Metabolic Disease ( Mitochondrial Dysfunction ) My Journey Discovering and Reversing Insulin Resistance

[Casey Claar]

August 28, 2026

A person truly has to keep a keen eye on the ball these days.

Even when you think that you are, tendencies, behaviors and blind spots still exist.

I have made my way through life the past 30+ years working as a medical caregiver, someone who takes care of those who would otherwise need to reside in skilled care facilities rather than at home; they have medical needs and devices, such as dialysis, wound vacs, drip lines, catheters, ostomies, etc.., which require monitoring and hands on care that neither they nor family are capable of themselves. They generally have a complex spectrum of medications, and special dietary needs as well, which can be challenging for them to understand and manage- including that of a diabetic ( or ketogenic ) diet, among a vast array of others. So, this is not something I am unfamiliar with, it is something I am uniquely and skillfully able to observe and address.

Due to my work, it’s inherent training and in-depth hands on experience I have a far greater eye for the signs and symptoms of dis-ease than perhaps the majority of the general population. However, it is also my tendency, time and time again, to allow myself to become depleted when caring for those who I have come to care for. It is neither an easy situation or an easy job, and 30 near consecutive years without break have indeed taken a toll; I am no longer young myself, I am entering that fourth ( and end ) stage of life when a greater eye on one's own health and health needs is imperative.





When my last care client passed away (the evening leading into June 1, 2026 *my own late father's birthday) —Jerry — an absolutely WONDERFUL 91 year old gentleman from Chicago, who worked for Bell Telephone Company his whole life, climbing telephone poles until the day he retired!, and who I truly adored every moment of working with .... I had the first moment in a long while to take in myself; the past 2 years of working with Jerry had given rise to a host of discomforting symptoms of dis-ease. General inflammation was increasing, creating rising daily PAIN and turning the heat up on a few conditions that had become the norm. One of these was a chronic myalgia in the upper back which leaned toward the right shoulder. Another was head pain, and even migraines which grew to become regular enough to have to start carrying Ibuprofen with me in my purse whenever I left home. The inflammation reached my eyes, causing dry eye, floaters and vision impairment. I truly thought I might be losing my sight. Heart issues, abdominal weight gain, hot feet at night, mild neuropathy (in the feet) and general sleep disturbance were also fast becoming a new "normal". I was definitely spiraling down -and even considered this might be the end.

In standard fashion, as though my life depended on it ( and it did ) I began researching.

Nearly a year prior I had half suspected I might have become diabetic. I began taking multiple daily blood-sugar readings for roughly a month, all of which revealed quite normal, if not a bit low blood glucose. I had not yet put the element of INSULIN ( which is a hormone ) together in this equation so felt, at that time, I was on the wrong track looking in this overall direction. However, now, with the time for more diligent research and investigation, I quickly became alert to the insulin side of this whole picture and realized I had become ( not yet diabetic ) but INSULIN RESISTANT.

Like myself, you might be wondering -or just be aided by a clearer look into what this is.



When insulin levels rise,
generally due to taking in too much sugar, starchy carbohydrates, heavily refined ( "fast" ) foods — but also STRESS
and it is sufficient to still keep blood glucose levels down
THIS IS (or gives rise to) INSULIN RESISTANCE

There is a process through which early insulin resistance advances into becoming type 2 ( and type 1 ) diabetes. Let's have a look at this here as well:





In all honesty, due to my own symptoms and pain levels,
I am unsure how so many people advance wholly, and unknowingly into type 2 diabetes.

I know that in our contemporary times we lead busy lives, and this is at least a part of the problem — *although I clearly had been feeling my own high level of discomfort, I, myself, was not able, or ... did not "have the time" to research and identify my own fundamental difficulty ( insulin resistance ) until I had an extended period of time off from work in which to do so. But the signs and symptoms, I have to say, were abundantly present and clear. Using the chart above, I found myself at the juncture between stage 2-3, between early and advanced insulin resistance.

I feel fortunate that I caught the progression here.

There is a wide array of metabolic diseases that more fundamentally extend from this whole syndrome:



The good news is, most notably if caught in time, this whole syndrome CAN BE REVERSED.

No-one has to continue this path into a diagnosis of diabetes and its extended array of dis-ease who does not want to. Who has the wherewithal to face what has happened and both seek and act to reverse it. This, of course, has been my own choice -and what follows here will be THE WAY in which I have chosen to do so.

I have had the tendency in life to be an all-or-nothing ( do-or-die ) sort of person. So — without hesitancy,

I dove into the deep end of the proverbial pool.

REVERSING METABOLIC DISEASE

Step one - for me - in understanding insulin resistance and how to reverse it, is first gleaning that it is a metabolic disease; insulin is linked to glucose ( the macro-nutrient we call "carbohydrate" ) *which converts to glucose in the body with great ease, more-so than protein, and WAY more-so than fat **protein and fat being the other two macro-nutrients the body requires for optimal health. In current day metabolic disease, in which we are principally fueled by carbohydrates, we have lost our metabolic flexibility ( and efficiency ) by principally becoming sugar burners. Consuming more than a small amount of carbohydrates each day ( on average roughly 50-70 grams in a healthy person ) produces enough glucose ( sugar ) in the body to never require it to make and utilize its other fuel source — KETONES — which represent the energy produced when the body is burning fat. Our bodies are like a hybrid vehicle, in that they can run off the energy produced from sugar/carbs ( glucose ) and the energy produced from fats ( ketones ); ( how many of you have even heard the word "ketone"? )

Here is the kicker, though.

Carbohydrates/sugar/glucose INTERFERES with ketones and fat burning *and instead stores any excess of itself, with the help of insulin, inside of fat cells.

Glucose in excess is deleterious to the body, IT HAS TO HANDLE IT FIRST in some way to survive. ( so, fat burning and ketones get cast aside )

Our society in the United States ( and elsewhere ) consumes carbohydrate in excess to the point that fat burning ( and therefor ketones, its energy production ) becomes impossible. This is what happens in insulin resistance ( and diabetes ) and this is what happened with me. I arrived at a point in which I could not lose weight ( and this is something I know how to do with skill and precision perhaps more than any other ), no matter what; nothing was working because the high level of insulin in my body was instructing it to store, store, STORE rather than burn. Insulin, quite specifically results in the storage into fat cells around the abdomen *one of the first clear signals of insulin resistance.

In order to help bring insulin levels down, you may be seeing what it is I had to do — I HAD TO BRING MY CARBOHYDRATE INTAKE WAY DOWN.



I also had to keep my mental, energetic and physical STRESS LEVELS DOWN, because stress produces another hormone called CORTISOL, which triggers what? yes! — INSULIN. It is for this reason that I have not been able to work the past 2-3 months, or even do much of any "scheduled" activity *aside from what is related to the reversing of my insulin resistance **which I will go into with you in great depth over the course of this thread and any further potential discussion.

METABOLIC FLEXIBILITY

In order to re-balance the scales and regain my metabolic flexibility I have begun a ketogenic lifestyle.

My body has to learn ( remember ) how to both make and UTILIZE ketones for energy, and then learn, one ketone at a time how to utilize them for energy more efficiently; this is a process that can, and likely will take the better part of a year. Quite soon into the process, within another month or so I will necessarily have to return to work. But in the interim I am giving myself the greatest opportunity possible to reverse what has begun and settle into the new program to an extent that has an optimal chance of survival. <— This is the current focus and work at hand.


________________________________________________


[ I will continue from here in just a moment ]

[Casey Claar]

RETURNING TO NATURAL (CIRCADIAN) RHYTHMS

Having identified the insulin resistance, I intensely sought to find a way to address it.

There were a few things that came to me intuitively, or innately,— being a person who is Naturopathic and now in my 60s I have gained a significant sense of who I am, what amounts to homeostasis through my system and how my body tends to function best. At the very foundation of this is DAYLIGHT and the inclination to “rise” and “set” myself with the sun; rising just prior to sunrise in order to meditate and then go out for a walk -once the sun has begun to rise -to enjoy the quiet while outdoors before any of the rest of the city is up and bustling about. In the evening I do not use indoor lighting ( I never, or on rare occasion have ) and like to be ready for bed by 8pm, asleep well before 9pm; this gives me greater dream state awareness, and at this point in my life greater opportunity to travel *consciously shift into extended realms of consciousness. So, this is the first change I endeavored to invoke — a return to my more natural rhythm.

The difficulty in this was that my body was now so terribly tired and experiencing so much pain that just this in itself took months to let naturally unfold. My sleep had been disrupted for more than a year due to escalating symptoms of the IR. The most debilitating of which, in terms of sleep, falling off to sleep, staying asleep, etc.. was unbearable rising heat in the body, notably at night, in part due to chronic inflammation. The heat was not only uncomfortable, it was agitating. The irregular ability to easily fall off to sleep, and stay asleep, led to me sleeping in later and later, and in due course, waking still tired. Working, tired. This continued until the stress of it all began to bring me down faster. The stress produced cortisol ( a hormone ), the cortisol triggered more insulin, all while I was become increasingly more insulin resistant. All the classic symptoms of this began presenting with greater emphasis- with my heart, head, feet and eyes.

Through the following months,

As my body learned to return to its preferred state of homeostasis, I had many more changes to make. Such as:

• Regularly getting outside for 30 minutes before 9am *for the UVB light that would assist with melatonin production in the evening

• Taking multiple blood-sugar readings each day, and later, ketone readings for the GKI (glucose-ketone index)

• Fasting,—and intermittent fasting *implementing time restricted eating windows on eating days

• Learning and implementing a clean, healthy ketogenic diet plan

• Engaging in regular low intensity exercise ( rebounding or walking ) for 10+ minutes after every meal

Here is an at-a-glance look at my new DAILY schedule:
[note: nothing could be missed]



It has become a full-time job just keeping up with this; while keeping stress levels down.

As I write, I am just over 1 month into this schedule and general plan *which does continue to grow and evolve as new discovery is made; the 2 previous months were mostly very intense research, initial discovery, and the steps walking into what formed as this plan. As it becomes more instilled and increasingly effortless, ideally through this next month I will begin the process of looking for new work, likely a new care job …but, at the moment, I still have little to no idea where it will fit in to what is now my own care schedule. This said, I have no doubt that life will show the way.

As of now, just to note, sleep has greatly improved, and even returned, for the most part to GOOD — however my body is dealing with a whole new situation - due to the new way of eating - the likes of which it has not seen since my childhood. We will go into this next, but just to note here, I was raised in a household without sugar and starchy carbohydrates. My dad was in "the know" way back when. So my body does remember this. Not to this current depth, which is keeping net carbohydrates to < 20 grams, but it remembers low carb. This said, it has to reach well beyond this and do so through the past 20 years of being principally plant-based. So, there is a learning curve. My body is still doing strange things, experiencing strange things. Have you ever felt your gallbladder release bile steadily for days? or exhibit a high state of confusion due to a trusted fuel source having seemingly vanished? The body is indeed a marvel, a work of true art, and highly intelligent. It learns and maneuvers quickly, not on a dime but in relative time step with what is happening.

This having been noted,

The remembering and learning anew is a process.





THE KETOGENIC FRAMEWORK

Let’s just hit this very directly to begin.

The ketogenic diet is:

• High fat

• Moderate protein

• Extremely low carbohydrate

There is “clean” keto and “dirty” keto—leave the latter behind, don’t eat processed “keto” products out of a bag or try to replace your favorite carbs ( pancakes, waffles, breads, etc.. ) in a keto kind of way. Take keto seriously, let yourself taste what the REAL or “clean” experience of it is. <— This is just my 2 cents. Once keto has done its job, ie: reversed insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes, returned metabolic health and flexibility you can step up your carbs into a low carbohydrate ( rather than very low carbohydrate ) diet without harm to yourself. The choice will be yours when the time comes. It is the gift flexibility allows, isn’t it?



Until the flexibility arrives, have a look at the basic keto food pyramid.

It is actually a whole lot more fun than you might imagine, let’s get serious, FATS ARE FUN. But there is a period of acclimating when turning your current way of eating wholly on its head. There is a right and a wrong to do this. Or, let me say a beneficial and decidedly un-beneficial way to do this. If it is done in the way that can benefit you then the experience will be more than worth your while. I know it has been for me, and, again, I am only 5 weeks into being fully keto.

In this 5 week period of time:

• My sleep has not just improved but returned to GOOD

• My chronic inflammation has reduced dramatically

• All pain has vanished *this occurred in just 3 days along with the reduction of inflammation

• I am now able to regulate my body temperature more effectively again

• I am fat burning; 7 pounds lost

The weight loss is slow, indicating insulin is still high *not quite as high as prior but still elevated; there is much work yet to do, miles to go.

Before moving on, I want to note 4 products that have aided me greatly, without which keto would have been much more of a struggle.

• ACV, Apple Cider Vinegar ( to increase stomach acid and aid digestion )

• Organic Aloe Vera Gel ( to keep things moving )

• Electrolytes ( to keep me square on the path )

• Digestive Enzymes

I am including digestive enzymes, even though I have not used them, because I did wish that I had them when I first began, notably through the first couple or few weeks; note: they are quite expensive, good quality full spectrum enzymes, anyway, and everything has been quite costly already, notably while unable to work. I do have specific products that I like, so, if anyone has any interest please do inquire and I can share these with you.

One final noteworthy footnote about clean keto is the steady ongoing satiety.

The near UTTER ABSENCE OF HUNGER.

Moving on……….



UNDERSTANDING KETOSIS

Before continuing further there are concepts to get straight.

People can often tend to get the concepts of nutritional “ketosis” and a condition called “ketoacidosis” confused.

So, for clarity:

Nutritional ketosis is a metabolic state where the body burns fat for fuel, producing ketone bodies ( ie: beta-hydroxybutyrate ) due to low carbohydrate availability, typically occurring when carb intake is below 50g/day.

While on the other hand,

Ketoacidosis is a serious condition that results from extremely high blood-GLUCOSE, generally in type 1 diabetics ( who can no longer produce insulin ) who do not yet have their insulin injection levels under control — where the lack of insulin can cause ketones to also build up in the blood, making it dangerously acidic; this can be life-threatening if untreated.

[Resource : Video] Ketosis vs Ketoacidosis



READING THE NUMBERS ( ARE YOU IN KETOSIS? )

When beginning the ketogenic diet in order to reverse type 2 diabetes, insulin resistance or any other potential dis-ease ( /diagnosis ), for best results, and in order to make intelligent, informed decisions and changes as you progress you will necessarily need to read, log and track your blood-glucose and ketone numbers. The ratio of these numbers gives your GKI, your level of ketosis *ie: level of fat burning.

An important thing to note, is that as you bring your carbohydrate intake down to < 20 mg daily, or even somewhere in the general ballpark, the body is going to stop over-producing insulin. The insulin that, previously, as in my case, was keeping blood-glucose numbers down; at this point the blood-glucose number is going to rise to some degree and this is when you get a clear look at what your numbers more actually are.

Using myself as an example,

Prior to taking my carbohydrate intake down, while my body was still over-producing insulin—

My blood-glucose hung out in the 70s-80s ( perfect ) and after eating never exceeded 110 *this is why I was fooled a year ago.

However - now - with the carbohydrate removed and my body no longer over-producing insulin,

My morning fasting blood-glucose can be 95-105 *while simultaneously in a high level of ketosis. Note: as my body and I adapt, become more efficient at making and utilizing ketones for energy, and as my excess weight depletes I expect both my blood-glucose and ketosis levels to come significantly down. Where they are now indicates the extremity of what is currently needed along with the present level of inefficiency and utilization. Ketones, unlike glucose are not stored in the body, they are either utilized or eliminated in the urine. **You can use urine ketone strips to keep an eye on when your body stops wasting them, ie: peeing them out; this indicates greater efficiency. Currently, at this early stage in the proverbial game, my body is still learning how many ketone bodies are required, relative to the amount needed to dump all this excess fat that has been stored over the years ( which it finally can! ). I feel it is quite excited to do so as well.

I have been in a HIGH state of ketosis since I began. —but, once again, this will come down once more efficient at all this.

In the 1940s or there about, I have heard it said the general population had a healthy morning fasting blood-glucose in the 60s. It is only in recent decades, with the onset and progression of heavily processed refined carbohydrates and seed oils that the “healthy” levels have been pushed up into 80s **which I now highly suspect is neither accurate nor optimal. We will come to see where my numbers settle in the months ahead.

Staying informed, keeping ourselves alert, not only in regard to our ancestral past but also recent human history,

Can be the difference between living fully and slowly dying.


_______________________________


I will continue to log my progress in reversing insulin resistance here in this thread,

Which is now unconditionally open to comments and questions.


Casey

[Casey Claar]

TRACKING YOUR NUTRITION

In addition to reading, logging and tracking blood-glucose and ketones,

Another handy tool that helps bring your health back into your own hands is tracking your NUTRITION, your macro and micro nutrients; this will let you know at a glance where you may be veering off course *catching this early when it is happening is ideal.

I can recommend CRONOMETER 🕊, I have been using it on and off for years to help keep me on the straight and narrow.

Any time you hold yourself to the flame — keep yourself accountable — you encounter greater insight and success.

In using a particular tool such as this, you get better at it over time. It may seem a bother in the beginning but it gets easier as you go.

You may at times be surprised by what you grow to learn.

Remember — Knowledge is Power.

Once you have your data and are in the swing of knowing your (potentially) new (food choice) values, tracking every day becomes unnecessary. Check in now again with daily intakes, or to track a particular micro nutrient you are focusing on. It is more helpful, more revealing than you may imagine.

Notably when working with dis-ease, and aiming to reverse dis-ease the tracking is imperative.

Remember to have fun and it will be.

[Olaf]

Dr. Kuklinski was one of the first physicians in Germany who began to treat mitochondrial dysnfunction.
He learned that acquired deficits are the primary cause of poor mitochondrial function. Toxins, antibiotics, and medications play a much smaller role.


The main cause of acquired deficits is the increased production of nitric oxide (NO) in the body.

Typical causes of high NO levels include:

• all viral illnesses, including COVID and COVID vaccinations
• exposure to mold
• acquired instability in the cervical spine due to previous injuries (this leads to impaired blood flow in the brain when the head is held in unfavorable positions, causing the brain to produce very large amounts of NO
• all other types of inflammation—regardless of their nature

Especially in the case of viral illnesses, the body can lose extreme amounts of trace elements, vitamins and antiocidants within 2 weeks.

These amounts of trace elements are so substantial that, for example, with iron, zinc, and magnesium, daily supplementation is needed for 6 to 12 months to replenish the amount lost in just 2 weeks!

So if someone—perhaps as a result of a weakened immune response due to reduced mitochondrial function—gets the flu every year and maybe also cold at another time, they will hardly be able to correct their deficiencies. This is because the gains made from supplementation throughout the year are undone by the NO flushes during that diseases.


Diabetes

Now, was does that mean regarding type 2 diabetes?

NO reacts most strongly with vitamin B12 and iron compounds. Therefore, iron and B12 are the substances that are lost first.

Iron is required in numerous enzymes.
Due to the binding of NO to iron, these enzymes no longer function, even if they are still present.

In almost all mitochondrial patients, I therefore observe an impairment in glucose metabolism.
Pyruvate dehydrogenase (PDH) is an iron-containing enzyme in the mitochondria. This enzyme converts sugar (pyruvate) so that it can be fed into the citric acid cycle, allowing the mitochondria to produce ATP from sugar.
When PDH is blocked, glucose utilization is impaired. Sugar can then no longer be taken up by the mitochondria.
Blood sugar levels then rise significantly because the sugar cannot be utilized.

In response, the body releases insulin to lower blood sugar.
This masks the blood sugar levels, but the effects of excessively high insulin levels become apparent:

• Blood sugar drops and may become too low after 3–5 hours. --> Hypoglycemia --> Cravings
• If this happens at night while sleeping --> waking up, typically around 3:00 a.m., because the body releases cortisol due to hypoglycemia. (Cortisol can convert fat back into sugar).
• Weight gain, since insulin signals the cells to remove sugar from the blood and convert it into fat.

According to Dr. Kuklinski, mitochondria can regenerate the damaged PDH enzyme if they have all the necessary building blocks available: namely, iron, vitamin B1 (as the fat-soluble form benfotiamine, 2–3 times a day 600 mg), and alpha-lipoic acid.
He has documented several patients in whom diabetes disappeared within a few months following high-dose vitamin B1 treatment. This only works if an iron deficiency has been corrected beforehand.

However, I didn’t see any visible success with this approach for my mother. Her blood sugar levels remained somewhat elevated. They are now slightly lower now thanks to her taking a cinnamon supplement. My mother consumes a lot of sugar (fruit), and she is not willing to apply any form of diet.