Every thing about Insulin Resistance

Insulin resistance occurs cells of the body don’t respond to insulin

Insulin resistance is the name given to when cells of the body don’t respond properly to the hormone insulin.
Insulin resistance is the driving factor that leads to type 2 diabetes, gestational diabetes, and prediabetes.
Insulin resistance is closely associated with obesity; however, it is possible to be insulin resistant without being overweight or obese.
Modern research has shown that insulin resistance can be combatted by treatment methods that reduce how much insulin the body is producing or taking via insulin injections or insulin pumps.
Reducing insulin resistance can be achieved by following low-carbohydrate and ketogenic diets.

What is insulin resistance?

The role of insulin is to allow cells of the body to take in glucose to be used as fuel or stored as body fat.

It also means that glucose is more likely to build up in the blood and this can lead to too high blood sugar levels.
When the body becomes resistant to insulin, it tries to cope by producing more insulin. People with insulin resistance are often producing too more insulin than healthy people.
Producing too much insulin is known as hyperinsulinemia.

Symptoms of insulin resistance

Initially, insulin resistance presents no symptoms. The symptoms only start to appear once it leads to secondary effects such as higher blood sugar levels. When this happens, the symptoms may include:

• Lethargy (tiredness)
• Hunger
• Difficulty concentrating (brain fog)

Other signs that often appear in people with insulin resistance include:

• Weight gain around the middle (belly fat)
• High blood pressure
• High cholesterol levels

If insulin resistance develops into prediabetes or type 2 diabetes, the symptoms will include increased blood glucose levels and more of the classic symptoms of type 2 diabetes.

How to know if you’re insulin resistant

Your health practitioner can use several methods to determine if you’re insulin resistant.

For example, high fasting insulin levels are strong indicators of this condition.

A fairly accurate test called HOMA-IR estimates insulin resistance from your blood sugar and insulin levels.

There are also ways to measure blood sugar control more directly, such as an oral glucose-tolerance test — but this takes several hours.

Your risk of insulin resistance increases greatly if you have excess weight or obesity, especially if you have large amounts of belly fat.

A skin condition called acanthosis nigricans, which involves dark spots on your skin, can likewise indicate insulin resistance.

Having low HDL (good) cholesterol levels and high blood triglycerides are two other markers strongly associated with this condition (3Trusted Source).

SUMMARY High insulin and blood sugar levels are key symptoms of insulin resistance. Other symptoms include excess belly fat, high blood triglycerides, and low HDL (good) cholesterol levels.

Causes of insulin resistance

Whilst the exact cause of insulin resistance is still not fully understood, it is well-known which factors can lead to insulin resistance developing.
Insulin resistance can commonly develop if one or more of the following factors apply:

• If you are overweight or obese
• Having a high-calorie diet, high-carbohydrate or high-sugar diet
• Sedentary lifestyle – taking little physical activity
• Taking high doses of steroids over an extended period of time
• Having chronic stress
• Having Cushing’s disease or polycystic ovary disease

In terms of what is happening inside the body that causes insulin resistance, researchers have observed that insulin resistance occurs in people that have:

• High levels of insulin circulating in their blood
• Excessive fat stored in the liver and pancreas
• High levels of inflammation 

Ways to reduce insulin resistance

It’s fairly easy to reduce insulin resistance.
Interestingly, you can often completely reverse this condition by changing your lifestyle in the following ways:

• Exercise. Physical activity may be the single easiest way to improve insulin sensitivity. Its effects are almost immediate .
• Lose belly fat. It’s key to target the fat that accumulates around your main organs via exercise and other methods.
• Stop smoking. Tobacco smoking can cause insulin resistance, so quitting should help (42Trusted Source).
• Reduce sugar intake. Try to reduce your intake of added sugars, especially from sugar-sweetened beverages.
• Eat well. Eat a diet based mostly on whole, unprocessed foods. Include nuts and fatty fish.
• Omega-3 fatty acids. These fats may reduce insulin resistance, as well as lower blood triglycerides .
• Supplements. Berberine may enhance insulin sensitivity and reduce blood sugar. Magnesium supplements may be helpful, too (45Trusted Source, 46Trusted Source).
• Sleep. Some evidence suggests that poor sleep causes insulin resistance, so improving sleep quality should help .
• Reduce stress. Try to manage your stress levels if you easily get overwhelmed. Meditation may be particularly helpful .
• Donate blood. High levels of iron in your blood are linked to insulin resistance. For men and postmenopausal women, donating blood may improve insulin sensitivity .
• Intermittent fasting. Following this eating pattern may improve insulin sensitivity .

Most of the habits on this list also happen to be associated with good health, a long life, and protection against disease.
That said, it’s best to consult your health practitioner about your options, as various medical treatments can be effective as well.

SUMMARY Insulin resistance may be reduced or even reversed with simple lifestyle measures, such as exercise, healthy eating, and stress management.

https://www.healthline.com/
https://www.niddk.nih.gov/