Insulin Takes Sugar Out Of Your Blood And Stores It In Muscles Fat Cells And The Liver For Later Use
Even though it’s helpful for your cells to take in blood sugar for energy, they don’t need immediate access to that sugar all the time. In fact, insulin will take any extra blood sugar that your cells can’t use right away and send it to your muscle cells, fat cells, and liver to be stored for later use. When it’s stored, the original form of sugar, glucose, becomes another form of sugar known as glycogen.
Insulin Takes Sugar Out Of Your Blood And Sends It Into Your Cells To Be Used For Energy
When you eat a meal with carbohydrates , you often get a burst of energy. Well, your cells get energy from sugar too, but how does the sugar get into the cells? That’s where insulin comes in.
Most of the cells in your body contain insulin receptors. Think of an insulin receptor like a lock and the insulin hormone like a key. When the key opens the lock—or when insulin binds to the insulin receptor—the cell opens to let sugar in. By attaching to insulin receptors, insulin helps take sugar out of the blood and sends it into cells to be put to good use. As a result, your blood sugar levels should return to normal.
Insulin Resistance: How To Recognize The Symptoms And Reverse It
Megan N. Freeland, PharmD, RPh
Your body naturally produces the hormone, insulin, to help keep your blood sugar at healthy levels, but sometimes your body doesn’t respond to insulin the way it should. When this happens, it’s called insulin resistance. Here, we’ll discuss what insulin resistance is, how it can cause complications like type 2 diabetes, and what you can do to prevent it.
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 That’s 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.
What Do Elevated Insulin Levels With Normal A1c Level Indicate
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It Lowers Fasting Blood Sugar And May Decrease Hemoglobin A1c
Several controlled studies have demonstrated that cinnamon is excellent at reducing fasting blood sugar.
One review of 543 people with type 2 diabetes found taking it was associated with an average decrease of over 24 mg/dL .
While these study results are pretty clear, studies investigating its effects on hemoglobin A1c, a measure of long-term blood sugar control, have yielded conflicting results.
Some studies report significant decreases in hemoglobin A1c, while others report no effect (
).
Summary:
Cinnamon can lower blood sugar following meals, possibly by slowing stomach emptying and blocking digestive enzymes.
Insulin: Reference Range Interpretation Collection And Panels
Insulin is an anabolic hormone that promotes glucose uptake, glycogenesis, lipogenesis, and protein synthesis of skeletal muscle and fat tissue through the tyrosine kinase receptor pathway. In addition, insulin is the most important factor in the regulation of plasma glucose homeostasis, as it counteracts glucagon and other catabolic hormonesepinephrine, glucocorticoid, and growth hormone. Table 1. Reference Range of Insulin Levels A standard insulin test is positive for endogenous insulin and exogenous insulin. In addition, there is a minimal cross-reaction with proinsulin and insulinlike growth factors 1 and 2, with the degree of variability depending on the brand of the testing toolkit and technique used. Insulin testing is used to assist in identifying causes of hypoglycemia , especially upon signs and symptoms of hypoglycemia . In this scenario, a 72-hour fasting test is performed. Insulinoma: High insulin and C-peptide levels Nonbeta cell tumors: Low insulin and C-peptide levels and high insulinlike growth factor 2 level Excessive insulin administration: High insulin levels and low C-peptide levels Insulin secretagogue administration : High insulin and C-peptide levels Congenital hyperinsulinism : High insulin and C-peptide levels Autoimmunity to insulin or insulin receptor : Postprandial insulin is bound to antibodies and dissociated 1 hour later, resulting in an extremely elevated insulin level and high insulintoC-peptide ratio TContinue reading >>
Your A1c Value Is An Incomplete Marker Of Insulin Resistance
Your A1c is used as a biometric marker of your average blood glucose control, and is typically used to diagnose type 1 diabetes, type 1.5 diabetes, prediabetes or type 2 diabetes.
Technically speaking, when your A1c drops below 5.7% your diabetes diagnosis can be removed from your medical record. At Mastering Diabetes, we recommend maintaining an A1c value less than 5.7% without the use of oral medications or insulin for 365 days to claim that you have reversed either prediabetes or type 2 diabetes.
It’s very important to understand that your A1c value is simply an indicator of your blood glucose control, and only provides you with information about your level of insulin resistance when interpreted in the context of other biomarkers.
Understanding your level of insulin resistance can be challenging because it requires examining multiple biomarkers, each of which is a continuum. Since the amount of stored fat inside your muscle and liver cannot adequately be measured at any given time, other laboratory biomarkers are necessary to provide context.
What Are The Symptoms Of Insulin Resistance And Prediabetes
Insulin resistance and prediabetes usually have no symptoms. Some people with prediabetes may have darkened skin in the armpit or on the back and sides of the neck, a condition called acanthosis nigricans. Many small skin growths called skin tags often appear in these same areas.
Even though blood glucose levels are not high enough to cause symptoms for most people, a few research studies have shown that some people with prediabetes may already have early changes in their eyes that can lead to retinopathy. This problem more often occurs in people with diabetes.
Recap: What You Need To Know About The Fasting Insulin Test
- Blood sugar conditions take years to develop, and most standard tests fail to detect the signs of pre-pre-diabetes.
- The fasting insulin test can help you detect insulin resistance early.
- Optimal insulin levels are below 8.
- You want optimal levels, not just “normal” or “high-normal” levels.
- While genetics can play a role, lifestyle changes can often prevent insulin problems.
- Diet, exercise, sleep, and stress management all play key roles in keeping insulin levels balanced.
- Studies have shown that working with a Health Coach — like those at Knew — significantly helped people manage chronic conditions, like blood sugar issues.
Do you need help with a blood sugar issue? Or do you suspect you may be at risk for developing such a condition? If so, we encourage you to reach out to your healthcare provider.
Visit our Services page to learn more about how Knew Health can empower you to be more proactive with your health. We provide you with the resources you need to reach and maintain your optimal, individual wellness, and we have your back when unexpected accidents and illnesses happen.
Joshua Rosenthal
Knew Health is only available in the US, excluding Vermont , Alaska, Washington. Please contact us with any questions.
Evexia provides comprehensive, cutting-edge lab services at convenient locations nationwide. Knew Health members have access to free and discounted tests, panels, and specialty kits with no prior approval needed.
It Contains Antioxidants That Provide Many Health Benefits
A quick glance at cinnamon’s nutrition facts may not lead you to believe that it’s a superfood .
But while it doesn’t contain a lot of vitamins or minerals, it does contain large amounts of antioxidants, which give it its health benefits.
In fact, one group of scientists compared the antioxidant content of 26 different herbs and spices and concluded that cinnamon had the second highest amount of antioxidants among them .
Antioxidants are important because they help the body reduce oxidative stress, a type of damage to cells, which is caused by free radicals.
One study showed that consuming 500 mg of cinnamon extract daily for 12 weeks decreased a marker of oxidative stress by 14% in adults with prediabetes .
This is significant, since oxidative stress has been implicated in the development of nearly every chronic disease, including type 2 diabetes .
Summary:
Cinnamon does not contain many vitamins or minerals, but it is loaded with antioxidants that decrease oxidative stress. This may potentially protect against diabetes.
How Do Doctors Diagnose Insulin Resistance And Prediabetes
Doctors use blood tests to find out if someone has prediabetes, but they don’t usually test for insulin resistance. The most accurate test for insulin resistance is complicated and used mostly for research.
Doctors most often use the fasting plasma glucose test or the A1C test to diagnose prediabetes. Less often, doctors use the oral glucose tolerance test , which is more expensive and not as easy to give.
The A1C test reflects your average blood glucose over the past 3 months. The FPG and OGTT show your blood glucose level at the time of the test. The A1C test is not as sensitive as the other tests. In some people, it may miss prediabetes that the OGTT could catch. The OGTT can identify how your body handles glucose after a meal—often before your fasting blood glucose level becomes abnormal. Often doctors use the OGTT to check for gestational diabetes, a type of diabetes that develops during pregnancy.
People with prediabetes have up to a 50 percent chance of developing diabetes over the next 5 to 10 years. You can take steps to manage your prediabetes and prevent type 2 diabetes.
The following test results show Prediabetes2
- A1C—5.7 to 6.4 percent
- FPG—100 to 125 mg/dL
- OGTT—140 to 199 mg/dL
You should be tested for prediabetes if you are overweight or have obesity and have one or more other risk factors for diabetes, or if your parents, siblings, or children have type 2 diabetes. Even if you don’t have risk factors, you should start getting tested once you reach age 45.
How To Accurately Assess Your Level Of Insulin Resistance
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Understanding insulin resistance can be somewhat challenging, but it doesn’t have to be.
At Mastering Diabetes, our mission is to provide you with a clear understanding of what causes insulin resistance, and provide you with the tools to reverse it using your food as medicine, so that you can maximize your metabolic health safely and effectively.
Our team hears the following statement all the time: “My A1c is now in the non-diabetic range. Does that mean that I reversed insulin resistance completely? If not, what am I supposed to do now?”
The “what now?” part of the question is important, because if you’ve fully adopted a low-fat, plant-based, whole-food lifestyle, then your habits will continue to improve your insulin sensitivity over time.
It Can Imitate Insulin And Increase Insulin Sensitivity
In those with diabetes, either the pancreas cannot produce enough insulin or cells do not respond to insulin properly, leading to high blood sugar levels.
Cinnamon may help lower blood sugar and fight diabetes by imitating the effects of insulin and increasing glucose transport into cells .
It can also help lower blood sugar by increasing insulin sensitivity, making insulin more efficient at moving glucose into cells.
One study of seven men showed taking cinnamon increased insulin sensitivity immediately after consumption, with the effect lasting at least 12 hours .
In another study, eight men also demonstrated increases in insulin sensitivity following two weeks of supplementing with cinnamon .
Summary:
Cinnamon can lower blood sugar by acting like insulin and increasing insulin’s ability to move blood sugar into cells.
Nutritional Supplements For Insulin Resistance And Pcos
Inositol is an intracellular messenger involved in insulin signaling and can be taken as a nutritional supplement . A 2018 meta-analysis of ten randomized trials found that inositol significantly improves markers of insulin resistance and “appears to regulate menstrual cycles, improve ovulation and induce metabolic changes in polycystic ovary syndrome� . The dose used in most of the randomized trials ranged from 1.2 to 4 grams per day.
Magnesium is my second favorite supplement for insulin resistance because it works to correct the widespread subclinical magnesium deficiency that some researchers suspect may be contributing to insulin resistance and heart disease . Magnesium deficiency affects at least one-third of individuals, and probably more, and cannot be easily or reliably diagnosed by a blood test .
A recent meta-analysis concluded that magnesium supplementation is effective for treating insulin resistance in people with magnesium deficiency and one small study found that co-supplementation of magnesium, zinc, calcium and vitamin D improved the insulin metabolism of PCOS patients .
Lara Briden is a naturopathic doctor with 20 years of experience in women’s health. Her book is the Period Repair Manual—soon to be available in German as well as English. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram.
Let’s support one another.
It May Lower The Risk Of Common Diabetes Complications
This spice does more than lower fasting blood sugar and decrease blood sugar spikes following meals.
It may also lower the risk of common diabetes complications.
People with diabetes have twice the risk of heart disease as people without it. Cinnamon may help lower this risk by improving established risk factors for heart disease .
A review of controlled studies in people with type 2 diabetes found that taking cinnamon was associated with an average decrease in “bad” LDL cholesterol of 9.4 mg/dL and a decrease in triglycerides of 29.6 mg/dL (
22 ).
However, this research has only been completed in test tubes and animals. Further studies in humans are needed to confirm these findings.
Summary:
Cinnamon may help lower the risk of diseases related to diabetes, such as heart disease and Alzheimer’s disease.
Conventional Treatment Of Insulin Resistance And Pcos
Conventional treatment recommendations for the insulin resistance aspect of PCOS include weight loss, aerobic exercise, and the diabetic drug metformin, which improves insulin sensitivity . Resistance training may also be effective, but more research is needed .
Oral contraceptives are the other officially-recommended treatment for PCOS, but they can interfere with sugar regulation and insulin resistance that underlies PCOS . The link between PCOS, insulin resistance, and oral contraceptive pills has been dubbed a “modern medical quandary� in need of further research .
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 won’t be able to keep up. If you don’t 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 aren’t able to manage prediabetes, you’ll 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
The Relationship Between Insulin Resistance And Pcos
Insulin resistance is a key feature of both obese and lean PCOS. It occurs in 70-95% of people with obese PCOS and 30-75% of people with lean PCOS .
High insulin is not just a symptom of PCOS—it is also a major driver of the condition . High insulin can impair ovulation and cause the ovaries to make excess testosterone .
One research study observed that an increasing rate of PCOS correlates with an increase in obesity and weight gain over the last ten years . Another paper described a “galloping increase in parallel with the rising prevalence of type 2 diabetes� .
How Cinnamon Lowers Blood Sugar And Fights Diabetes
Diabetes is a disease characterized by abnormally high blood sugar.
If poorly controlled, it can lead to complications like heart disease, kidney disease and nerve damage .
Treatment often includes medications and insulin injections, but many people are also interested in foods that can help lower blood sugar.
One such example is cinnamon, a commonly used spice that’s added to sweet and savory dishes around the world.
It provides many health benefits, including the ability to lower blood sugar and help manage diabetes.
This article tells you everything you need to know about cinnamon and its effects on blood sugar control and diabetes.
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.
Conditions Associated With Decreased Insulin Levels
Conditions associated with beta-cell destruction include the following:
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Post pancreatectomy
-
Autoimmune destruction
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Type 1 diabetes
In type 2 diabetes , beta cells fail to secrete insulin for maintaining the blood glucose level, owing to insulin resistance and genetic defect.
Increased insulinlike growth factor levels are associated with non–beta cell tumors.
Method: Radioimmunoassay; enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay
Specifics for collection and panels are as follows:
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Specimen type: Blood serum
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Measure blood glucose and C-peptide level in same sample
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An 8-hour fasting specimen required
What Do The Results Of My Fasting Insulin Test Mean
What’s a normal result for the fasting insulin test?
This isn’t the right question to ask. Unfortunately, “normal” levels are not actually good, because so many people have insulin resistance: “normal” is just a statistic that captures the average American’s results. We aim for “optimal/functional levels,” not just “normal” or “high-normal” levels.
The optimum fasting insulin levels are less than 8 .This means you’re not creating a high insulin demand. Your body is producing insulin at optimal levels. Levels higher than 8 definitely indicate some degree of insulin resistance.
Here at Knew Health, we want to help you get your markers to optimal levels to help you prevent future issues from developing. Our goal is to help you uncover and address the dysfunctional dynamics now to help you to avoid illnesses later on.
Conditions Associated With Elevated Insulin Levels
Conditions associated with increased insulin resistance include the following:
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Obesity
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Type 2 diabetes
Conditions associated with increased insulin secretion include the following:
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Insulinoma
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Administration of insulin secretagogues
Excessive administration of insulin is associated with elevated insulin levels.
Conditions associated with decreased insulin excretion include the following :
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Severe liver disease
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Severe heart failure
Autoimmunity to insulin or insulin receptor is associated with elevated insulin levels.
High Insulin Normal Blood Sugar Levels What Is It
Is it hypoglycemia? What do I eat with that? I know how to cure type 2 diabetes but not sure if it is the same for high insulin levels. I have checked all hypoglycemia plans and it seems that they say to have a snack every 2 hours plus a serving of grain with every meal. Is there anybody here who took care of their hypoglycemia with Paleo and devised a special meal plan? Thanks!Continue reading >>
Understanding Your Lab Work: Fasting Insulin Test
Diabetes, pre-diabetes, and blood sugar issues like metabolic syndrome and hypoglycemia are all serious conditions that can have a severe effect on your quality of life – yet many people with these conditions are unaware that they have it in the first place.
What’s worse is that standard medical tests are failing to detect the root causes of blood sugar issues before they become full-blown conditions. Even if you go to your doctor for regular check ups, they might not detect that you’re at risk for developing a blood sugar issue until it’s too late.
For example, type 2 diabetes doesn’t develop over the course of days or a couple of weeks. It typically starts with a condition called insulin resistance, which can take years and years to show up on standard blood sugar tests, at which point you’d get diagnosed with pre-diabetes or type 2 diabetes.
At Knew Health, our mission is to empower you to achieve optimal wellness – no matter how that looks for your unique situation – as well as be proactive with your health. We facilitate and provide discounted diagnostics lab tests that can help you catch irregularities, prevent health conditions, and detect and treat chronic conditions early.
That’s why we’ve made the fasting insulin test available to all Knew Health Members. Regularly doing a fasting insulin test is one way to protect your health.
Risk Factors Of Elevated Insulin In Vacaville Ca
These are the factors that have the possibility to mae you have increased insulin levels in the blood:
- Early puberty – girls who reached their puberty earlier are found to have increased insulin levels.
- If you’re lacking from sleep on a regular basis, you will build up insulin resistance over time thus leading to excess insulin production.
- The stress hormone known as cortisol can make insulin resistance as one of its side effects. It blocks the insulin receptor that indirectly leads to excess insulin production.
- Metabolic syndrome – a combination of hypertension, obesity, and high blood cholesterol levels – can lead to hyperinsulinemia.
Signs that you have hyperinsulinemia
If you have high insulin levels in your blood, these are the symptoms that are commonly experienced:
- Fatigue
- Lack of focus or motivation
- Weight gain, especially in the waist, that forms an apple shape
Adverse effects of high insulin levels
If you’ve been using external insulin for too long or you have high levels in the blood, it can create side effects on your different body parts which are as follows:
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What Are The Complications Of Insulin Resistance
High blood sugar levels can contribute to several complications associated with insulin resistance. One of the most severe complications is a condition called metabolic syndrome, also known as insulin resistance syndrome. This chronic condition involves a combination of:
- high blood sugar
- excess body fat around the waist
Insulin resistance can also lead to each of the symptoms of metabolic syndrome individually.
Metabolic syndrome, prediabetes, and type 2 diabetes are the most common complications of insulin resistance. Prediabetes and type 2 diabetes result from high blood sugar levels that may have to be controlled with medications if changing your diet and exercising aren’t enough. These complications are especially serious because they increase your risk of heart disease, heart attacks, and strokes.