Did you know that :
Insulin is one of the only hormones that we can control? The food that you eat has a profound impact on your insulin levels.
the size of a diabetic’s brain shrinks twice as fast every year compared to a non-diabetic?
Insulin resistance is a very common issue nowadays and is becoming a major health hazard. Yet, it’s not really given lots of attention or assessed well in conventional medicine. Yet, it’s not given the attention it deserves nor is it assessed properly in conventional medicine.
The thing with insulin resistance is that it builds up over the years and doesn’t happen overnight. Insulin resistance or pre-diabetes is the main driver to poor metabolic function or a metabolic syndrome; which is characterized by abdominal obesity, insulin resistance, hypertension, and hyperlipidemia.
Insulin is a hormone made by the pancreas that helps to regulate your blood sugar levels; insulin works to decrease blood sugar levels by moving glucose out of the blood and into other cells where it can be used directly as fuel or stored as body fat. When your body is functioning optimally, blood glucose and insulin are in lockstep. You eat a meal, blood glucose level goes up, insulin goes up, blood glucose level goes down, and insulin goes down. But when you keep spiking the insulin by: (1) an abundance of food or (2) eating foods that require a lot of insulin (such as simple sugars, fructose and complex carbs) it starts to store fat.
The important thing to note here is that one may be severely insulin resistant and still have normal blood sugars. This high demand of insulin results in over-working your pancreas which then, in most cases, results in the prescription of Metformin or Glucophage. High circulating insulin does not only affect blood sugar, this major hormone is at the root of virtually all chronic disease and therefore affects various other systems in the body as well. This is why diabetes is so much more than ‘high levels of blood sugars’. When sugar can’t get into a cell, it oxidizes and turns into glycosylated end products (GEP) which is like rust accumulating on a car, and when that is combined with inflammation, it causes destruction to the kidneys, retinas, liver and other tissue in the body. For this reason, diabetes is the leading cause of blindness and kidney failure.
Hyperinsulinemia – Occult Diabetes
“The pathology of diabetes mellitus occurs in those with normal blood sugars. There are far too many who are told, “Don't worry, your fasting blood sugars are normal” - Joseph R. Kraft MD MS. FCAP
Doctors have been trained to measure a person’s fasting blood sugar around 8-10 hours after the last meal. The worrisome aspect of that conventional way of testing that they do not express concern until results show blood sugar levels reaching 110 mg/dl. Once it starts to escalate and the HBA1C start to go above 5.8 they will be prescribed medication such as metformin and Glucophage when this is all managed by lifestyle intervention and a good diet.
Let’s highlight the aspects of health that are influenced by insulin:
Insulin tells your liver to make more cholesterol
Cholesterol is the precursor to many of your hormones, including cortisol. Your body makes more cholesterol in response to the demands placed on it. This is a highly intelligent response to your environment and lifestyle!
Insulin keeps your liver from being able to detoxify properly, the overload of fructose.
Fructose is almost entirely metabolized in the liver in humans, where it is directed toward replenishment of liver glycogen and triglyceride synthesis; if we keep the fructose intake high, this influx hinders the liver from its main tasks.
High insulin levels in women cause them to make more testosterone.
Symptoms include; polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), excess facial hair and acne.
Men with high insulin may have higher levels of estrogen.
This can contribute to prostate issues, erectile dysfunction and loss of motivation and depression.
High Insulin promotes cellular malfunction and cell division
and therefore accelerates the aging process and cancer cell division.
Chronic hyperinsulinemia is the canary in the coal mine; we need to detect insulin and diagnose insulin resistance before we start watching the blood glucose. Here is the thing; you do not need to be over-weight to have insulin resistance, anyone can have insulin impairment.
The good news is that insulin resistance is completely reversable and preventable. But without awareness and understanding of this syndrome, It can get out of hand and become a major issue especially at a young age. This metabolic dysfunction is a gradual progression that builds below the surface for years and years, and meal after meal before it fully manifests and the person is diagnosed.
It is also important to highlight that diet is not the only contributing factor; a sedentary lifestyle, inadequate sleep, chronic stress, gut dysfunction, and environmental toxins also play significant roles. These factors cause oxidative stress which stimulates cortisol secretion. One of the main roles of cortisol is to increase blood sugar in response to any stress by releasing a stored sugar (glycogen) from the liver and muscle tissue. This forces the pancreas to make more insulin to lower blood sugar and a viscous cycle continues.
-----
Key learnings for dealing with Insulin resistance:
Glycemic Index (GI) and Glycemic Load (GL)
The glycemic index is a scale that measures the insulin response your body will have after eating a certain food. The higher the number, the more insulin your pancreas will secrete. You want to choose foods that are low in GL most of the time. Please look at the table below for a little guide on GL:
Processed foods are inflammatory
Inflammation is the main reason of any chronic degenerative disease, to tame the inflammation and reduce the hyperinsulinemia, we need to avoid processed foods and other inflammatory factors.
Food Sensitivities
When one eats food they are sensitive to, it will cause an immune and inflammatory response which aids feeds the vicious circle of insulin resistance due to low grade inflammation. I recommend the Elimination Diet to test for food sensitivities, this helps clients a lot in knowing what is causing their indigestion and discomfort.
Food timing
Grazing through the day and eating larger meals causes blood sugar and insulin spikes. It is better to eat smaller, frequent meals that have a low GI and GL to help keep your blood sugars stay balanced and to prevent them from extreme highs and lows. You would be surprised to see how much food you actually need – I recommend working with a nutritionist for personalized and targeted nutrition coaching.
-----
Diabetes and Essential Nutrients
There are certain substances that everyone needs for their body to function normally. Diabetics are usually more prone to deficiencies due to the dysbiosis of gut microbiota and inability to absorb nutrients properly.
I highly recommend that you consult with a Functional Medicine practitioner to determine your nutrient needs through the appropriate lab work.
Chromium – This helps in making insulin receptor sites more sensitive to insulin, which eventually aids in lowering blood sugar levels safely.
Hemoglobin A1C – This is an important marker because it measures how quickly an organism is aging. The higher the HbA1C, the faster a person is aging on a cellular level
Alpha-lipoic acid (ALA) – ALA is one of the main nutrients responsible for turning sugar into energy in your cells. It is also an anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant so it can assist with reducing insulin resistance and in slowing down aging.
Magnesium – Diabetics usually have a tendency to utilize magnesium faster than non-diabetics. This mineral is responsible for making energy and helps muscles and nerves. Deficiencies can contribute to constipation, low muscle recovery and high blood pressure, to name a few.
Zinc – Excess inflammation - which is the case in pre-diabetics and diabetics - causes a person to use more zinc than they normally would, and insulin resistance is an inflammatory issue in essence.
B-vitamins – All of the B-vitamins combined play a role in almost every process that occurs in your cells, including carbohydrate metabolism and methylation.
Your body has very specific nutritional requirements. How would you know how much of something your body needs to function properly? You check the fluid levels of your car, why not check the nutrient levels in your body? What I find effective, and I am sure all other functional medicine professionals, is to test for specific nutrients and then give their body what it needs to do its job properly.
How to Improve Insulin Sensitivity
Make half of your plate non-starchy vegetables
Increase dietary fat intake from avocado, olive oil, raw nuts, etc.
Incorporate protein with every meal
Include up to one serving of complex carbs or starches to each meal
Avoid refined flours and carbohydrates
Limit complex carbohydrates to a few servings per day (not meal)
Watch your fruit intake – excess fructose forms triglycerides and body fat
Avoid big meals, and go for smaller meals more frequently during the day
Include 2 tbsp ground flaxseeds everyday for fiber and omega 3s
Aim for at least 40+ grams of fiber through whole foods sources every day
You need to work on stress management and practice letting go of the little things that make you feel uncomfortable.
Honor your peripheral clock and regulate your circadian rhythm by regulating your sleep.
Address nutrient deficiencies by testing, do not guess – TEST!
Retrain your taste buds to appreciate the natural sweetness of raw nuts and fresh vegetables. Give up sugar and sweeteners like also stevia, aspartame, sucralose, sugar alcohols like xylitol and maltitol.
Add 1-2 Tbsp organic, raw apple cider vinegar a day with water.
Exercise regularly and move your body whenever possible, but not too much (excessive exercise raises cortisol which promotes insulin excretion)
“This starts with personal action and community organization. Creating a healthier world is a revolutionary act, one you can start right now.” - Mark Hyman
Comments