Glucose Management

Insulin Resistance

Insulin resistance is basically a way of saying there Is a reduced responsiveness of the insulin based tissues to the normal insulin levels. Insulin is a peptide hormone produced by the pancreas, and it is responsible for telling the glucose (sugar) in your blood to transport inside the cells.

In prediabetes the high levels of insulin are compensated for the reduced insulin effectiveness resulting in chronic hyperinsulinemia.

Photo by Sweet Life on Unsplash

Assessing Insulin Resistance

Checking your blood levels via blood test specifically order a test for:

-       Fasting plasma glucose

-       A1C

-       Fasting insulin

There are different components that may alter the fasting blood glucose levels:

-       How hydrated you are

-       Stress

-       Sleep quality*

-       Timing of your last meal

Some of the issues with insulin resistance is it is only a snapshot in 1 time, and depending on when it was taken it could be inaccurate. If you only test for FBG you could be missing out on a special link which is the fasting insulin levels.

Another test you can try is the HOMA-IR it is a measure of insulin resistance that is calculated from fasting insulin and glucose levels, it reflects the production of basal hepatic glucose and peripheral insulin sensitivity.

When you go to test your blood levels you want to try to get a good nights rest the night before because if you didn’t the poor sleep can lead to high cortisol levels and thus higher glucose and higher insulin levels.

The Hemoglobin A1C will give you more insight into your insulin sensitivity by giving you a measure of the average blood glucose over the past 3 months. Optimal levels is below 5.3%.

Symptoms of insulin resistance:

-       Lethargy

-       Poor digestion and appetite

-       Low grade inflammation

-       Bloated

-       Water retention

-       Joint pain

Act Now

What’re something things you can do now to prevent insulin resistance? The first one is to begin to dedicate to a workout routine, and cardio regimen. Choose a diet that is high in protein, and avoid using too much carbs. Try to limit the sugar intake to minimize inflammation. Incorporate intermittent fasting every now and then.

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Be well,

Yelena