I’ve recently been tested for and confirmed to be “insulin resistant.” I know that it has to do with sugar and energy and glucose, but I’m confused about it. I’d like to work on reversing it, but I need to understand what it is better for me to convince myself to change my habits. TIA
ETA: I’m aware of the consequence that it can become diabetes & im very willing to make changes, I just have a weird brain that needs to understand WHY changes are important. I don’t want to be diabetic, but I want to know a basic explanation of what insulin resistance is.
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Insulin is a hormone that rises and falls in response to blood sugar (glucose) levels. Higher blood sugar = higher insulin. Its purpose is to signal insulin-sensitive tissues to take in more glucose from the blood. These tissues will then use glucose for energy, or convert it to glycogen or fat for storage. Then, as glucose levels fall, insulin levels also fall.
Unfortunately, the modern Western diet, especially in the U.S., is packed with sugar, and this sugar-laden food is readily available. This means we tend to spend a lot of time with a high level of glucose in our blood and so we have a high level of insulin, and our bodies become desensitized to insulin. Over time, we have to have higher and higher levels of insulin to achieve the same result. Eventually, we can’t produce enough insulin to achieve any result.
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