Insulin resistance

Antoaneta Sawyer, PhD

 

Insulin resistance occurs when the normal amount of insulin secreted by the pancreas is not able to unlock the door to cells. To maintain a normal blood glucose, the pancreas secretes additional insulin. In some cases (about 1/3 of the people with insulin resistance), when the body cells resist or do not respond to even high levels of insulin, glucose builds up in the blood resulting in high blood glucose or type 2 diabetes. Even people with diabetes who take oral medication or require insulin injections to control their blood glucose levels can have higher than normal blood insulin levels due to insulin resistance. It is no wondered that physicians consistently advise that the best insulin resistance treatment involves a proper diet.

Research indicates that low fat diets may aggravate the effect of insulin resistance on blood lipids. Therefore, for individuals who are insulin resistant, a diet low in saturated fat (less than 10 percent of total calories) and more moderate in total fat content (40% of total calories) may be beneficial. This recommendation is different from the low-fat, high-carbohydrate diet that many health organizations recommend to help prevent heart disease. Specifically, they recommend decreasing fat intake to less than 30 percent of calories. Some groups recommend even lower levels of dietary fat. It is also beneficial to maintain an appropriate body weight because obesity can aggravate insulin resistance. 

To maintain an appropriate weight, regulate caloric intake and maintain a physically active lifestyle. A registered dietitian can assist with developing a proper diet plan for people with insulin resistance, or a family history of type 2 diabetes. If you are female and show high levels of DHEA, testosterone and morning cortisol levels, despite you do not take any of the above supplements- you are maybe suffering from the condition known as " insulin resistance" which can complementary raise hormonal levels including DHEA, cortisol and testosterone. Having too much of the above can lead to hair growth, acne vulgaris and the state of a constant and elevated anxiety or angry. A good blood test ordered by your MD will identify the insulin resistance problem if available.

The primary treatment for insulin resistance syndrome is a high protein, low carbohydrate diet. The most problematic type of carbohydrate for people with metabolic syndrome are the simple carbohydrates which are found in foods such as cakes, candies, pies, muffins, and ice cream. These foods contain large amounts of sugar, which go straight into the blood and quickly raise blood sugar, hence increasing the demand for insulin to bring the blood sugar levels back down. Even complex carbohydrates such as potatoes, bread, and pastas are fairly quickly digested and broken down into sugars. It is therefore very important that people with insulin resistance limit their intake of all complex carbohydrates. Proteins and most vegetables, on the other hand, do not have this effect on blood sugar. Proteins, in fact, will slow the absorption of the sugars that come from carbohydrates and decrease their impact on blood sugar and insulin levels.

Exercise and nutrients such as chromium, magnesium, vanadium, and vitamin E can also be helpful in the management of insulin resistance syndrome. All of these nutrients are required for the proper metabolism of sugar. Exercise, on the other hand, has direct blood sugar lowering effects as it can therefore decrease the demand for insulin. On the other hand many herbal dietary supplements are considered safe when used as directed, with no serious side effects reported – yet, but problems with herbal products have been identified. It’s important to inform the medical doctor what supplements one use, to avoid interactions with any prescription drugs you may need to take.

Herbal supplements contain biologically active compounds that should not be considered safe just because they are sold over the counter or come from "natural” sources such as plants. When trying a new herbal supplement, asking the holistic practioner or sharing with the medical doctor or pharmacist whether there are known safety issues associated with the herbal supplement, especially interactions with other medications is an absolute must. A  fundamental problem in assessing either the efficacy or the side effects of herbal products is the lack of strict manufacturing quality standard, allowing substantial variability of products between different manufacturers and even between different batches of one product from the same manufacturers. As a consequence, firm conclusions on these compounds are difficult to reach.

The effectiveness of alternative medicine treatments is an important consideration. Some therapies have been shown to be effective for specific conditions, and these therapies are applied more broadly. (Bertalanffy, 1997) Many forms of alternative medicine have not undergone thorough evaluation. However, a lack of proof does not mean that a therapy is ineffective, but rather, that its effectiveness has not been established. (Bausell, 2007) If an alternative therapy has been proved ineffective, its use cannot be further advocated scientifically. (Diamond, 2001) The greatest risk occurs when a person is treated by an alternative medicine approach in place of a proven conventional medicine approach, although data suggest this is rarely the case (Eisenberg, 1997).

Alternative medicine can be classified into five major domains of practice: alternative medical systems, mind-body techniques, biologically based therapies, body-based therapies, and energy therapies. Some approaches are understandable within the concepts of modern science while others are nearly incomprehensible within that paradigm (Hand, 1980). You must know that as many as 83 million or 42.1 percent of the adult population has used at least one alternative therapy, with people aged 35 to 49 years of age reporting the highest use, at 50.1 percent. (Murray, 1997) In 1997, 42 percent of all alternative therapies used were exclusively attributed to treatment of existing illness, whereas 58 percent were used, at least in part, to prevent future illness from occurring or to maintain health and vitality (Pert, 1997).

Depite the increasing use of alternative medicine in the United States and throughout the world, most alternative therapies have not been evaluated using rigorously conducted (Tonelli, 2001 & Wisneski, 2005) scientific tests of efficacy based on actual rules of evidence. Other therapies reported on in this issue include relaxation techniques, herbal medicine, massage therapy, chiropractic care, multivitamins, self-help groups, imagery techniques, commercial diet nutritional supplements, folk remedies, lifestyle diet, energy healing such as magnets, homeopathy, hypnosis, biofeedback, and acupuncture. (Trudeau, 2006) In 1992, the Office of Alternative Medicine within the National Institutes of Health (NIH) was formed to research the effectiveness and safety of alternative therapies. This office became the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine in 1999 (Bennett, 2003).