Insulin is a hormone involved in the metabolic processes that convert the food we eat into the fuel our bodies need to survive. As the master fuel-supply hormone, insulin's main functions are to regulate the amount of blood sugar (glucose) that flows into the body's cells to create energy, and to communicate the need to refuel (that is, to eat or stop eating).
In about 10 percent of the population, cells start to "resist" the influences of the insulin hormone, thereby reducing its effectiveness and causing it to build up in the blood, eventually resulting in a condition known as insulin resistance. Warning signs of insulin resistance include:
- frequent thirst
- frequent urination
- excessive hunger
- gaining a few pounds and having difficulty losing them (especially around the tummy)
- unexplained drowsiness or feeling tired most of the time, especially after eating
- inability to concentrate
- decreased endurance during physical exertion and exercise
- inflammation
- high blood pressure
- low high-density lipoprotein (HDL, the "good" cholesterol)
- high triglyceride levels (especially when stress is high and progesterone is low)
- high fasting glucose levels
- skin tags or dark discoloration (acanthosis nigricans) around the neck, groin or armpits (If you notice, you will get one about 3 months after a "sugar binge.")
How Do We Become Insulin Resistant?
Food provides the fuel that powers our every action. During digestion, food is broken down into several parts, including sugar (glucose), amino acids (which form proteins), and dietary fats (fatty acids). Glucose is the primary fuel produced by all living cells when converting nutrients into energy.
A complex symphony of organs, glands, and hormones keeps the process humming along by controlling how fast or slow the entire process works, where the nutrients are stored, and how the fuel is to be used.
Keeping blood sugar levels in balance is primarily dependent on two hormones produced by the pancreas: glucagon and insulin. When blood sugar is low, glucagon signals the liver to convert glycogen into glucose and release it into the bloodstream; when blood sugar is high, insulin helps carry glucose to cells and instructs them to take it in, thereby removing excess glucose from the blood.
The other organs involved in this complex process are the thyroid and the adrenal glands. The thyroid gland produces thyroid hormone, which plays a key role in determining how fast or slow this chemical process occurs. People with a thyroid deficiency typically have a slower metabolism, high cholesterol levels, and livers that are "sluggish" in handling excess glucose. Restoring healthy thyroid levels allows the liver to properly store and release glucose.
Cortisol, which is produced by the adrenal glands, reduces insulin's ability to carry glucose into cells. Stress raises cortisol levels, triggering the release of stored sugar as part of the "fight or flight" response. Historically, this mechanism was used to provide rapid energy when the need arose to run away from danger or chase food. Chronically high levels of cortisol contribute to insulin resistance and may also explain why some insulin-resistant people report unexplained feelings of alarm or anxiety.
Low testosterone and progesterone levels may also lead to insulin resistance in both men and women. Low progesterone levels cause over-production of insulin, leading to hypoglycemia and an outpouring of adrenaline to bring sugar levels up. Natural progesterone reduces insulin and regulates blood sugar levels.
Cigarette smoking is also known to increase insulin resistance, as are hormone fluctuations resulting from pregnancy, infection, or illness, all of which can affect insulin production and/or blood sugar levels. Thus, even thin people, particularly those with a family history of diabetes, can be at risk.
How Do We Prevent or Overcome Insulin Resistance?
Our modern lifestyle is overstuffed with tasty, empty calories and lean on opportunities to work them off. Anyone who has struggled with unwanted pounds knows that changing diet and exercise habits is far from easy--you must "go against the grain" to challenge sedentary habits and modern food processing methods. Such changes require extra time and attention, which are not easily found in our fast-paced lives.
Increasing our physical activity levels and improving eating habits may be challenging, but the benefits are many and significant. Weight loss and balanced nutrition are the keys to preventing or reversing insulin resistance, and even modest drops in weight can also improve blood pressure, cholesterol and triglyceride levels, and decrease inflammation.
Improve Your Diet
Nutrition has become the "missing link" in modern medicine. Although it has a fundamental influence on our health, it has also been routinely ignored and undervalued for many years. Eliminating highly processed foods and refined sugars from your diet is the first step toward preventing or reversing insulin resistance. Each additional small step back toward a more natural diet helps moderate the glucose-insulin response even further. Shifting from more processed foods (like apple drinks) to their whole forms (an apple) also adds more fiber to the diet, takes longer to eat, and creates a feeling of fullness. I like to think about what God gave us to eat in the Garden of Eden. If you can grab it out of a stream, pluck it off a tree or bush or out of the ground, we probably could eat lots of it. Since it took someone a whole day to make a loaf of bread (and that wasn't until about 2,000 years ago) we probably are not supposed to eat much of that.
The timing and overall composition of meals can also affect blood sugar levels. Eating several small meals (instead of three large ones) reduces spikes of blood sugar, while eating some protein along with carbohydrates helps the body make better use of both. For many people, adding a broad-spectrum mineral supplement also really helps. Avoiding caffeine (which triggers the liver to release sugar) and alcohol (which raises triglycerides) are also recommended.
Get More Exercise
Moderate activity, such as brisk walking for 30 minutes at least five days per week, is recommended for both losing weight and increasing "good" cholesterol levels. Exercise helps the body to use insulin more efficiently, even if you don't lose weight. Exercise also promotes blood flow to the muscles, helping your body use glucose more readily.
Maintain Hormone Balance
As discussed previously, even a slight hormone imbalance can have a significant effect on the complex chemical processes involved in metabolism. A complete hormone checkup will provide valuable information regarding potential reasons for insulin resistance. In particular, the thyroid hormones, cortisol, estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone (in both men and women) all play significant roles in keeping insulin and glucose in check.
Evidence suggests that restoring hormone balance--particularly with regards to fat-storage hormones such as estrogen--can sometimes be a key factor in losing excess weight and keeping it off, especially because hormones naturally decline with age.
Blessings,
