Insulin Resistance 101 Lisa Purdy ND, MH, CNHP
Insulin is known as a master hormone and is very important to your body’s function. The main job of insulin is to open your cells to receive glucose from the bloodstream. Glucose is the energy your body uses for fuel. Insulin is like a key to open the door and let the energy into the cell. If the glucose is unable to enter the cell effectively, it remains in the blood. This is what we call high blood sugar. The body panics, because it needs that energy in the cell. So, the body makes more insulin to take that sugar from the blood and put it into the cell. However, insulin lingers in the bloodstream for up to 12 hours. This means that sometimes by the time the sugar is actually getting into the resistant cell, the body has made way too much insulin.
Why is extra insulin a problem?
- Insulin causes weight gain. It turns on the storage of fat in the liver. Think of insulin as a “master hormone” and you can’t fix other hormones until insulin is corrected.
- Insulin drives increased triglyceride production. Especially with fructose present in the liver…think high fructose corn syrup, used excessively in our modern food.
- Insulin triggers a condition of narrowing arteries. It increases LDL, bad. or small dense cholesterol which loves to clog up the pipes.
- Insulin raises blood pressure. It stimulates the retention of sodium by the body. Maybe that ankle swelling is really a result of too many carbs/sugars stimulating insulin.
- Insulin makes inflammation worse. It amplifies or stimulates inflammatory hormones, driving an inflammatory cascade into disease…think of all the “-itis” ending diseases.
- Insulin increases free radical formation, which leads to cancer. Antioxidants can help by cleaning up the cells, and stopping the chain of damage.
Along with the above signs of insulin resistance, here are a few more. Skin tags. Yep, a definite sign of insulin resistance. Also, thickening and darkening of the skin around the creases of the neck. Another sign may be a feeling of numbness, burning, or tingling in the lower legs and feet.
Insulin resistance occurs 10-20 years prior to the onset of serious disease. They now call this Pre-diabetes or Metabolic Syndrome. You may want to ignore the signs, but better to take advantage of the opportunity for prevention. It may not be too late to reverse the damage. There are dietary changes and supplements that can support your healing journey. Pharmaceutical drugs are not your only option. Contact me for an appointment to create a Personalized Wellness Plan. Action now, may prevent disease later.