What Medications Treat Insulin Resistance
Metformin is a medication used for treating type 2 diabetes. It exerts two actions to help control blood glucose levels. Metformin prevents the liver from releasing glucose into the blood, and it also increases the sensitivity of muscle and fat cells to insulin, allowing them to remove more glucose from the blood. By these actions, metformin lowers blood insulin levels because lower blood sugar levels tell the pancreas to put out less insulin.
Metformin is a reasonably safe medication when used in the proper population. Though occasionally associated with gastrointestinal side effects, metformin is usually well tolerated. While no FDA-approved drugsexist to prevent type 2 diabetes or to treat pre-type 2 diabetes , the American Diabetes Association has recommended that metformin be the only drug considered for the prevention of type 2 diabetes.
P Stands For Pressure
Your blood pressure is a measurement of the effort it takes for your heart to circulate blood throughout your cardiovascular system. The higher your blood pressure, the harder your heart must work to push blood throughout your body.
In most cases, hypertension is caused by the hardening of blood vessels, which creates resistance against your heart. Over time, hypertension can become life-threatening, because it increases your risk for a heart attack or stroke .
Most doctors prescribe medication to treat hypertension, unaware that simple dietary changes are more powerful and free of dangerous side effects .
The evidence-based research shows that hypertension is an independent risk factor for insulin resistance . Reducing your blood pressure to less than 120/80 without medication is essential in helping you reverse insulin resistance.
Recommended Blood Pressure RangeDiastolic pressure = 60-80 mmHg
Circadian Rhythm Fasting: Why Youve Been Fasting All Wrong
Intermittent fasting. Its all the rage these days. But are you doing, right?
I know, I know, there is a plethora of information telling you it must be a done a certain way where you end up eating later in the day sometimes before bed. The trend is to skip eating upon waking and extend that well into the afternoon.
But is that the correct way to fast? More importantly, if youre honest with yourself, does that really for work you?
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How To Test For Insulin Resistance With A Homa Score
If you can only get fasting insulin, try to get your blood glucose measured at the same time so you can measure your homeostatic model assessment, or HOMA score.;
Your HOMA score is a formula that considers both fasting glucose and fasting insulin. Its more helpful than fasting insulin alone to determine your insulin sensitivity.;
Insulin sensitivity has an inverse relationship to insulin resistance. Insulin sensitivity is essentially how sensitive your cells are to insulin.;
The more insulin sensitive you are, the less insulin resistant you are. The less insulin sensitive you are, the more insulin resistant you are.;
Heres the equation to determine your HOMA score.
- In the US:; / 405
- For most other countries: / 22.5
Theres no consensus yet, but according to Dr. Bikmans book a value over 1.5 indicates insulin resistance, and above 3 usually means youre on the edge of having type 2 diabetes. Unfortunately, even fasting insulin may have some limitations.;
Skin Tags/darkening Of The Skin
Insulin resistance causes darkening of the skin usually around the neck and areas where there are folds in the skin and is referred to as acanthosis nigricans.
You may also notice skin tags. Skin tags can occur on the neck, eyelids, underarms, in your groin area, and under your breasts.
You can tell a lot about someone and their health based on their skins appearance. If it is dry and flaky, it means you are dehydrated. Acne can signal inflammation and insulin resistance. Yellowing skin can be a sign of liver problems.
Pay attention to the health of your skin, it tells a story.
While skin tags can be unsightly, they arent harmful to you. You can remove them if you want. You can either try to remove them yourself with an over-the-counter product or you can have a dermatologist remove them for you.
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Use Apple Cider Vinegar
Diluted apple cider vinegar has a history as a weight loss drink. And according to studies, it still helps you lose weight today .
Although it is not a panacea, apple cider vinegar helps to increase insulin sensitivity naturally. Because similar to dietary fiber, apple cider vinegar has protective effects on carbohydrate absorption.
For this reason, vinegar is added to sushi rice, potato chips, or French fries.
Likewise, adding apple cider vinegar to white rice reduces the relative blood sugar spike by almost 40 percent and thus helps with weight loss .
If you take apple vinegar shortly before a meal, its particularly useful .
Correspondingly, a study on apple vinegar for weight loss showed that two teaspoons of vinegar lower the resulting blood sugar and insulin levels by 34 percent.
Moreover, apple cider vinegar also helps to lower blood pressure .
But even more interesting, apple cider vinegar increases insulin sensitivity by helping to reduce critical visceral fat inside the liver .
More than two teaspoons of ACV arent a problem either since acetic acid increases satiety and lowers calorie intake throughout the day .
Therefore, consume at least one tablespoon or three teaspoons of apple vinegar a day to reap the health benefits.
But its entirely up to you whether you consume it as a shot, diluted with water, or as natural dressing.
And read the label!
Apple cider vinegar should be produced naturally and not exceed 1.5 grams of sugar per 100 grams.
How Can I Prevent Or Reverse Insulin Resistance And Prediabetes
Physical activity and losing weight if you need to may help your body respond better to insulin. Taking small steps, such as eating healthier foods and moving more to lose weight, can help reverse insulin resistance and prevent or delay type 2 diabetes in people with prediabetes.
The National Institutes of Health-funded research study, the Diabetes Prevention Program , showed that for people at high risk of developing diabetes, losing 5 to 7 percent of their starting weight helped reduce their chance of developing the disease.3 Thats 10 to 14 pounds for someone who weighs 200 pounds. People in the study lost weight by changing their diet and being more physically active.
The DPP also showed that taking metformin, a medicine used to treat diabetes, could delay diabetes. Metformin worked best for women with a history of gestational diabetes, younger adults, and people with obesity. Ask your doctor if metformin might be right for you.
Making a plan, tracking your progress, and getting support from your health care professional, family, and friends can help you make lifestyle changes that may prevent or reverse insulin resistance and prediabetes. You may be able to take part in a lifestyle change program as part of the National Diabetes Prevention Program.
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What You Should Do If You Have Signs Of Insulin Resistance
These 5 signs and symptoms of insulin resistance might not seem like a big deal, but they are warning signs that something is off. Make sure you check out these 10 ways to reduce insulin resistance with PCOS so you can start feeling better today!
You are the best advocate for your health. You need to listen to what your body is telling you.
Half the battle is knowing what is wrong, once you know that, you can treat the problem.
If you suspect you are insulin resistant, it is time to make some impactful changes for your health. Check my PCOS Patient Advocacy Guide which guides you step-by-step how to heal your PCOS and insulin resistance.
If you want to kick your PCOS symptoms good-bye, you need to be able to advocate for your health.
It is about asking the right questions, doing your research, and being educated.
CHAMPION for your health today! Learn More!
The items listed above are accompanied by affiliate links, meaning I earn a small commission if a purchase is made through my links. This has no impact on the cost to the consumer. I link to products this way whenever possible, and it has no bearing on the products I choose to review or recommend.
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The Ketogenic Diet Is Also Great For Weight Loss
People with type 2 diabetics and poorly controlled blood sugar levels are normally not physically active.;
Obesity and diabetes have a very strong connection, with one improving another or worsening another.;
For example, if you gained 25 pounds, chances are you will lose control of your blood sugar level too.
As a matter of fact, obesity is a major determining factor for developing metabolic syndrome, also known as insulin resistance syndrome. When this happens, not only will you have poor blood sugar control but also various ailments of the heart and circulatory system.;
On the other hand, if you make an effort to lose some weight you can significantly reduce insulin resistance. This can be achieved by following the standard ketogenic diet.;
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How Does Insulin Resistance Happen
The obesity or weight-related spectrum of conditions has varied labels.
- Insulin Resistance.
Insulin Resistance isnt just for some people. It holds no prejudice. It develops in every body.;
So then, how does insulin resistance happen?
The body, over time, grows resistant to insulin to some degree because insulin has been signaling your cells throughout your entire lifetime every time you eat and every time you experience an emotional rise or feel stressed. Insulin becomes especially overly present in a body that has been over-fueled, burdened, or over-loaded with glucose. Glucose is the sugar that foods break down into during digestion.
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What Are Clinical Trials And Are They Right For You
Clinical trials are part of clinical research and at the heart of all medical advances. Clinical trials look at new ways to prevent, detect, or treat disease. Researchers also use clinical trials to look at other aspects of care, such as improving the quality of life for people with chronic illnesses. Find out if clinical trials are right for you.
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How Blood Sugar And Insulin Work In The Body
Whenever you eat food that contains carbohydrates, your blood sugar increases, and elevated blood sugar is very harmful to the body. Its damaging to your organs, tissues, and blood vessels, so the body has to have a mechanism to bring blood sugar back down when it gets elevated. It does this through a hormone called insulin, which is developed in your pancreas and released whenever your body senses that it needs to lower its blood sugar.
The more sugar you eat, the more insulin you need. Many people have an exaggerated insulin response as a result of eating too many simple carbohydrates. When the pancreas shoots out too much insulin, you can end up with hypoglycemia, which is low blood sugar.
What are simple carbohydrates?;
There are two categories of carbohydrates that convert to sugar in your body: simple carbs and complex carbs.
Complex carbohydrates are the good ones because they include nutrients such as fiber, which slows the breakdown of the carbs in your body and results in less of an effect on blood sugar. Fiber also feeds the good gut bacteria, which play an important role in balancing blood sugar levels!
Simple carbohydrates, on the other hand, have been stripped of nutrients and fiber. They have larger amounts of sugar molecules arranged in really simple structures. This means they break down easily into sugar that absorbs directly into your bloodstream.
Working With Your Doctor
As noted previously, most doctors dont routinely test for insulin resistance. This may be appropriate when testing wont change the recommendations for lifestyle modifications and/or treatment. However, testing can be very helpful when the results would clearly inform ones choice of dietary modification or medical therapy.
If your waist-to-height ratio is larger than 0.50, you may want to talk with your doctor about ordering follow up tests to confirm that insulin resistance is present, and that you are at risk for blood sugar and metabolic problems.
You will likely have to ask for these tests. Dont be afraid to be proactive and educate your doctor about these tests if you request them, as they may be worth the effort. However, be aware that not all health systems provide coverage for insulin levels and you may have to pay the full cost yourself.
We recommend three tests, all of which can be done fasting: insulin, triglycerides, and glucose.
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How To Tell If You Are Insulin Resistant
Other than weight gain and fat that you just cant get rid of, there arent many major symptoms until insulin resistance progresses to diabetes.
Some people develop dark spots on their armpits, neck, or back, but only if the insulin resistance is severe.
Most people who are insulin resistant report feeling tired, and having an increased appetitewhich are unfortunately pretty vague symptoms.
You know your body best thoughso if you feel more tired than you should, and you have a hard time feeling satiated or refreshed after a meal, check your blood sugar.
Blood tests can confirm if you are insulin resistant, and we do recommend checking in with your doctor to make sure you havent developed a more serious health condition.
Just make sure to request a check of your A1C levels, since standard blood panels may not include that test.
If you cant get to the doctor right away, the next best way to check for insulin resistance is simply to try the insulin resistance diet, and see how your body reacts.
Can Fasting Reverse Insulin Resistance
As research shows, regular intermittent fasting directly improves insulin sensitivity. Therefore it doesnt just reduce high insulin levels.
Furthermore, fasting can reverse insulin resistance, which most diets cant .
Additionally, a fasting detox yields lots of health benefits like the removal of unnecessary or dysfunctional components from cells.
The 2016 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded to Yoshinori Ohsumi for the discovery of this mechanism known as autophagy .
However, there are many myths about the drawbacks of fasting. For example, a sticky myth ist that it will overwhelm you with hunger.
But Viennese researchers have shown that the hunger hormone ghrelin gradually decreases after the peak on the first day of fasting .
According to research, blood glucose levels also remain stable when switching to burning body fat for energy .
Therefore the intake of carbohydrates is simply not necessary. And isnt it the body fat that generally worries us? Consequently, the breakdown of body fat will not harm us in any way.
In contrary to conventional wisdom, fasting also doesnt cause muscle loss, as you will see when we compare intermittent fasting and calorie restriction.
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Hyperinsulinemia & Insulin Resistance Causes More Death Than Ww1 And Ww2 Combined
When youre more insulin resistant, your body requires MORE insulin from your pancreas to push glucose and energy into cells.
High insulin may not cause all chronic disease. But at the very least it exacerbates them. Having persistently high fasting insulin levels is called hyperinsulinemia. It usually goes hand in hand with insulin resistance.
If you have insulin resistance, youre at risk for chronic disease. Theres no chronic disease thats not related to insulin resistance:
- Heart disease
- A waist larger than 35 for women or 40 for men
- A fasting insulin level above 5
Insulin Resistance And Cancer
When you are insulin resistant, your pancreas needs to produce increasingly more insulin to remove sugar from your bloodstream. The insulin takes those sugars and parks it in your liver, your fat cells and in your muscles, which is the preferred destination. This is why weight resistance exercises are the best for your health. You are creating more bins in your muscles to store glucose.
For years now, we have known that sugar feeds cancer cells, but we didnt know the mechanism used to do this. We now know the enzyme p31k diverts sugar, which was meant to be stored in your muscles, into cancer cells. This is especially true if you are insulin resistant!
Join Dr. Martin in todays episode as he unpacks this discovery. He also teaches on fatty acids and how cancer tumours need this fuel to grow.
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Tip For Reversal #5: Increase Your Soluble Fiber Intake
Many people dont eat the recommended amount of fiber about 25 grams per day for women and 38 grams per day for men. If you think youre one of those people, heres a reason for you to up your fiber intake: it can help reverse insulin resistance naturally. A 2019 study found that increasing low fiber intake to the recommended amounts led to reduced fasting blood sugars, fasting insulin, and insulin resistance. Soluble fiber slows down digestion by dissolving in water and forming a gel. This helps stabilize blood sugars and improves insulin sensitivity. To benefit from these blood sugar-friendly effects, eat more soluble fiber-rich foods like oats, carrots, apples, sweet potatoes, beans, and barley.
Reverse Insulin Resistance: Use These 8 Simple Steps
Carnivore Aurelius
Do you want to make yourself immune to chronic disease?
If so, you need to prevent and reverse insulin resistance.
Good news and bad news. Which first? Okay bad news
Insulin resistance is related to almost every chronic disease:
- Diabetes
- Alzheimers
- Dementia ;
It may not cause them all. But at the very least, persistently high insulin levels exacerbates them.
Good news: you can reverse insulin resistance. And reversing it is one of the most important things you can do for your health.
Learn more below about why insulin resistance is bad and the 8 simple steps to reversing it.;
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