Preventing and Reversing Insulin resistance

Insulin is a hormone that is stimulated when we eat food, most especially carbohydrates (carbs) and sugar. When we ingest carbs or sugar, a sort of metabolism takes place in our body converting these foods into glucose (a simple sugar providing energy for the body).

When glucose enters the bloodstream, the pancreas then produces insulin to mop up the glucose in our bloodstream, taking this glucose to the body's cells that need it. This structured process provides the muscle, adipose (fat), and liver cells the glucose needed for energy. These and more are the body's cells insulin transports glucose to.

So, What then is insulin resistance?

Insulin resistance is a condition that occurs when your pancreas produces too much insulin or the aforementioned cells refuse to take up glucose, causing you to have high blood sugar.

In simple terms, when you eat carbs, starchy vegetables or sugar, as stated earlier, your pancreas injects insulin to clean up the glucose in your bloodstream and dump it to cells needing glucose. When you eat again before insulin could mop up your bloodstream of glucose, the pancreas produces more insulin to mop up the glucose from the food you've eaten again. The process goes on and on until it get to a point when the cells receiving glucose refuse to give access to insulin to import glucose in.

When the pancreas notices that your bloodstream is still flooded with glucose, it keeps producing insulin to do its job of mopping the blood. At some point, the insulin becomes too much in your bloodstream. At this point you develop a condition known as insulin resistance. Your body's cells have become resistant to insulin, leaving you weak, obese, and having type 2 diabetes.

Causes of insulin resistance

For us to be able to reverse insulin resistance, we need to look at its possible causes and risk factors. We can classify the causes of insulin resistance into primary and secondary risk factors.

Primary factors

Poor diet high in carbohydrates, starch, sugar and unsaturated fat.

Lifestyle

Secondary factors

Obesity or excess body fat

Genetics and family history

Sleep disorders

Eating disorders

It is important to know that these secondary factors are dependent on the primary factors or causes of insulin resistance. Being obese is largely dependent on the food one eats and/or a sedentary lifestyle. This can also be said about family history. Insulin resistance is not a communicable disease, hence you can't have it because your family member had it once or because you are a member of a race. Insulin resistance largely depends on your eating habits and lifestyle choices.

Reversing or preventing insulin resistance

Just as it is caused by the food we eat and our lifestyle choices, insulin resistance can as well be prevented or reversed through our eating habits and lifestyles. Here is a breakdown of these treatment options:

Foods

The excess glucose and insulin in the bloodstream, which are not used by the body's cells in need of them, are converted into fat and stored in your body. These fats tend to block the signaling pathway that should allow the import of glucose to where they are needed. So, it is important to reduce the intake of foods rich in carbs or have high glycemic index.

Foods above the 60 mark on the glycemic index should be avoided. Cut out sugar, starchy carbs, and reduce the consumption of other carbohydrates. Continuous consumption of sweet yogurt, cakes, pasta, and other sugar-rich foods would only cause you to have cravings for them, which increases glucose and insulin in your bloodstream.

Go for green non-starchy veggies or vegetables. Vegetables, such as spinach and cabbages, are also rich in nitrates. Nitrate-rich foods help your body's production of nitric oxide, which is a signaling molecule needed to improve insulin sensitivity of the cells needing glucose.

Also, eat foods rich in lean proteins. You can cut white rice for beans and other grains rich in protein. Go for Greek yogurt, chicken breast, eggs, and fish.

Eat Healthy saturated fats in moderation. Avoid trans and unsaturated fats. Groundnuts, peanuts, walnuts, olive oil, fish, are all good sources of healthy fats.

Intermittent fasting

This is an eating pattern that involves timing when to eat. You set a time to eat and a time to stay away from food.

Intermittent fasting is as old as the existence of man. Although it is a concept that has gained popularity over the last few decades, it is not new to the human race.

The concept of intermittent fasting can be tweaked, which means you can personalize it. You can decide to eat once a day (OMAD) or twice a day. You can decide to reduce your calorie intakes for two days in a week and eat normally for the rest of the week. The popular methods are the 5:2 and 16:8 methods.

Intermittent fasting helps you give your body a break from eating, which reduces the amount of insulin in your bloodstream. When you reduce the amount of time you eat, you reduce the glucose entering your bloodstream and the attending insulin mopping up the glucose.

Besides this, intermittent fasting has been proven to improve insulin sensitivity. During your fasting window, your body feeds on the stored fast that may be causing hindrance to the passage of insulin.

You may start fasting by first cutting down on tour snacks and limit your eating to three (3) times a day. Intermittent fasting isn't a difficult thing to do. Once you start and your body gets used to it, it becomes a normal thing to do. It is a sacrifice you have to pay to get your body healthy.

Exercise

Sedentary lifestyle is one major factor causing obesity and excess body fat. When you continually eat carbs, sugar, and unhealthy fats without practicing intermittent fasting or exercising, you are happily welcoming insulin resistance and eventually type 2 diabetes.

Exercises are another way we can get the muscles and some other body cells to take up glucose without the help of insulin.

A brisk 30-minute walk a day can be helpful to you. Depending on your schedules, you can go hiking, bike riding, swimming, and dancing. You can engage in high intensity exercises which will not take your time. Also, interval training and weight lifting can be helpful.

Sleep

Ensure you sleep well. Studies have linked poor sleeping with ghrelin production. Ghrelin is the hormone that regulates hunger. The less sleep you have, the more cravings you have for food, mostly junk. So, it is important to sleep well.

Conclusion

Insulin resistance can lead to type 2 diabetes and other complications if not treated. Rather than seeking medications that would only increase the amount of insulin in the bloodstream, the aforementioned strategies are proven ways you can get your body's cells to respond to insulin.

Note that these strategies are not a one-time treatment to insulin resistance. They are to be adopted as your new eating habits and lifestyle. You don't stop doing them because you are now better; you continue to do them to continue to be healthy.

Please, seek the advice of your doctor's or a professional healthcare provider for advice before you take any step in changing your diet and lifestyle.