@S-Holmes
I've been reading more about the itaconate shunt process. The research seems to indicate that after an illness (or trauma) the body forgets how to process carbs and fat for fuel, and INSTEAD uses protein as back up. HOWEVER, the use of protein for fuel can cause excessive ammonia levels in some which will lead to a whole host of other problems. If glucose can bypass the itaconate shunt process that would explain why glucose therapy works.
I'm not sure I would word it that way; the Itaconate shunt is activated not because the body forgets, rather it's a part of the immune system and is meant to not be activated after a few days, but it becomes chronic in some people. This is what Rob Phair is saying in the video I posted. (I see someone mentioned oxygen at some point, and I didn't have time to respond; the Itaconate shunt could lead to that as well.)
The ammonia is a byproduct from the GABA shunt. (Phair talks about the GABA shunt around 40 minutes.) From what I understand the GABA shunt only happens because the Krebs cycle isn't creating enough ATP, when the Itaconate shunt is activated.
Meaning ammonia shouldn't be an issue if the Itaconate shunt isn't activated to begin with, and it likely is activated (way) less when you're taking glucose.
Your body might have ammonia to process from earlier I suppose? But I don't think it's something one would have to focus on, because the most important thing for that processing to take place in the liver is a more functional Krebs cycle. Think of more ATP as more fuel for the motorbike, whereas anything homoeopathic or otherwise for ammonia is a support wheel.
That's not to say a support wheel isn't nice to put on the bike, as the motor starts working better! I've had moments of such severe Itaconate Shunt (I assume) that I smelled a little bit of ammonia. When I have I've used cinnamon, which someone (I think Georgi) recommended on the RP forum.
In regards to the craving for protein: Neurotransmitters are made from amino acids (protein, but is instead used in the GABA shunt when necessary. When the body no longer use the neurotransmitters for the GABA shunt, it can start up "normal" neurotransmitters production again.
Could it be that your body is ready to produce more neurotransmitters and need amino acids for that?
I've explored what to eat, and I've felt a little bit off emotionally. Reading your experience of craving protein made me realize I ended up having less protein for a couple of weeks, and I wonder if that's made me a little bit deficient. I wouldn't be surprised if we're at higher risk of some imbalances, as the body is healing. Back on my "normal" was of eating today, and it's feels good.
I've used a continuous glucose monitor for a couple of weeks, and found that my BG rises and falls quickly with most meals. I played around with what I ate and found if I have sourdough with my meals (or glucose) I have less of a spike, and can avoid a very sudden drop, but I still tended towards low blood sugar often. The more spikes, and the higher the spikes, the more very low blood sugar.
After two weeks of that I'm not sure CGM (which is measured in the tissue) or BG (blood glucose) is a very helpful tool... I think about these measurements more as a marker that something underlying is going on; and that many interventions that "fix" spikes and drops are bandages on a bullet wound.
However, I'm would say I wouldn't be surprised if high spikes (and drops) causes nausea for many who take large doses of glucose. I tested what happened to my BG is I took more glucose. I still do 1 tbsp every hour. When I tried 3 tbsp the CGM showed the highest levels I've seen. I was also incredibly nauseous, from just 3 tbsp.
I am not surprised to hear people don't feel great while on the large doses, and still don't see a good explanation why large doses would be necessary or even helpful. Stephen's explanation is the amount of glucose limiting events, but (without going in to my family histories and ancestry in to great of a detail) I have generations of severe glucose limitation in my genes, my first severe glucose limitation was in the womb, I've been in three car accidents, and have been so sick for the last four years that I've been practically isolated. I'm not an easy case, yet I seem to have the desired effect from a smaller dose.
If I'm right about the Itaconate shunt, it really makes no sense that large doses would be necessary or helpful.
I'm still okay on the 1 tbsp every hour (12-14 a day), but I've had some immune activation the last couple of weeks, and feel quite exhausted from that. I think it's incredibly positive though, as it seems like the body is fighting off some pathogens it hasn't been able to fight before!
The first week was shingles (around the same time as you, @S-Holmes), then something else the week after. With shingles I had one day of "flu", then the familiar pain in the same nerve pathway (I've had shingles twice after covid, which is not uncommon). The pain subsided within a week from the "flu".
The second week I'm less sure what the body was fighting, but it seemed to be fighting something in the chest area, and brain, which could mean it was covid. The active "flu" lasted 36 hours, but I then had some migraines in the days following (which could be due to the overlap with my period, and that fact that I wasn't able to eat as much, and that combination definitely leaves me vulnerable for migraine).
Whatever it was fighting in the chest it was not completed, so I've felt a bit strange and been very careful to take time to rest. Yesterday it seemed to finish the job, or at least a lot more of it. I still sense there is something that needs to be fought again in the brain/neck/spine.
I am still mostly waking up rested, even when I don't feel very good!
Anyone else experiencing the body fight pathogens?