Insulin resistance increases the risk of prediabetes and diabetes. 1 in 3 Americans experience insulin resistance and diabetes. Insulin is a hormone produced by the pancreas, and it helps the cells to absorb and utilize glucose.
You can be insulin resistant without even knowing it for years. Insulin resistance does not show any symptoms, or sometimes there are mild symptoms, which we do not observe. According to American Diabetes Association (ADA), 50% of people with insulin resistance will develop prediabetes and type 2 diabetes (1).
This article helps you understand insulin resistance and explains its causes, symptoms, and treatment.
What is Insulin Resistance?
We get glucose from our foods such as fruits, vegetables, grains, and dairy products; this gets into the blood cells. The insulin hormone’s job is to instruct the cells to absorb glucose and utilize it. When cells in your muscles, blood, liver, and body fat start resisting the insulin hormone signal to use the glucose, it’s known as insulin resistance.
Blood glucose is also known as blood sugar, and it is the body’s source of energy. Individuals with insulin resistance have increased blood glucose leading to pre-diabetes and type 2 diabetes (2).
If your pancreas can produce sufficient insulin levels to avoid the low absorption rate, it’s less likely to develop type 2 diabetes, and glucose can stay in the normal range. But insulin resistance is associated with many health problems (3).
What Causes Insulin Resistance?
Many factors contribute to insulin resistance, including genetics, excess body weight, too much belly fat, and lack of physical activity.
When insulin resistance develops, your body starts fighting back by producing more insulin. The insulin level increases over a period of time, and insulin sensitivity is decreased. The beta cells in your pancreas that produce insulin get worn out and lose their efficiency to cope with the body’s demand for insulin. Hence, over a period of time, insulin hormone is reduced, leading to an increase in blood glucose levels. This is also associated with the risk of developing a nonalcoholic fatty liver(NAFLD); this leads to liver damage and heart diseases (4).
Studies suggest that high levels of free fatty acid in your blood cause cells resist the insulin hormone (5) (6). Experts and nutritions suggest that excess calories and excess body fat and less physical activity, overeating, obesity are strongly associated with insulin resistance (7) (8).
Belly fat is also known as visceral fat around your organs; they secret free fatty acids into the blood and inflammatory hormones that increase insulin resistance (9). It is commonly observed in individuals who are obese.
Some of the potential reasons for insulin resistance are:
- High fructose intake (10)
- Increased inflammation
- Decreased physical activity (11)
Why is Insulin Resistance so Difficult to Manage?
Insulin is an important hormone that helps to regulate the glucose in the bloodstream and helps the cells absorb it. It acts as a chemical messenger that commands the liver to store some glucose instead of releasing it into the bloodstream. It is stored as glycogen.
Insulin resistance is a complex process because:
1. Your body’s cells become less affected by insulin.
2. Your body starts resisting; due to this, your pancreas starts releasing more insulin to maintain blood sugar levels.
3. The pancreas gets worn out and fails to compensate for the increased need for insulin.
4. High levels of blood glucose are developed without any symptoms leading to prediabetes and type 2 diabetes. CDC reports that 90% of prediabetes are unrecognized, and they do not take necessary measures to control type 2 diabetes (12).
5. Insulin resistance can lead to
- Acanthosis nigricans: dark patches are developed on the groin, armpits, and back of the neck due to insulin resistance
- Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) can be worsened with Insulin resistance, irregular menstrual cycle, infertility, and severe pain during periods
- It is also associated with an increased risk of vascular disease such as cardiac disorders
Risk Factors Causing Insulin Resistance.
Here is the list of factors that increases insulin resistance, prediabetes, and diabetes:
- Overweight
- Lazy lifestyle or low physical activity
- Smoking and alcohol
- Abrupt sleep patterns
- High blood pressure
These risk factors are also linked with cerebrovascular health concerns such as stroke and heart diseases. These risk factors can be monitored and avoided by adopting a healthy lifestyle such as increased physical activities, avoiding smoking and drinking, and a healthy diet style.
Experts suggest that people over 45 years of age should take the test for diabetes once in six months. People who are obese should also take tests for diabetes once in six months. This will help you to diagnose prediabetes and diabetes.
A common test for prediabetes and diabetes are:
- A1C test: it helps you to measure the average blood glucose levels over the previous 2-3monts.
- Fasting blood glucose test: your health care provider may suggest you do this test; they can check the glucose levels of a person who refrains from eating or drinking for 8 or more hours.
- Random glucose test: this test helps you to analyze your glucose levels at some point during the day.
Your physicians may suggest you take a combinational test to ensure an accurate diagnosis. If your blood glucose levels are increasing consistently a little higher than the normal range, this indicates you are becoming resistant to insulin.
Factors such as family history, genetics don’t influence insulin resistance; instead following a healthy diet, monitoring your glucose levels, and regular exercise can help you to reduce the chances of developing diabetes.
The American Heart Association(AHA) recommends that individuals can reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes by following a healthy diet, losing weight, and increasing physical activity. This will help to prevent cardiac diseases and stroke (13).
After exercise and physical activities, muscles become more sensitive to insulin; it helps to reverse insulin resistance. Hence, insulin resistance is an alarm for prediabetes; making a change in lifestyle, can help to reduce the risk of diabetes (14).
Do not rush into sudden weight loss programs; it may not be sustainable. Starting physical activities and gradually shifting to a more intense exercise routine can help. Following a healthy diet is also essential.
Can insulin resistance be reversed?
Yes, it is possible to reduce the effects of insulin resistance. Some of the effective methods to reduce insulin resistance include:
- Low carbs diet or DASH diet or Keto diet
- Very low-calorie diet
- Cardio workouts and HIIT workouts
- Exercise with a healthy diet
These methods help to meet the body’s need for insulin and help you lose weight. Keeping yourself active and adopting a healthy food style is important to reduce insulin resistance (15).
Final words
Insulin resistance is one of the common causes of prediabetes and diabetes. Regular monitoring of blood glucose levels and a healthy lifestyle can help you reverse insulin resistance symptoms. Identifying early signs of insulin resistance and making healthy lifestyle changes can help.