Dear Coach: I'm Worried because My Doctor Says I may have Insulin Resistance
Dear Coach:
What is insulin resistance? I’ve heard that term from my doctor who is worried because I am 40 pounds overweight and he’s putting me on high blood pressure medication, but he also said if I’m not willing to take off some pounds and control my diet he is concerned about me developing adult onset diabetes. I’m kind of scared. I don’t really know what to do. He says it could be serious.
Worried
Dear Worried.
The hormone insulin is produced in the pancreas by cells called “beta cells.” When it is released into the blood stream, insulin goes to all the tissues via the blood and has a number of important affects. Most of what insulin does is to control the metabolism (breakdown and use) of carbohydrates like sugar and starch, so that the body can make energy. But it also has a role in metabolism of fats and proteins. Insulin plays a part in regulating body cells and cell growth.
Insulin resistance is a condition in which the body produces insulin but does not use it properly. The body’s digestive system breaks food down into glucose, which then travels in the bloodstream to cells throughout the body. Glucose in the blood is called blood glucose, also known as blood sugar. As the blood glucose level rises after a meal, the pancreas releases insulin to help cells take in and use the glucose.
When people are insulin resistant, their muscle, fat, and liver cells do not respond properly to insulin. As a result, their bodies need more insulin to help glucose enter cells. The pancreas tries to keep up with this increased demand for insulin by producing more. Eventually, the pancreas fails to keep up with the body’s need for insulin. Excess glucose builds up in the bloodstream, setting the stage for diabetes. Many people with insulin resistance have high levels of both glucose and insulin circulating in their blood at the same time.
Insulin resistance increases the chance of developing type 2 diabetes and heart disease. Learning about insulin resistance is the first step toward making lifestyle changes that can help prevent diabetes and other health problems.
What causes insulin resistance?
Scientists have identified specific genes that make people more likely to develop insulin resistance and diabetes. Excess weight and lack of physical activity also contribute to insulin resistance. Many people with insulin resistance and high blood glucose have other conditions that increase the risk of developing type 2 diabetes and damage to the heart and blood vessels, also called cardiovascular disease. These conditions include having excess weight around the waist, high blood pressure, and abnormal levels of cholesterol and triglycerides in the blood. Having several of these problems is called metabolic syndrome or insulin resistance syndrome, formerly called syndrome X.
Insulin Resistance – linked to Diets high in High-Fructose Corn Syrup
High-fructose corn syrup is a sweetener found in most sodas and many other processed foods. In a new study on mice, this sweetener is shown to be at least partially the cause of insulin resistance.
How would you like to eat something that turns to fat quicker than sugar? Fructose is the culprit – it is metabolized into fat storage over glucose storage in the liver. What is worse, in the process it can lead to nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), which then leads to an insulin resistance of the liver (“hepatic insulin resistance” and eventually type II diabetes!
Studies have shown that most people with pre-diabetes develop type 2 diabetes within 10 years, unless they lose 5 to 7 percent of their body weight, (for example, about 10 to 15 pounds for someone who weighs 200 pounds) by making changes in their diet and level of physical activity. People with pre-diabetes also are at increased risk of developing cardiovascular disease.
New cases of diabetes have ballooned. The increase doctors have seen is 90% in the last ten years! One in four Americans is now afflicted with either pre-diabetes or diabetes. What are we doing to ourselves? Used to be that Type 2 diabetes occurred primarily in older people. This is no longer the case. Unfortunately, with the high carbohydrate, junk and fatty diet of Americans these days, the very sad situation is that there are children as young as 9 being put on insulin for Type 2 diabetes and it is extremely alarming that this is happening.
Metabolic Syndrome is defined as the presence of any three of the following conditions:
• Waist measurement of 40 inches or more for men and 35 inches or more for women
• Triglyceride levels of 150 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL) or above, or taking medication for elevated
triglyceride levels
• HDL, or “good,” cholesterol level below 40 mg/dL for men and below 50 mg/dL for women, or taking
medication for low HDL levels
• Blood pressure levels of 130/85 or above, or taking medication for elevated blood pressure levels
• Fasting blood glucose levels of 100 mg/dL or above, or taking medication for elevated blood glucose levels
Bottom line is, if your doctor is concerned then it's time you should be. This isn't something to take lightly. Food manufacturers have done a great job of getting us all into "Supersized," high fat, high sugar diets. They make money making us sick. Don't let yourself become another statistic. Do your research and get support. Make changes now so that you can live a long and healthy life.
Good luck!
Dr. Chris
Want private help kicking a sugar/carb (or other) addiction? Want help getting the weight off? Take advantage of a free consultation (Dr. Chris coaches clients all over the Country by phone and treats patients locally in the Sarasota/Tampa Bay area). Please visit (www.TheICanDoctor.com)
Get a Free Coaching Call with Dr. Chris. Just fill out this pre-consultation questionnaire here: (www.theicandoctor.com/infoform.htm)
Source: Grundy SM, et al. Diagnosis and management of the metabolic syndrome: an American Heart Association/National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute scientific statement. Circulation. 2005;112:2735–2752.
Similar definitions have been developed by the World Health Organization and the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists.
Sources:
-Science Daily March 3, 2009
-Cell Metabolism March 2009; 9(3):252-64
-The Reward Deficiency Syndrome by Kenneth Blum, Ph.D., D.A.C.A.C.D. and Jay M. Holder, D.C., M.D., Ph.D.
-National Diabetes Information Clearinghouse (NDIC): http://diabetes.niddk.nih.gov/DM/pubs/insulinresistance/
What is insulin resistance? I’ve heard that term from my doctor who is worried because I am 40 pounds overweight and he’s putting me on high blood pressure medication, but he also said if I’m not willing to take off some pounds and control my diet he is concerned about me developing adult onset diabetes. I’m kind of scared. I don’t really know what to do. He says it could be serious.
Worried
Dear Worried.
The hormone insulin is produced in the pancreas by cells called “beta cells.” When it is released into the blood stream, insulin goes to all the tissues via the blood and has a number of important affects. Most of what insulin does is to control the metabolism (breakdown and use) of carbohydrates like sugar and starch, so that the body can make energy. But it also has a role in metabolism of fats and proteins. Insulin plays a part in regulating body cells and cell growth.
Insulin resistance is a condition in which the body produces insulin but does not use it properly. The body’s digestive system breaks food down into glucose, which then travels in the bloodstream to cells throughout the body. Glucose in the blood is called blood glucose, also known as blood sugar. As the blood glucose level rises after a meal, the pancreas releases insulin to help cells take in and use the glucose.
When people are insulin resistant, their muscle, fat, and liver cells do not respond properly to insulin. As a result, their bodies need more insulin to help glucose enter cells. The pancreas tries to keep up with this increased demand for insulin by producing more. Eventually, the pancreas fails to keep up with the body’s need for insulin. Excess glucose builds up in the bloodstream, setting the stage for diabetes. Many people with insulin resistance have high levels of both glucose and insulin circulating in their blood at the same time.
Insulin resistance increases the chance of developing type 2 diabetes and heart disease. Learning about insulin resistance is the first step toward making lifestyle changes that can help prevent diabetes and other health problems.
What causes insulin resistance?
Scientists have identified specific genes that make people more likely to develop insulin resistance and diabetes. Excess weight and lack of physical activity also contribute to insulin resistance. Many people with insulin resistance and high blood glucose have other conditions that increase the risk of developing type 2 diabetes and damage to the heart and blood vessels, also called cardiovascular disease. These conditions include having excess weight around the waist, high blood pressure, and abnormal levels of cholesterol and triglycerides in the blood. Having several of these problems is called metabolic syndrome or insulin resistance syndrome, formerly called syndrome X.
Insulin Resistance – linked to Diets high in High-Fructose Corn Syrup
High-fructose corn syrup is a sweetener found in most sodas and many other processed foods. In a new study on mice, this sweetener is shown to be at least partially the cause of insulin resistance.
How would you like to eat something that turns to fat quicker than sugar? Fructose is the culprit – it is metabolized into fat storage over glucose storage in the liver. What is worse, in the process it can lead to nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), which then leads to an insulin resistance of the liver (“hepatic insulin resistance” and eventually type II diabetes!
Studies have shown that most people with pre-diabetes develop type 2 diabetes within 10 years, unless they lose 5 to 7 percent of their body weight, (for example, about 10 to 15 pounds for someone who weighs 200 pounds) by making changes in their diet and level of physical activity. People with pre-diabetes also are at increased risk of developing cardiovascular disease.
New cases of diabetes have ballooned. The increase doctors have seen is 90% in the last ten years! One in four Americans is now afflicted with either pre-diabetes or diabetes. What are we doing to ourselves? Used to be that Type 2 diabetes occurred primarily in older people. This is no longer the case. Unfortunately, with the high carbohydrate, junk and fatty diet of Americans these days, the very sad situation is that there are children as young as 9 being put on insulin for Type 2 diabetes and it is extremely alarming that this is happening.
Metabolic Syndrome is defined as the presence of any three of the following conditions:
• Waist measurement of 40 inches or more for men and 35 inches or more for women
• Triglyceride levels of 150 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL) or above, or taking medication for elevated
triglyceride levels
• HDL, or “good,” cholesterol level below 40 mg/dL for men and below 50 mg/dL for women, or taking
medication for low HDL levels
• Blood pressure levels of 130/85 or above, or taking medication for elevated blood pressure levels
• Fasting blood glucose levels of 100 mg/dL or above, or taking medication for elevated blood glucose levels
Bottom line is, if your doctor is concerned then it's time you should be. This isn't something to take lightly. Food manufacturers have done a great job of getting us all into "Supersized," high fat, high sugar diets. They make money making us sick. Don't let yourself become another statistic. Do your research and get support. Make changes now so that you can live a long and healthy life.
Good luck!
Dr. Chris
Want private help kicking a sugar/carb (or other) addiction? Want help getting the weight off? Take advantage of a free consultation (Dr. Chris coaches clients all over the Country by phone and treats patients locally in the Sarasota/Tampa Bay area). Please visit (www.TheICanDoctor.com)
Get a Free Coaching Call with Dr. Chris. Just fill out this pre-consultation questionnaire here: (www.theicandoctor.com/infoform.htm)
Source: Grundy SM, et al. Diagnosis and management of the metabolic syndrome: an American Heart Association/National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute scientific statement. Circulation. 2005;112:2735–2752.
Similar definitions have been developed by the World Health Organization and the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists.
Sources:
-Science Daily March 3, 2009
-Cell Metabolism March 2009; 9(3):252-64
-The Reward Deficiency Syndrome by Kenneth Blum, Ph.D., D.A.C.A.C.D. and Jay M. Holder, D.C., M.D., Ph.D.
-National Diabetes Information Clearinghouse (NDIC): http://diabetes.niddk.nih.gov/DM/pubs/insulinresistance/
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