Insulin Resistance and Type-2 Diabetes

In order to understand what it means to be insulin resistant, one must first understand what it means to be insulin sensitive. Insulin is a hormone that is produced by the pancreas as a reaction to the consumption of carbohydrates or foods with sugar content. Sugars and carbohydrates are converted into fuel in the form of glucose which gives your body energy.

The insulin hormone acts as a trigger for your body’s cells to absorb glucose from the blood stream. As the glucose enters the blood stream via normal digestion, the pancreas initiates the production of the insulin hormone. Insulin is designed to transport the glucose through the blood stream to the muscles and other tissues. Your body carefully and constantly monitors glucose levels and produces just the right amount of insulin that is needed. When a healthy diet is maintained along with regular exercise, the body can efficiently manage normal fluctuations in insulin production and glucose absorption. This is referred to as being insulin sensitive.

How Type-2 Diabetes is Caused
Complications with insulin production and glucose absorption can occur. If too much glucose is introduced into the blood stream through a diet high in refined sugars and carbohydrates, the pancreas will automatically initiate the production of more insulin. Less complex carbohydrates, like those found in foods containing refined sugar, are able to quickly enter the blood stream.

The body sees the “extra” glucose as a surplus and the only way of decreasing it is to generate more insulin. The extra insulin creates a hormonal imbalance that simply is just not tolerated. The muscles are unable to efficiently absorb the “extra” glucose, so the pancreas keeps producing more insulin as a result. The body, unable to manage the increased insulin production, becomes weary and eventually builds up a resistance. This is what it means to be insulin resistant. In lay terms, it is simply the body’s inability to use all of the insulin that is being produced for glucose absorption. This syndrome can, and usually does, eventually lead to type-2 diabetes.

The Connection between Insulin Resistance and Obesity
In the past, insulin resistance was almost exclusively associated with obesity and diabetics. However, obesity is not necessarily a precondition of insulin resistance, nor is diabetes necessarily always the end result. It has been proven that a diet low in carbohydrates and refined sugar combined with participating in regular physical exercise can eventually resolve a person’s resistance to insulin. This resolution is possible because when normal amounts of sugars and carbohydrates are introduced into the blood stream as glucose, the pancreas does not need to produce as much insulin. Additionally, with regular exercise the muscles are able to more efficiently absorb the sugars and carbohydrates that are introduced through food.

Your body requires sugar and carbohydrates because they provide the most basic form of energy. Therefore, complete cessation of sugar and carbohydrate consumption is not recommended. To avoid insulin resistance it is absolutely critical to restrict the amount of refined sugar and empty carbohydrates that you eat. By maintaining a healthy diet and following a regular exercise regime, it is possible to avoid this health condition.

See your doctor and health care professional for more information.