- The key to energy storage, which is absolutely necessary for survival, is insulin
- In more advanced animals, including humans, insulin is made in a “safer location” – the pancreas, and not the intestine
- However, a messenger connecting the intestine to the pancreas is necessary
- These messengers have been named “incretin hormones” and are likewise vital for survival
- A landmark HUMAN study was published in 1964 in Lancet, one of the world’s top medical journals
- It showed that blood insulin levels were about 3 times greater after humans consumed glucose compared to when it was given intravenously (IV), while blood glucose levels were similar
- Thus, something in the intestine was responsible for 2/3 of the effect; the yet to be identified incretin hormones
- The principle incretin hormone proved to be gastric inhibitory polypeptide (GIP)
McIntyre N et al. Lancet 1964; 2:20-21
Saltiel AR and Kahn CR. Nature 2001; 414:799-806