What is Insulin?
Insulin is an ancient, anabolic hormone, which is found in all forms of animal life. Insulin's main function is to stimulate the cell to store nutrients. This was important in the days when starvation was a real possibility for our ancestors. In our modern era of abundant food, "nutrient storage" is not something that we want to promote in our bodies.Hormone of Ageing
Insulin does more than store nutrition. It has been shown to limit the lifespan of cells. In other words, it is the chemical signal that determines when a cell has lived long enough and it's time to die. In this way, insulin can be thought of as the hormone that promotes ageing. Certainly in humans, excess insulin accelerates the rate of ageing. Insulin sounds bad, and yes, in excess it is harmful, but do not forget that it is essential for life. Without insulin, our cells cannot use food for energy. Before the invention of injectable insulin, diabetes was a life-threatening disease.What is Insulin Resistance?
Under normal circumstances, insulin is tightly controlled by a natural homoeostatic feedback mechanism. With every meal, insulin is released as carbohydrates enter the blood stream. In a healthy body, the insulin receptors in the cell membranes respond to the hormone, and take up carbohydrates and other nutrients. This, in turn, reduces the production of insulin. The problem starts when the tissue fails to respond to insulin. When this happens, the sugar in the blood remains high despite the presence of insulin, and the body has no choice but to release more insulin. It becomes a vicious cycle because it is actually the presence of insulin that makes the tissue more and more resistant to it. This is how insulin exposure determines the rate of ageing: with every insulin release, cell membranes become a little bit more insulin resistant. A gradual increase in insulin concentration over time is normal, but the current epidemic of severe insulin resistance is a modern phenomenon.It may be the cause of many of your health problems
When your body becomes resistant to insulin, it cannot metabolize carbohydrates properly. Untreated, this leads to Type 2 diabetes. Decades before it becomes diabetes, however, Insulin Resistance can cause real problems. As the master hormone, it's presence in excess can lead to many different conditions such as:High cholesterol
High blood pressure
Heart disease
Alzheimer's Disease
Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome
Breast cancer
Prostate cancer
Under-active thyroid
Premature ageing
Acne
A problem with insulin worsens menopausal symptoms
-Low libido. Women with insulin resistance are more likely to experience a drop in libido with menopause.-Osteoporosis. Women who are overweight and/or diabetic are more at risk for osteoporotic fractures. This overturns the conventional belief that body weight protects against osteoporosis. Overweight women often have normal bone density scores, but they go on to suffer fractures anyway. Excess insulin causes bone-remodeling cells to degrade into fat cells. In this regard, osteoporosis can be viewed as "obesity of the bone".
-Hot Flashes. A new study from the University of California has found that women who are overweight are more likely to suffer hot flashes.Weight loss causes a significant improvement in symptoms. (10) Perhaps you take different medications for your cholesterol, blood pressure, and thyroid but those are only band-aids. They do not address the insulin resistance that may be the single problem that is causing the other conditions.
Are you sure that you do not have Insulin Resistance?
Insulin Resistance is such an important health condition, and yet it may be completely off your doctor's radar. Forget your cholesterol and your female hormone readings on blood test, and look deeper. Ask yourself this very important question: "Are you a pre-diabetic?" Here are some warning signs: fasting glucose greater than 5.0 mmol/L (the official reference range is 3.5-6.0) elevated triglycerides and bad cholesterol (LDL) elevated ALT on liver function test waist measure greater than 80cm for women and 90cm for men high blood pressure The definitive pathology test for insulin resistance is the Glucose Tolerance Test (GTT) with insulin. One hour after the glucose load, normal insulin should be less than 60mU/L. Other useful tests include fasting insulin, fasting glucose, liver function test, lipid profile, C-RP, thyroid function and serum vitamin D.How did you get in it in the first place?
-Leptin resistance: New research suggests that leptin resistance may be the driving force behind insulin resistance.-Pollution: A study published in Diabetes Care has found that people who have the highest level of stored toxins were 38 times more likely to have diabetes than people with a lower level of stored toxins. Even if they were overweight, people with low level of toxins did not develop diabetes. An editorial about the study published in the Lancet made the following statement: 'This finding might imply that virtually all the risk of diabetes conferred by obesity is attributable to persistent organic pollutants, and that obesity is only a vehicle for such chemicals. This possibility is shocking'. (In other words, obesity causes diabetes simply because it a vehicle for toxins.)
-Herbicides: Rats exposed to low doses of the common herbicide Atrazine gained 10% more abdominal weight over 5 months than non-exposed animals. The cells of the exposed rats were found to contain damaged mitochondria, which prevents normal cell response to insulin. Blood tests showed significantly higher blood sugar and insulin levels.
-Smoking: Toxins in cigarette smoke damage the insulin receptor, and cause distinctive weight gain around the waist. No more smoking to stay thin!
-Inflammation: New research from the University of Maryland has correlated inflammatory products in the blood with insulin resistance. This means that inflammation caused by infection, stress and pollution may be a direct contributor to insulin resistance and its outcomes: obesity, diabetes and heart disease. Too much sugar and flour in the diet: Carbohydrate intake compared to protein has increased dramatically in the last century. Since the onset of large-scale flour refinement in the 1890's, the average person consumes more fibre-free carbohydrate in a week than a nineteenth century person did in a year!
-Fructose: Studies have shown that fructose is a particularly harmful type of carbohydrate. It inactivates the insulin receptor, and it interferes with the way the brain responds to leptin (the anti-hunger hormone). The result is constant hunger, and a progression towards insulin resistance and fatty liver. Fructose is in modern sweeteners such as high-fructose corn syrup and sucrose (table sugar). It is in prepared foods like fizzy drinks and baked goods, and even so-called healthy foods like yoghurt and muesli bars. Whole pieces of fruit do contain fructose, but it is balanced by healthy fiber, so fruit is ok to eat in moderation. Care should be taken with dried fruit and fruit juice.
-Trans Fat: Trans fats are damaged polyunsaturated fatty acids, found in processed vegetable oil such as margarine, deep-fried food, or commercially prepared oil. Conventionally touted as the healthy oils, these Frankenstein molecules have become a large part of the modern diet. They are damaged, distorted molecules, and when they are incorporated into the cell membrane, then interfere with the functioning of the insulin and other receptors.
-Vitamin D deficiency has been linked with Insulin Resistance. Birth control Pill worsens insulin resistance.
-Lack of exercise
-Problems with digestion. (unhealthy intestinal bacteria)
Natural Treatment for Insulin Resistance
The good news is that insulin resistance is reversible with diet and lifestyle. Detoxify. Help your body to remove stored residues of pollutants, cigarette smoke and herbicides. Intermittent fasting. Research from the Institute on Aging has shown that intermittent fasting improves insulin sensitivity. When participants skipped the evening meal, their fasting insulin improved, and they had fewer inflammatory markers on blood tests.How to do it: Always have a large breakfast and lunch. (As you become healthier, you will find that you regain an appetite for breakfast.) Then 1 to 3 nights per week, you must skip dinner, or replace dinner with a protein smoothie. They should not be consecutive nights. Reduce carbohydrates, especially fructose sweeteners.
During the first couple of months of treatment, carbohydrate intake should be less than 50 grams per day. With a diet of meat and salad vegetables, this is not difficult. An average serving of broccoli, for example, contains only 13 grams of carbohydrate. Compare this to a serving of pasta, which contains over 40 grams of carbohydrate, or to refined sugar, the worst carbohydrate. A small can of soft drink contains at least 40 grams of carbohydrate. If you are addicted to a sweet taste, you can try the herbal sweetener Stevia, which has the added benefit of improving insulin sensitivity. Eliminate refined sugar from your diet. Sugar is the worst kind of carbohydrate.
-Eat protein regularly. Protein curbs the release of insulin and stimulates the production of the hormone glucagon, which opposes insulin. (Do not increase protein if you have kidney problems, and do not exceed 90-100 grams of protein per day.) Good sources include: 2 eggs (12 grams protein), 1 chicken breast (25 grams protein), 2 lamb chops (29 grams protein), 25 grams whey protein (23 grams protein). Avoid Trans fat.
-Eliminate soy oil, corn oil, cottonseed oil or any generic "vegetable oil". Particularly bad are margarine, vegetable oil spreads and deep-fried food. Eat only naturally occurring fats such as butter, avocado, olive oil, coconut milk, meat, fish, and nuts and seeds. It can take up to 6 months to give your cell membranes an "oil change".
- Exercise. Strength training dramatically improves insulin sensitivity. When the muscles increase their energy expenditure, they re-learn how to use carbohydrates rather than store them. Weight loss occurs not simply because of the calories burned, but because of a shift in metabolism. Exercise is also effective to relieve stress, a common cause of inflammation and insulin resistance.
-Avoid Wheat. Gluten generates inflammation and disrupts the insulin receptor, thereby worsening insulin resistance. Avoid flour-containing bread, pasta, cereal, and biscuits. If you do have flour, choose flour made from rice, oats, barley, spelt, and rye. Ordinary "flour" is wheat.
-Mediterranean diet. Newly diagnosed diabetics can reduce their need for medication by following the Mediterranean diet. Only 44% of patients on a Mediterranean diet required sugar lowering medication compared to 70% of patients who followed a standard low fat diet.
-Nutritional supplements and herbs. Chromium, magnesium, selenium and omega 3 fatty acids will improve insulin's effectiveness at the cell membrane. B-vitamins and amino acids assist the liver to remove pollutants. Antioxidants such as vitamin C and vitamin E will act as natural anti-inflammatories. Gymnema and Bitter Melon have been documented to improve insulin sensitivity. Vitamin D should be supplemented once a deficiency has been determined on blood test.
-Correct Gut flora. Friendly bacteria in the intestine assist with weight loss. Changing the gut flora may improve insulin sensitivity and promote weight loss. (20) Intestinal flora is negatively affected by junk-food diet, antibiotics and Pill use. Lactobacillus supplements may be of benefit.
Source: http://www.sensible-alternative.com.au/metabolic-hormones/insulin-resistance
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