Insulin resistance dupes your health – 6 ways to defeat it

Many adults have a potential for health that is far greater than they think. We can often feel better, have more energy and be far healthier than we imagine. That’s because the phenomenon of insulin resistance isn’t really something we talk a lot about yet. We need to change that now! Because insulin resistance is unique in correlating most strongly with our health, living a long life and living a disease-free long life.

At the same time, insulin resistance is one of the most debilitating conditions you can overcome. Yes, you read that right. We know of lots of little and great things you can do to reduce your insulin resistance and the lower your insulin resistance, the longer, healthier and better your life!

So what is insulin resistance?

Insulin resistance is the same as low insulin sensitivity, which is the opposite of high insulin sensitivity. We know that high insulin sensitivity is one of the single most important factors in predicting a long, healthy and good life.

Insulin resistance means that the body responds slowly to one of the most important signals of insulin: the signal that the time has come to remove excess sugar from the blood. So what happens? Insulin asks the body to remove excess sugar from the blood (and only the excess), but actually insulin only asks the muscle and liver cells to open the valve to allow the excess sugar be sucked into the stores.

When we are insulin sensitive, we quickly get rid of excess sugar from the blood after a meal. Then the blood sugar quickly becomes normal again and all the body’s cells receive the amount of energy that they need. In this situation, we can tolerate a lot carbohydrate in our diet – we are carbohydrate tolerant.

However, when we are insulin resistant, sugar and insulin float around in the blood for a long time. This means that we get tired as the body tunes in on us needing to grow – or rather put on weight . . . Because, as adults, we have in fact finished growing. In this situation, we can’t tolerate so much carbohydrate in our diet – we are carbohydrate intolerant.

When we are insulin resistant and have varying amounts of sugar in the blood, the body’s cells receive a varying amount of energy from the blood. Plus, if your blood sugar is high for a large portion of the day, your body’s cells will have less time to make an antidote to the sugar and less time to get some ‘peace and quiet’, so your body can better listen to insulin the next time the hormone is in play.

And as if that’s not enough: those with insulin resistance – or people with varying amounts of sugar in their blood – often have difficulty regulating their appetite. Not to mention that general fatigue and malaise can also be mistaken for hunger.

Who is insulin resistant?

Everyone with type 2 diabetes is insulin resistant and have most often had it for a long period before diagnosis. This applies to both normal, underweight and obese people with type 2 diabetes.

The prevalence of insulin resistance follows the prevalence of obesity. Essentially, there is a direct correlation between the amount of belly fat (i.e. the circumference at the waist) and the degree of insulin resistance. And when more than 50 % of Danes are obese, it shows the magnitude of the spread of insulin resistance. Though, to varying degrees.

So as not to make it too easy, I’d just like to mention that many underweight people also have low insulin sensitivity. Too low muscle mass and/or high fat mass pulls insulin sensitivity in the wrong direction.

Furthermore, insulin resistance is pronounced in many of inflammatory diseases, such as arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease and psoriasis, because inflammatory processes decrease insulin sensitivity.

Our insulin sensitivity changes with age. All things being equal, we become less sensitive to insulin the older we get, which is probably why many find it harder to keep the weight off after the ages of 35, 45 and 55. That said, you should know that your genes also play a significant role. If you are very lucky, you will have the insulin sensitivity of a 25 year-old athlete when you’re 80. If you’re less fortunate, the opposite can also be the case.

Frequent meals, inactivity (voluntary and involuntary), stress and having difficulty sleeping are also important for your insulin sensitivity.

Now you may have gone a bit pale thinking about everything that can lower your insulin sensitivity. You might also think that the weight gain, inflammatory diseases, pain – and consequent inactivity – create a negative spiral that is hard to break. But . . .

How to counteract insulin resistance

Being insulin resistant is not the same as ‘game over’. Not in the slightest!

Insulin resistance is a condition that you can affect in lots of ways – or opportunities. You can easily be insulin resistant for a period of time and then resume a higher level of insulin sensitivity. Below you will find six ways to fight insulin resistance.

• Muscle mass and muscle use. High muscle mass and muscle activity are two of the most important factors when it comes to having good insulin sensitivity. Strength training is good—and better to exercise a little than have a guilty conscience over the fact that trying to exercise a lot is unmanageable. You can compensate for the effect of age on insulin sensitivity through exercise.
• Avoid inactivity. If you’re forced to sit still for most of the day, take the opportunity to make grabbing a coffee or going to the bathroom more active experiences than they are. If you already know me, you know that “pulsesnacks” are my answer to the rapid increase in heart rate with many possibilities. A high pulse for a very short period of time has much more significance than you can imagine.
• Pamper your body with breaks between meals. Short periods of fasting (even just “fasting” between main meals) mean that the muscles and liver will respond better to insulin the next time the insulin hormone appears alongside excess sugar in the blood after a meal.
• Eat low carb. Avoid refined carbohydrates and foods high in carbohydrate. If this principle forms your basic everyday diet, you will avoid high and prolonged increases in blood sugar and insulin, despite you perhaps being insulin resistant. In this way, the body doesn’t suffer being overburdened even if you are insulin resistant.
• Feed your gut flora. Yes, I mean it! You need to ensure that your gut flora thrive, because when they thrive, you gain loads of positive effects in relation to your insulin sensitivity, your immune system, regulating your appetite and your ability to get the nutrients you need.
• Get a good night’s sleep of 7-9 hours. This is where your body is supposed to recover from the damage having high blood sugar has done.

The other two vital parameters when talking about insulin resistance are age and genes, which you read about earlier. We have no influence on either, so we’re not going to spend our energy on them. But, in general, insulin sensitivity decreases as age increases. At the same time, your genes may mean that you have a lifetime of the insulin sensitivity of a young elite athlete. Congratulations! Or they may mean you start at the other end of the scale. Duped.

How do I find out whether or not I am insulin resistant?

Given that insulin resistance is a quite natural, I believe that restoring insulin sensitivity is also quite natural. You can, of course, have a clinical goal for your insulin sensitivity, but I think you should just see if you feel better when you live as someone who would like to improve their insulin sensitivity.

The worst thing that can happen in the attempt is that you have a period when you live a little healthier than you need to . . .

Essentially, you do everything you read about in paragraphs 1-6 above, and then you keep an eye on how you are doing.

Because if insulin resistance means weight gain, poor appetite control, energy fluctuations (especially after meals), the risk of maintaining inflammatory processes in the body, increased belly fat and so on, what do you think a focused effort on better insulin sensitivity might mean?

Exactly.

It means weight loss, more energy, reduced belly fat and less inflammation! And that means you have unlocked an essential health secret that few people know.

Are you curious to learn even more and get a new framework to understand your personal health potential better?

You can get a great overview of all your options for improving your ability to store in the book The Truth about Sugar.