Let’s start with some facts:
40% of adults worldwide are obese (obesity is defined as having a BMI higher than 30)
74% of adults in the US are obese or overweight
1/2 of men over 45 have low testosterone
10% of women have menstrual issues or infertility
85% of all US adults have insulin resistance
Insulin Resistance - What is it?
I know this is what everyone is asking?
Once a disease of affluence, affecting older well off people, insulin resistance now affects children as young as 4 years old!!
Insulin resistance is a reduced response to insulin. Insulin is a hormone produced by the pancreas and its main role is to regulate blood glucose levels. When a cell stops responding to insulin, it becomes insulin resistant. Our bodies require insulin to remove glucose from our blood. And if we are in a constant state of high glucose levels, of course the insulin will no longer work. This leads to a hyperglycemia - a pre-cursor to diabetes - Type 2. Insulin resistance can be prevalent in our bodies long before we develop type 2 diabetes.
Fun Fact: Diabetes or insulin irregularities go back over 3000 years.
The word ‘mellitus’ is latin for honey sweet and diabete means to ‘pass through’
When we eat food that increases our blood sugar, the pancreas releases insulin. Insulin allows glucose to move from the blood to other parts of the body (heart, brain, muscles), where it is mostly for energy use. And because glucose is used throughout the body, and if we are in a constant state of hyperglycemia, this will have an affect on many diseases of the heart, head, blood vessels and organs. Many with insulin resistance will die from heart disease, alzheimers, cancers and complications from type 2 diabetes.
To discuss every disease attributed to insulin resistance would take hours and pages of information. So for now lets discussed how to avoid or reverse insulin resistance.
Do you have it?
Do you have more fat around your middle then you want?
Do you have high blood pressure?
Do you have a family history of heart disease?
Do you retain water easily?
Do you have high triglycerides?
Do you have skin tags?
Does a family member have type 2 diabetes?
Do you have PCOS (polycystic ovarian syndrome) for women or erectile dysfunction for men?
All of these questions relate to someone who has or is at risk of insulin resistance.
How to Avoid Insulin Resistance?
Look at what you eat & lose the weight - lets go back to the stat that 40% of adults worldwide are obese. And we gain weight primarily by the food we eat. But ultimately it is the insulin and other hormones that determine what our bodies do with the food we eat and store.
Avoid sugar, simple carbohydrates, high sugary beverages, increase protein, increase healthy fats (animal based)
Avoid exposure to chemicals & pesticides - chemicals and pesticides are everywhere. Food, cleaning supplies, cosmetics, lotions, toys, storage containers, furniture, and the list goes on and on. Our bodies hold on to these toxins in our cells, mostly fat tissue. 95% of the population has a measurable level of BPA (bisphenol A, a chemical used in certain plastics) in their blood and BPA has a direct correlation to insulin resistance and insulin blood levels. Still being studied, it is thought that the estrogenic effect that BPA possesses can induce insulin resistance.
Sugar - We know that sugar influences insulin, and too much sugar creates insulin resistance (mentioned above). Now what if you replace sugar with artificial sweeteners? Well research has shown that artificial sweeteners make us crave foods. Which tends to make us eat more & not always choose the healthiest options and this will increase our insulin production.
Sleep - The jury is all over the place when it comes to hours of sleep. Some people can operate well on 6 hours of uninterrupted sleep but some need 8-9. So I am going to say between 6-9 hours of uninterrupted sleep is ideal. And why is sleep important? Sleep debt can play havoc with our endocrine systems and hence our hormones become unbalanced and since insulin is a hormone, this can result in insulin imbalance and ultimately, resistance.
Movement - The less we move, the more insulin resistant we become. And this is directly a result of muscles. If we don’t use them, we respond less to insulin.
‘Use it or lose it’
I think this topic requires a part 2..Most of the information with studies talked about in this post was from the book - Why Do We Sick? by Benjamin Bikman.
If you think that you are at risk of insulin resistance, and need help to reverse this, I am here to help. Send me note and I will be happy to send you some information.
Happy Reading
Danni