Ways On How To Reverse Insulin Resistance

By Carolyn Bailey


Diabetes is the commonest and most feared metabolic condition today. The condition is caused by lack of insulin in the body or the inability of the body to make use of it. Hormonal deficiency is the main characteristic of type 1 disease while hormonal resistance is characteristic of type 2. If one is at risk of developing type 2 diabetes, there are a number of things that they can do to reverse insulin resistance.

Low levels of insulin hormone or the presence of hormonal resistance result in abnormal utilization of glucose in the body. When this happens over a long period of time, short term and long term complications may ensue. If the problem is identified early and prompt interventions undertaken, these complications can be safely averted. Current interventions mainly involve making changes to lifestyle practices.

Carbohydrates are made up of sugars of varying complexities. When subjected to digestive processes these carbohydrates are broken down to less complex sugars and eventually to glucose. This results into a direct increase in the level of blood glucose. Persistently elevated sugar levels are a well-documented cause of insulin receptor resistance and subsequent progression to diabetes. Reducing the amount of carbohydrate in your diet and increasing that of fruits and vegetables is, therefore, among the most important interventions.

Apart from the macronutrients, dietary changes should also consider a number of micronutrients. Such include, among others, calcium, multivitamins, fish oil, chromium and magnesium. Magnesium, in particular, is very important as regards the digestion of fats. It reduces the deposition of digested fats to adipose tissues which in turn reduces the risk of hormonal resistance. The mechanisms involved for many of the other elements remain largely obscure.

Regular physical exercise is as important as a proper diet. The exercise has various benefits that eventually help with reversing insulin resistance. Among them is that the process helps in lowering blood glucose directly due to increased utilization by contractile tissues. Related to this is the increased breakdown of fat in adipose tissues which further reduces the risk of developing hormonal resistance.

Make sure that your mental health does not get neglected even as you make strides towards achieving optimal physical health. Stress commonly leads to abnormal increases in your levels of your blood glucose. These increases are attributed to the production of a hormone known as cortisol. This hormone has also been shown to contribute to central obesity and increase the risk of developing hormonal resistance.

Lack of quality sleep causes effects that resemble those of psychological stress. The amount of cortisol in circulation increases and this causes an increase in the level of metabolism mainly for the carbohydrates. There is a resultant increase in the levels of blood sugars. If this goes on for long, the risk of hormonal resistance is significantly increased. Apart from increased metabolism, the hormone also promotes fat deposition in the abdominal region.

In the event that lifestyle interventions fail to achieve favorable results, more aggressive therapies need to be considered. Such will include, for instance, the use of oral hypoglycemic agents. Drugs that are used for this include, among others metformin, glipizide and glibenclamide all falling under different classes. In most occasions, the drugs are used in combination.




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