WHAT IS INSULIN?
Your body wants to maintain a constant supply of easily-accessible energy in the form of blood glucose sugar (like a fuel line to an engine). Just as you do not want to flood your engine, your body is careful to keep blood sugar levels in a narrow optimal range. "Flooding the system" with high amounts of sugar or refined carbohydrates triggers the pancreas to release a hormone called insulin. IN-sulin tells all your cells to take IN and store excess energy, effectively removing it from the bloodstream. Insulin also turns off glucose production in the liver and fat burning in cells (there is no need to pull from savings if you have sufficient income).
HOW DO YOU BECOME INSULIN RESISTANT?
If your diet is high in sugar and refined carbohydrates, your body is constantly pumping out insulin to keep your blood sugar in the optimal range. Over time, your cells can become desensitized to insulin constantly "knocking at the door". Like the boy who cried wolf, cells stop responding to insulin's signals, a phenomenon called insulin resistance. This leaves the excess sugar in the bloodstream, where it can damage the blood vessels (and contribute to inflammatory diseases). Similarly, the signaling pathway that
controls production of new glucose in the liver is disrupted, resulting in unnecessary sugar production to add to the already elevated levels in the blood. This vicious cycle
continues unless insulin sensitivity is restored through diet (reduce carb/sugar intake) and lifestyle (movement, sleep, regular meals, etc).
CONSEQUENCES
high blood glucose
because it is not properly lowered
increased inflammation
from excess blood glucose
high insulin
which promotes energy storage (weight gain)
exhausted pancreas
from high production of insulin & glucagon
imbalanced hormones
that are affected by the insulin imbalance
WAYS TO KEEP BLOOD SUGAR IN RANGE
reduce refined CARBS
add healthy FATS
eat PROTEIN in each meal
limit SNACKING
Watch our webinar on Blood Sugar Regulation
Feeling Overwhelmed ?
As a holistic practitioner, I think in terms of optimal function.
I work from the inside out, looking for underlying imbalances.
Imbalances manifest as symptoms and which, if left unchecked, can develop into disease.
My goal is to find the root causes of poor health and dysfunction, and restore balance in the body that could lead to optimal function + better quality of life.
If you are tired of trying to figure it out all by yourself, I CAN HELP YOU.
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I do not diagnose, treat, prescribe, manage, or cure disease. The information is not to be construed as medical advice. The information provided is not to replace advice from a licensed medical provider and should be used solely at the discretion of the persons reading or sharing this.
References
Prediabetes and Insulin Resistance. National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. National Institutes of Health. Retrieved from https://www.niddk.nih.gov/health-information/diabetes/overview/what-is-diabetes/prediabetes-insulin-resistance
Jones, D. S., Bland, J. S., & Quinn, S. (2010). Textbook of Functional Medicine. Institute for Functional Medicine.
Gaby, A. R. (2017). Nutritional Medicine (2nd ed.). Fritz Perlberg Publishing.
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