that impaired insulin sensitivity (insulin loses its effectiveness to get glucose out of the bloodstream and into cells) have been shown to be involved in almost every disease known to man. This may be one route by which this has its damaging effects.
J Clin Endocrinol Metab 2000;85:2970-2973 Glucose ingestion leads to increased production of reactive oxygen species in leukocytes. “We’ve known for some time that eating certain foods, particularly those containing the antioxidant vitamins A, E and C, can help protect against damage from free radicals,” Dr. Paresh Dandona, of the State University of New York at Buffalo, said in a university statement. “This is the first time anyone has shown that nutrition has a role in generating free radicals.” Dr. Dandona and colleagues gave a solution of either glucose or saccharin to 14 volunteers to drink. They collected blood samples at various times up to 3 hours later. Generation of reactive oxygen species by polymorphonuclear leukocytes and mononuclear cells significantly increased in subjects who received glucose, they report, but not in those who received saccharin. “The link between nutrition and oxidative damage is important because oxidative damage of lipids — low-density lipoproteins in particular — may contribute to atherosclerosis,” Dr. Dandona said in the statement. “Our work opens the way for an investigation of the effect of other macronutrients on free-radical generation and oxidative damage.”