Insulin Resistance, Syndrome X, Blood
Sugar
The Function of Insulin and Insulin Resistance
Each
time we eat a meal or snack, insulin is released into the bloodstream. This
hormone is secreted by the pancreas and it encourages our muscles to use up the
glucose in the bloodstream broken down from our meal.
Glucose in the
bloodstream is pretty dangerous because it can stick to proteins and destroy
their ability to do their job. Kidney damage, blindness, and amputations are
just some of the results of too much glucose remaining in the blood for too
long. These are common complications of diabetes since diabetics do not make
the necessary insulin to clean the sugar out of the blood.
Additionally, insulin
stops the liver from releasing any fat, a potential metabolic fuel, into the
blood after a meal because these fats are released as triglycerides which are
also dangerous if they hang out in the bloodstream too long.
Insulin has many
jobs but it also plays a role in affecting lifespan since protecting the blood
from these harmful substances protects the vital organs and their functions.
Insulin, Sugar, and Glycogen
When your body
notices that sugar levels are elevated, it realizes that there is more sugar
than you can use right now so it immediately tries to figure out how to store
it. Your body stores a small amount as glycogen but this is not a huge storage
system. In fact, all the glycogen stored in your liver and muscles would not
last you through a single active day.
Once you have
filled up your glycogen storage points, the excess sugar has to be stored as
saturated fat.
The idea of
eating a high complex-carbohydrate, low-saturated-fat diet is a huge mistake. A
high complex-carbohydrate diet is nothing more than a high-glucose (sugar) diet.
Your body is just going to store it as saturated fat.
Insulin in the
bloodstream also prevents you from burning fat, so the more there is a need for
insulin, provoked by the presence of sugar in the system, the less able you are
to burn fat for fuel.
High Insulin Levels Cause Health Problems
High
levels of insulin cause several problems: one of them is high blood pressure.
One of the roles of insulin is to assist in the storing of excess nutrients. For
example, insulin plays a role in storing magnesium. If your cells become
resistant to insulin, you can't store magnesium so you lose it through
urination. Since magnesium relaxes muscles and vessels, when you lose too much
magnesium, your blood vessels constrict and this causes an increase in blood
pressure. Insulin also causes the retention of
sodium, which causes fluid retention, which causes high blood pressure and ultimately
congestive heart failure.
Osteoporosis is
another potential problem resulting from insulin resistance. Insulin is a
master hormone which controls many anabolic hormones such as growth hormone,
testosterone, and progesterone. In insulin resistance, the anabolic process is
reduced. These hormones, among other roles, control the building and
re-building of bone so when these hormones are reduced, the amount of bone
building is reduced, and the amount of calcium excreted is increased.
Insulin also increases
cellular proliferation, meaning cells are allowed to grow unchecked. This can
have a significant effect on cancer cells. There are some new studies with
strong evidence of a link between insulin resistance and both colon and breast
cancer.
Insulin Resistance
When your cells are exposed
to insulin at all, they get a little bit more resistant to it. So the pancreas
just puts out more insulin. Cells become insulin resistant because they are
trying to protect themselves from the toxic effects of high insulin. They slow
down their receptor activity and decrease the number of receptors so that they
don't have to constantly be subjected to all that stimuli. The liver becomes resistant first, followed by the muscle
tissue and lastly the fats. As all these major tissues become insulin resistant,
the pancreas is putting out more insulin, trying to compensate. However, the pancreas can't keep up that high
level of insulin production forever. Once the production of insulin starts
slowing down, or the resistance goes up, then blood sugar goes up and the
person becomes a diabetic.
Insulin Resistance Syndrome or Syndrome X
"Insulin
resistance syndrome" refers to a combination of risk factors for type 2
diabetes, including chronically elevated insulin levels, low HDL
("good") cholesterol, abdominal obesity and high blood pressure. Excessive
intake of all carbohydrates, especially the high-glycemic type, is the primary
culprit in the development of insulin resistance. These include processed
grains found in most bread and pasta products along with a huge percentage of
other packaged foods available today. Type 2 diabetes occurs when the body no
longer responds to insulin. As a result, levels of insulin in the blood become
elevated and over time, can raise the risk for kidney failure and blindness, as
well as heart disease.
Symptoms of Insulin Resistance
Here is a list of
some of the most common symptoms of people with Insulin Resistance. Many
symptoms are evident immediately following a meal of carbohydrates, and others
are more or less always present. Keep in mind that these symptoms may also be related
to other problems.
- Fatigue. The most common feature of Insulin Resistance
is that it wears people out. Some are tired just in the morning or
afternoon while others are exhausted all day.
- Brain Fog. Sometimes the fatigue of Insulin Resistance is
physical, but often it's mental. The inability to focus is the most
evident symptom. Poor memory, loss of creativity or poor grades in school,
often accompany Insulin Resistance, as do various forms of "learning
disabilities."
- Low Blood
Sugar. Mild, brief periods of
low blood sugar are normal during the day, especially if meals are not
eaten on a regular schedule. But prolonged periods of this
"hypoglycemia," accompanied by many of the symptoms listed here,
especially physical and mental fatigue, are not normal. Feeling agitated,
jittery and moody is common in Insulin Resistance, with almost immediate
relief once food is eaten.
- Intestinal
bloating. Most intestinal gas is
produced from carbohydrates in the diet. Insulin Resistance sufferers who
eat carbohydrates suffer from gas, lots of it.
- Sleepiness. Many people with Insulin Resistance get sleepy
immediately after eating a meal containing more than 20% or 30%
carbohydrates. This means typically a pasta meal, or even a meat meal
which includes potatoes or bread and a sweet dessert.
- Increased
Weight & Fat Storage. For
most people, too much weight is too much fat. In males, a large abdomen is
the more obvious and earliest sign of Insulin Resistance. In females, it's
prominent buttocks.
- Increased
Triglycerides. High
triglycerides in the blood are often found in overweight persons. But even
those who are not overweight may have stores of fat in their arteries as a
result of Insulin Resistance. These triglycerides are the direct result of
carbohydrates in the diet being converted by insulin.
- Increased
Blood Pressure. It is a fact
that most people with hypertension have too much insulin and are Insulin
Resistant. It is often possible to show a direct relationship between the
level of insulin and blood pressure: as insulin levels elevate, so does
blood pressure.
- Depression. Because carbohydrates are a natural
"downer," depressing the brain, it is not uncommon to see many
depressed persons who also have Insulin Resistance.
Insulin and Aging
People who live
to over 100 years don't have much in common. For example, many are smokers.
They come from all over the world without a favoring any geographic location in
particular. However, there are 3 blood metabolic indicators of all centenarians
which are relatively consistent: low sugar, low triglycerides, and low insulin.
Among these 3 variables, insulin is the common denominator. The level of
insulin sensitivity of the cell is one of the most important markers of
lifespan.
Controlling your
insulin levels is one of the most powerful anti-aging strategies you can
possibly implement. Sugar and grains cause your body to produce insulin, so if
you want to slow down aging and become healthier, you need to change your
grains for greens.
Insulin
resistance also plays a role in cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis, obesity,
diabetes, cancer, all the so-called chronic diseases of aging. Fortunately,
insulin is the variable most easily influenced by a healthy diet of no sugar
and few grains and regular exercise.
In addition to diet
and exercise, you may want to consider chromium supplementation. Chromium helps
insulin to work efficiently. As little as 500-1,000 mcg daily of a GTF chromium
shows dramatic results.
Another helpful
aid is the addition of a fiber supplement to your daily routine. Fiber absorbs
the acronym F.A.T.S. which stands for fats, acids, toxins and sugars. There are
some who think that this phrase is a bit redundant since sugar in the
bloodstream is regarded as acidic and toxic. There are also herbs that help to
regulate sugar levels and rebuild the structure of the cells to overcome their
resistance.
Just a few of Nature’s Sunshine Products
that are helpful in battling insulin resistance are:
GTF Chromium (controls blood sugar and turns off sweet/carb
cravings)
Nopal (helps to regulate blood sugar)
Noni (detoxifies and re-sensitizes the cells to insulin)
Carbo-Grabbers (helps trap carbs before they’re broken down &
absorbed)
Psyllium Hulls (or other fiber product) (absorbs F.A.T.S.)
Here’s to your health!
Lahni for Ralph & Lahni de Amicis
Herbal Solutions... your guides to motivated health!
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