Insulin Resistance
The other day a friend of mine mentioned insulin resistance and used air quotes as if to say it wasn’t a real thing. I am not sure exactly what their meaning was or what their full views on this topic are and I didn’t pursue it any further, but it got me thinking, “Are there people out there who think this is not a real thing and if so, why?” In fact, I’d bet that most people don’t really know what it is or that it applies to them as much as everyone else if they aren’t making good lifestyle choices for their health. The truth is that insulin resistance is a well established physiological process that has been extensively studied and is well recognized as a key factor in the development of type 2 diabetes among other metabolic disorders. So, what is at the root of this information gap between medical providers and patients. Why do more people not know what this is when according to a study from UNC Chapel Hill’s Gillings School of Global Public Health, only 12 percent of American adults are metabolically healthy. That means 88% of us are NOT metabolically healthy! So, I’m going to break this down for you today!
When you eat, particularly carbs, they release a certain amount of glucose into your body. Glucose is a simple sugar and is an essential and primary source of energy for humans. Once this glucose is in your blood stream, your pancreas sends out insulin. Insulin is a hormone that helps control blood sugar in your body by allowing cells to take in and use the glucose for energy. Think of it as the keys to the cell. Insulin helps with blood sugar regulation, uptake of glucose into muscle, fat and liver cells, and energy storage. Leftover glucose that is not used is converted to glycogen and stored in the liver and muscles for later. Insulin helps with this too.
Now, certain foods cause too much glucose to enter the body too fast causing a rush of insulin to be released. (Think of highly processed foods with a bunch of sugar, refined simple carbs, etc). Research has shown that when this occurs regularly over and over again (you eat these foods, insulin takes care of it, you have another craving and do it again and insulin has to show up again), the cells become “numb” so to speak to the insulin because it is always around and they just don’t react to the insulin the way they should anymore. This is insulin resistance! So, when the glucose is circulating all around and the insulin is being ignored and can’t manage the job, the body ends up storing the glucose as fat among other problems.
So, how do you know if you have insulin resistance? It usually develops pretty slowly but once it is in full swing, you may experience weight gain, difficulty losing weight, fatigue and low energy, increased hunger and cravings, skin changes, high blood pressure, abnormal cholesterol levels as well as triglycerides and HDL cholesterol. Many healthcare providers would say that if you have any excess abdominal weight, you almost definitely have insulin resistance. If you are feeling any of these symptoms or have any of these issues, it is worth discussing with your primary care doctor, NP or PA and have them run a fasting insulin level on you. This is an easy lab that is a better indicator for Insulin Resistance as research shows that fasting blood sugar levels and Hemoglobin A1C’s often don’t register as high until the insulin as been high for years and some damage has already been done. “Normal” is 6-35 uU/mL, but many healthcare providers and I believe optimal is less than 5 uU/mL. Stive for Optimal not just Normal!
Consider that you are at a much higher risk for this if you are overweight, obese, physically inactive, have a poor diet high in processed foods, have PCOS (polycystic ovary syndrome), or have had gestational diabetes in the past. Genetics can also play a role of course but genetics does not mean you will get it just because your mother or father had it, it just means you may be more susceptible. YOU can control your lifestyle choices which could in turn determine if those genes are expressed or not.
What do you do if you are metabolically unhealthy or have insulin resistance? Follow me and start changing your health outcomes through one lifestyle change at a time – diet, exercise, sleep, stress and toxins. Specifically, start on the Transform 52 plan (to be released in fall of 2023) or start eliminating highly processed foods and foods with high sugar (glucose) content.