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How Do You Treat Insulin Resistance


Insulin Takes Sugar Out Of Your Blood And Stores It In Muscles Fat Cells And The Liver For Later Use

How To Treat Insulin Resistance

Even though its helpful for your cells to take in blood sugar for energy, they dont need immediate access to that sugar all the time. In fact, insulin will take any extra blood sugar that your cells cant use right away and send it to your muscle cells, fat cells, and liver to be stored for later use. When its stored, the original form of sugar, glucose, becomes another form of sugar known as glycogen.

Ways To Naturally Reduce Insulin Resistance

*Editors Note: The content of this piece reflects the strategies that have worked for the author in her Type 1 diabetes management. Beyond Type 1 recognizes that this is advice based on experience rather than peer-reviewed science + that everyone is different when it comes to Type 1.

For Type 1 diabetics, we face what seems like millions of decisions a day that will have some kind of effect on our blood glucose levels. I know that when my BGs are stable or when my carb counting is on point, I feel like Ive won the T1D lotto. Ive spent the past four years since my diagnosis in 2012, experimenting with different methods to stabilizing my numbers without relying primarily on insulin. My motivation for aggressively seeking out new tips and tricks is simply as a means to avoid the way I feel after my numbers have been on a rollercoaster.

Symptoms Of Insulin Resistance

You can’t tell that you have insulin resistance by how you feel. You’ll need to get a blood test that checks your blood sugar levels.


Likewise, you wonât know if you have most of the other conditions that are part of insulin resistance syndrome without seeing your doctor.

Some signs of insulin resistance include:

  • A waistline over 40 inches in men and 35 inches in women

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Tip For Reversal #: Enjoy A Diet Rich In Whole Plant Foods

If youre wondering how to reverse insulin resistance naturally, start by looking at your diet and ask yourself if youre eating enough plants. Eating a diet rich in whole foods and a variety of plants has been shown to increase insulin sensitivity and improve insulin resistance. Studies show that whole-food plant-based diets help prevent and manage type 2 diabetes and improve insulin resistance because they increase fiber and nutrient intake, decrease saturated fat intake, are high in antioxidants, support healthy food-microbiome interactions, and help promote a healthy weight. If youre overwhelmed with where to start, this prediabetes diet plan can help you out.

How To Treat Insulin Resistance

How to Treat Insulin Resistance: 14 Steps (with Pictures)

This article was co-authored by Damaris Vega, MD and by wikiHow staff writer, Jessica Gibson. Dr. Damaris Vega is a board certified Endocrinologist. She graduated Magna Cum Laude from the Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico with a BS in General Science and subsequently earned an MD from the Ponce School of Medicine, Ponce, PR. During medical school, Dr. Vega served as president of the Alpha Omega Alpha Medical Honor Society and was selected as her school’s representative for the American Association of Medical Colleges. She then completed a residency in Internal Medicine and a fellowship in Endocrinology, Diabetes, Mineral, and Metabolism at The University of Texas Southwestern Medical School. Dr. Vega has been recognized for excellent patient care multiple times by the National Committee for Quality Assurance and received the Patients’ Choice Award in 2008, 2009, and 2015. She is a fellow of the American College of Clinical Endocrinologists and is an active member of the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists, the American Diabetes Association, and the Endocrine Society. Dr. Vega is also the founder and CEO of Houston Endocrinology Center as well as a principal investigator for multiple clinical trials at Juno Research, LLC.There are 14 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. This article has been viewed 20,765 times.


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How To Treat Insulin Resistance: Can Natural Remedies Help

This article was co-authored by Zora Degrandpre, ND. Dr. Degrandpre is a Licensed Naturopathic Physician in Vancouver, Washington. She is also a grant reviewer for the National Institutes of Health and the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine. She received her ND from the National College of Natural Medicine in 2007.There are 9 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. This article has been viewed 15,909 times.

Insulin resistance, as the name suggests, is a condition when the cells in your body dont respond well to the hormone insulin, meaning they dont absorb glucose from your blood. Over time, this causes your blood sugar to rise, and could lead to type-2 diabetes.XTrustworthy SourceMayo ClinicEducational website from one of the world’s leading hospitalsGo to source Fortunately, the condition is manageable and wont progress to diabetes with proper treatment. Even better, many of the recommended treatments are completely natural. Your doctor will almost certainly suggest dietary and lifestyle changes to regulate your blood sugar and improve your insulin sensitivity. They might also prescribe medication, so always follow your doctors treatment advice to manage your condition effectively.

What Is The Conventional Treatment

Weight loss and exercise are considered the best treatments for restoring the bodys ability to respond to insulin normally. Since smoking contributes to insulin resistance, quitting is recommended to bring the condition under control .

The FDA has not approved any drug specifically for the treatment of insulin resistance or pre-diabetes. However, in an effort to lower blood glucose levels and restore the bodys normal response to insulin, physicians may prescribe drugs normally used to treat type 2 diabetes. These include two classes of pharmaceuticals, known as biguanides and thiazolidinediones, that sensitize muscle and other tissues to the effects of insulin. Metformin can help reduce the risk of developing diabetes in those with insulin resistance but is not as effective as losing weight and increasing activity. Other medications used for diabetes that act by different mechanisms may also be prescribed. These include alpha-glucosidase inhibitors, which restrict or delay the absorption of carbohydrates after eating, resulting in a slower rise of blood glucose levels, as well as sulfonylureas and meglitinides, which act directly on the pancreas and are sometimes prescribed to increase insulin production.


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Prevention Of Insulin Resistance

Making lifestyle changes can help reverse insulin resistance so that your body can respond properly to insulin.

Lose weight.Eat a .

Insulin Resistance Diet Foods To Choose

6 Best Secrets To Reverse Insulin Resistance Naturally & Change Your Life

Overall you want to focus on whole, unprocessed foods and avoid highly processed foods.

Highly processed foods like white bread, soda and white rice raise your blood sugar levels quickly. The pancreas makes more insulin and this adds stress to it.


The type of fat you intake is also important. Unsaturated fats are heart-healthy, whereas saturated fats may contribute to insulin resistance.

Foods high in fiber can also slow down your digestion, meaning your blog sugars dont spike so much.

Your diet should predominantly be made up of the following food categories:

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Which Supplements Lower Resistance

Studies show that a number of different supplements may be able to boost insulin sensitivity levels. These include chromium, berberine, magnesium, and resveratrol.


Chromium aids in speeding up your metabolism berberine lowers blood sugar magnesium helps with insulin receptor sensitivity and resveratrol combats overall insulin resistance. As with any supplement, talk to your doctor before beginning a new regimen!

It may be overwhelming to make so many lifestyle changes at once, so instead, start with a few that are the easiest for you to implement and then work your way up from there. Insulin resistance doesnt have to become a larger issue in your life if you tackle to root causes from the beginning!

Is Insulin To Blame For Type

Obesity and type-2 diabetes collectively afflict over 1 billion people globally, and the rates continue to climb exponentially every decade that passes . These health conditions perpetuate across generations due to vicious cycles ingrained in our lifestyles.

Adults set examples for children and adolescents. Thus, overweight parents that consume copious amounts of sugar-laden, processed foods are more likely to have kids that do the same.

Consequently, poor nutritional habits and deleterious lifestyle choices carry over from adults to their children, creating a vicious cycle within the family. There is also evidence that obese type-2 diabetic adults genetically predispose their offspring to insulin resistance and type-2 diabetes .


It may seem intuitive that insulin resistance is to blame for type-2 diabetes and obesity, but the real problem is what led the body to resist the normal physiological effects of insulin in the first place. Insulin in and of itself is not a “bad hormone” by any stretch of the imagination. Quite the opposite, actually. Aside from being one of the most potent anabolic peptide hormones in the body, insulin is necessary for a range of metabolic processes .

Naturally, when cells no longer respond to insulin the way they should, problems arise.

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How Much Refined Carbohydrate Can You Eat

Everyone should avoid refined carbohydrates. There is broad agreement in the scientific community that refined carbohydrates are unhealthy for all of us, whether we are insulin-resistant or not, so the less you eat of these the better. Most public health authorities explicitly recommend keeping intake to a minimum.

The World Health Organization officially recommends in its new 2015 guideline1 that people of all ages should limit added sugar to less than 5% of total daily calories. So, if you eat 2,000 calories per day, the WHO says that no more than 100 calories should come from added sugars, including sugars naturally present in honey, syrups, fruit juices and fruit juice concentrates. That amounts to 26 grams of sugar per day, which is just over 2 tablespoons of sugar per day, maximum. Keep in mind that the WHO guidelines were created with healthy people in mind, not people with insulin resistance.


Does Insulin Resistance Cause Weight Gain

How Do You Treat Insulin Resistance

As far as 35 years ago, scientists have already proven that hyperinsulinemia induced by insulin injection into healthy men leads to insulin resistance.

Although they only exposed subjects to high insulin levels for as little as 40 hours, researchers could conclude that hyperinsulinemia leads to insulin resistant states, such as obesity .

Additionally, science also provides evidence for similar cases without exogenous insulin injection.

Researchers from the Diabetes Division at the University of Texas Health Science Center found that stimulation of insulin secretion causes insulin resistance.

On top of that, they summed up that high insulin levels are not only a compensatory response to insulin resistance but also a self-reinforcing cause of the flawed insulin action .


Moreover, patients showing a rare form of tumor secreting excessively high amounts of insulin called insulinoma are known to develop insulin resistance .

In cases where the tumor was surgically removed, the procedure could reverse insulin resistance too .

And heres another fantastic example. Researchers from the Department of Medicine at the University of California at San Diego set patients on intensive insulin treatment.

Likewise, the prescription of large doses of insulin to type 2 diabetes patients isnt an unusual practice.

As a result, the scientists observed higher insulin resistance, more significant hyperinsulinemia, and progressive weight gain.


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Can Insulin Resistance Be Prevented Or Avoided

You cannot prevent or avoid risk factors such as race, age, and a family medical history. You can take steps to reduce your insulin resistance by losing weight , exercising regularly, and eating a healthy diet. Choose healthy carbohydrates. For example, eat whole grain bread instead of white bread, drink water instead of soda, and reduce your intake of sugary foods.

If you have or have had gestational diabetes, insulin resistance typically goes away after you give birth. However, you are at greater risk of being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes when you are older. That should be a warning to change your diet and lifestyle early so that you can delay it for as long as possible.

Other Risk Factors Of Insulin Resistance

You should regularly monitor blood sugar if you have risk factors for insulin resistance, such as obesity, a sedentary lifestyle, or a family history of type 2 diabetes. Even if you don’t have these risk factors, you should start getting tested at the age of 45, says MD, medical director of the Penn Rodebaugh Diabetes Center.

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What Does It Mean To Be Insulin Resistant

Both of insulins primary jobs require your cellsspecifically, the insulin receptors on your cellsto respond to insulin. But for several reasons, your cells may stop responding to insulin as well as they should. In other words, instead of being sensitive to the effects of insulin, they become resistant to the effects of insulinhence, the name insulin resistance. When cells become insulin resistant, sugar stays in your bloodstream, which can lead to high blood sugar.

How To Reverse Insulin Resistance With Diet

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If we want to reverse insulin resistance naturally by burning off sugar and visceral fat with the help of intermittent fasting, we need to shut down the supply of insulin-secreting foods.

In this way, you can enable to tackle intra-organic fat to reverse insulin resistance in the liver.

But whichfoods raise insulin levels and support hyperinsulinemia?

Different macronutrients cause different insulin responses. And its widely known that carbohydrates have the most significant impact.


Since they are chains of sugar, carbohydrates break down into glucose.

And as we already know from sucrose, the fruit sugar fructose has a unique metabolic pathway directly promoting insulin resistance in the liver. While glucose is generally spiking blood insulin levels.

With this in mind, conventional sugar has a dangerous dual effect:

  • High blood sugar and insulin levels
  • Insulin resistance in the liver

So, which foods raise insulin levels, and to what extent?

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Causes And Risk Factors Of Insulin Resistance

  • With a family history of type 2 diabetes
  • With a personal history of gestational diabetes
  • Over the age of 45
  • Who are Hispanic, African American, Native American, or Asian American
  • With a waist circumference larger than 40 inches or larger than 35 inches
  • With a history of high blood pressure or high triglycerides

The risk factors for insulin resistance are similar to the risk factors for prediabetes and type 2 diabetes. But lifestyle changes can help your body use insulin properly, which can reduce your risk of diabetes.

What Is Insulin And How Does It Work

Insulin is a hormone made by the pancreas. Its main job is to manage how your body uses glucose for energy. When blood sugar levels rise after a meal, your pancreas releases insulin to help your bodys cells especially cells in the liver and muscles absorb glucose. Your liver converts stored glucose to glycogen for future use.

When blood sugar levels are too low, your pancreas releases a hormone called glucagon. Glucagon forces the liver to convert glycogen back to glucose, which causes your blood sugar to rise.

You always have low levels of insulin circulating in your body. When insulin is out of balance, the result is abnormal blood sugar levels. High insulin levels can make you feel tired, bloated and cause sugar cravings. And, the more insulin you have circulating in your body, the harder it becomes to lose weight and burn fat.

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Tip For Reversal #: Choose Your Fats Wisely

All fats are not created equal, and certain fats can either improve or worsen insulin resistance. Choosing the right fats can make a difference. A review published in Clinical Nutrition found that a diet high in saturated fats increases insulin resistance, whereas monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats improve insulin resistance. Research also suggests that omega-3 fatty acids counteract insulin resistance due to their anti-inflammatory properties. Fatty fish such as salmon, mackerel, sardines, and trout are particularly high in omega-3 fatty acids.

Add Herbs And Spices To Your Cooking

14 Common Insulin Resistance Treatments That Stops Your ...

Herbs and spices were used for their medicinal properties long before they were introduced into cooking.

However, it was not until the past few decades that scientists began examining their health-promoting properties.

Herbs and spices including fenugreek, turmeric, ginger, and garlic have shown promising results for increasing insulin sensitivity.

  • Fenugreek seeds. Theyre high in soluble fiber, which helps make insulin more effective. Eating them whole, as an extract, or even baked into bread may help increase blood sugar management and insulin sensitivity (
  • 61 ).

These findings for herbs and spices are promising. However, most research in this area is recent and was conducted in animals. Human studies are needed to investigate whether herbs and spices do indeed increase insulin sensitivity.

Summary

Garlic, fenugreek, turmeric, and ginger may help increase insulin sensitivity. The research behind them is recent and primarily conducted in animals, so more studies are needed before strong conclusions can be made.

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How Insulin Resistance Progresses To Type 2 Diabetes

When you have insulin resistance, your pancreas makes extra insulin to make up for it. For a while, this will work and your blood sugar levels will stay normal.

Over time, though, your pancreas wonât be able to keep up. If you donât make changes in the way you eat and exercise, your blood sugar levels will rise until you have prediabetes. Your doctor will look for these blood test results:

  • Fasting plasma glucose test: 100-125
  • Oral glucose tolerance test: 140-199 after the second test
  • A1c results of 5.7% to 6.4%

If you arenât able to manage prediabetes, youâll be diagnosed with type 2 diabetes when your test levels reach:

  • Fasting plasma glucose test: 126 or higher
  • Oral glucose tolerance test: 200 or higher after the second test
  • A1c results of 6.5% or above

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