Asthma
The Problem
The constriction of air passages in the lungs causes asthma. This is primarily driven by increased inflammation in the airway passages. There is a strong link between asthma and insulin resistance (1,2). At the molecular level, insulin resistance is caused by inhibiting AMPK, the master regulator of metabolism (3). One of the consequences of AMPK inhibition is the reduction of the ability of the cell to reduce the overproduction of pro-inflammatory hormones known as eicosanoids.
The Traditional Drug Approach
The primary drug treatments for long-term asthma control are anti-inflammatory drugs such as corticosteroids and leukotriene inhibitors. Corticosteroids relieve asthma symptoms quickly. Unfortunately, this short-term relief comes at a significant metabolic cost. Corticosteroids also inhibit overall eicosanoid formation, removing your first line of defense against infection or tissue injury. Furthermore, long-term use of corticosteroids also leads to increased insulin resistance that accelerates aging by accelerating the population of senescent cells. Leukotriene inhibitors are more focused drugs acting on only one subclass of eicosanoids (i.e., leukotrienes), thus creating less generalized suppression of your immune system than corticosteroids but having a lower efficacy than corticosteroids. This is because these leukotriene inhibitors will have little effect on other eicosanoids (such as PGD2) that also drive the symptoms of asthma.
The Metabolic Engineering® Approach
The effectiveness of either of these drug treatments can be enhanced by increasing AMPK activity, which decreases insulin resistance (4). As AMPK activity increases, the production of pro-inflammatory hormones decreases. Thus, combining a standard drug therapy with Metabolic Engineering® can reduce the inflammation, thus helping to reduce flare-ups in the airway passages of the lung.
Metabolic Engineering® offers a more sophisticated dietary approach because it is a systems-based approach to reducing the underlying cause of asthma. The Zone diet component of Metabolic Engineering® increases AMPK activity, which decreases the activation of the gene transcription factor NF-κB. Inhibition of NF-κB activity reduces eicosanoids, leukotrienes, and other pro-inflammatory inflammatory mediators such as cytokines. The omega-3 fatty acid component of Metabolic Engineering® is an inhibitor of eicosanoids and leukotriene formation without causing immunosuppression. Furthermore, omega-3 fatty acids are the building blocks to make resolvins, the hormones critical in resolving the inflammation in the damaged airway passages caused by an asthma attack. Resolvins also indirectly stimulate AMPK activity. Finally, the polyphenol component of Metabolic Engineering® indirectly activates AMPK and increases the activity of the gene transcription factor, Nrf2, which reduces oxidative stress. Only when these three dietary components are working together as an integrated system to increase AMPK activity will you get the full benefit of Metabolic Engineering™ to increase your healthspan
Thus, Metabolic Engineering® works with any drug therapy for asthma treatment to help reduce airway constriction without associated side effects such as immunosuppression. This makes the asthmatic drug work better or allows the physician to potentially decrease the amount of the medications needed to manage asthma with fewer side effects.
References
1. Roshan Lal, Cechinel, LR, Freishtat R, Rastogi, D. Metabolic contributions to pathobiology of asthma. 2023, 13:212. doi.org/10.3390/metabo13020212
2. Wu TD. Diabetes, insulin resistance, and asthma: a review of potential links. Curr Opin Pulm Med. 2021, 27:29-36. doi: 10.1097/MCP.0000000000000738.
3. Ruderman NB, Carling D, Prentki M, Cacicedo JM. AMPK, insulin resistance, and the metabolic syndrome. J Clin Invest. 2013; 123:2764-72. doi: 10.1172/JCI67227.
4. Sears B and Saha AK.Dietary control of inflammation and resolution. Front Nutr. 2021; 8:709435. doi: 10.3389/fnut.2021.709435.