Introduction
In many of these articles we talk about a healthy cell supporting a healthy body. In ideal circumstances, our cells are able to function cleanly with good energy, good reproduction and the ability to clean up damage without too much stress.
When they are stressed, the body enters a certain response that involves more inflammation, poorer cell function and a shorter life span. This causes aging.
Insulin is key to this story. Insulin itself is perfectly normal. However, when the body is under distress, the cells do not listen to the insulin and instead become ‘insulin resistant’. This involves a whole bag of problems including a tendency to raise the blood pressure, lower metabolic hormones, gain weight, store fat and results in higher glucose in the blood.
In short, when in distress, the body wants to stop burning fuel and slow the whole body down to conserve calories. This is called insulin resistance and is a major problem in our society. The trick to solving this is to ensure your cells have the right circumstances to thrive; good dietary fibre, rich and natural foods, exercise, sleep and good gut function.
What is insulin?
Insulin is a hormone made by the pancreas. Insulin rises after we eat and causes cells to take up glucose. When we are fasting, insulin levels are quite low. If the pancreas stops making insulin due to disease, and there is no insulin, the glucose gets too high and makes somebody sick. This is called Type 1 Diabetes.
If the pancreas releases insulin but the cells become less responsive to it, glucose will rise and inflammation will rise. This is called insulin resistance or Type 2 diabetes. This article focuses on the latter group.
Why is insulin resistance so important?
Humans did not evolve to snack continuously. Hunter gatherer diets had less calories and more nutrients than the processed foods we see today. It was normal to fast. In an age of snacking and high caloric density foods, obesity, insulin resistance and diabetes have all risen.
Insulin resistance is more than just having excess sugar in the blood. Whilst this alone leads to heart attacks, strokes and poor blood flow in small vessels, insulin itself is damaging as it causes inflammation if excessive. The longer term consequences of raised insulin include a higher risk of heart attacks, cancer, erectile dysfunction, alzheimer’s disease, depression to name a few.
Insulin resistance is inflammatory
Inflammation is the body’s reaction to stress, trauma or infection. It aims to signal ‘Hey I’m under attack, let’s save fuel’. Longer term, inflammation is a potent cause of disease. Insulin is inherently inflammatory. In a study, one group of dogs with normal insulin sensitivity and one group of dogs with insulin resistance were both given glucose and insulin. The insulin resistant dogs had a higher rate of inflammatory markers and disease. This shows the downstream consequences of a body with insulin resistance.
Insulin Resistance leads to…
- High blood sugar
- High blood pressure
- High cholesterol
- Inflammation
- Higher chance of blood clots
- Blood vessel dysfunction (cognitive decline, erectile dysfunction, poor circulation)
- Fatty Liver
What leads to insulin resistance?
Insulin resistance is both a cause of, and consequence of inflammation. If the body is under stress due to a calorie rich, nutrient poor diet, then insulin resistance is more likely. There are many causes, however the main ones are:
- Excess carbohydrate consumption
- A lack of exercise
- Excess alcohol
- Chronic inflammation
- Oxidative stress
- Central obesity
- Genetics
How do I find out if I am insulin resistant?
There are a number of tests to measure insulin resistance.
Fasting glucose: measure the glucose whilst fasted. It is elevated in advanced insulin resistance
Fasting insulin: measures the insulin when fasted. It may not be elevated in all cases.
HbA1c: Hba1c represents the amount of glucose sticking to a red blood cell over 3 months. In established insulin resistance it will be above 5.7.
Oral Glucose Challenge Test or OGTT: where a drink of glucose is given to a fasting person and glucose and both insulin are measured; it is the most sensitive way to diagnosed insulin resistance.
How can Insulin Resistance be treated?
The cornerstone of insulin resistance is to prevent it. This primarily involves diet and lifestyle
Diet: Aim for nutrient rich, low calorie whole foods such as grains, vegetables, fruit, herbs. Avoid processed foods which are generally more inflammatory on the body.
Fasting: Regular fasting lowers insulin levels, promotes Sirtuins and autophagy, lowers inflammation, enhances mitochondrial activity and generally promotes longevity and slows aging.
Exercise: Skeletal muscle is one of the main targets of insulin. Weight lifting to build strong muscles and losing abdominal fat will greatly assist with managing insulin resistance.
There are some common medications and supplements used to treat insulin resistance
- Metformin: A common diabetes medication
- Berberine: A common supplement to help with insulin resistance
- Probiotics
- Dietary fiber
- Fenugreek
- Resveratrol
- Magnesium
- Plant-based diet
It is also important to make sure that any imbalanced hormones, deficient vitamins and also your sleep pattern are addressed.
References
Freeman AM, Pennings N. Insulin Resistance. [Updated 2020 Jul 10]. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2021 Jan-. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK507839/
