Posts Tagged insulin resistance
Obesity Causes Insulin Resistance
Posted by SEO SERVICES in Health on June 27th, 2009
What causes someone to develop type 2 diabetes? It is well-known that type 2 diabetes develops from insulin resistance, but what causes insulin resistance at the beginning?
Insulin is used in the body to “unlock” the cells so that blood sugar in the bloodstream can pass from the blood into the cells. The problem is not a lack of insulin but the inability in type 2 diabetics to use its unlocking properties. Insulin is also the main fat-building hormone. In type 2 diabetes the fat-building properties continue to function while the unlocking properties are impaired. So the daily battle for glucose control and weight control are battles in their war against their insulin resistance.
But what made them insulin resistant at the beginning?
Obesity is the number one factor (though not the only factor) for developing insulin resistance. It begins with the effect of obesity on the liver. Normally, the liver only produces glucose in the absence of food, such as in fasting. Recent research now seems to indicate that there is a second signal aside from the fasting response that triggers glucose production from the liver.
This second signal or trigger is more active in obese people, even when they are not fasting. A high-fat diet also contributes to the activation of the signal. As obesity does not go away easily or quickly, the triggering factors become nearly constant over time. The production of glucose from the liver goes on continually. The constant production of glucose from the liver is a significant factor leading to insulin resistance.
Once again the news has its good side as well as a discouraging side. It may be discouraging to learn that being overweight is what triggered one’s development of diabetes.
On the other hand, the good news here is that most people can prevent or avoid developing type 2 diabetes by controlling their weight. Avoid obesity and you avoid developing the second signal that triggers the over-production of glucose from the liver that contributes to insulin resistance. A diet lower in fat, which may help control weight, also lowers the activation of the trigger signal.
There is also some good news left for type 2 diabetics. It is clear that people who have developed type 2 diabetes, though they cannot cure the disease, they can mitigate its most damaging effects by maintaining a healthy body weight.
This will reduce their insulin resistance and increase their blood sugar control. Maintaining a healthy weight should be emphasized in any treatment for type 2 diabetics who are overweight. Which is of course the battle they are engaged in every day, not only for the sake of their weight but their insulin resistance and glucose control.
What Causes Insulin Resistance
Posted by SEO SERVICES in Health on June 27th, 2009
How does a person develop type 2 diabetes? It is well-known that type 2 diabetes develops from insulin resistance, but what causes insulin resistance in the first place?
Insulin is used in the body to “unlock” the cells so that glucose in the bloodstream can pass from the blood into the cells. The problem is not a lack of insulin but the inability in type 2 diabetics to use its unlocking properties. Insulin is also the main fat-building hormone. In type 2 diabetes the fat-building properties continue to function while the unlocking properties are impaired. So the daily battle for blood sugar control and weight control are battles in their war against their insulin resistance.
But what made them insulin resistant at the beginning?
Obesity is the number one factor (though not the only factor) for developing insulin resistance. It begins with the effect of obesity on the liver. Normally, the liver only produces glucose in the absence of food, such as in fasting. Recent research now seems to indicate that there is a second signal aside from the fasting response that triggers glucose production from the liver.
This second signal or trigger is more active in obese people, even when they are not fasting. A high-fat diet also contributes to the activation of the signal. As obesity does not go away easily or quickly, the triggering factors become nearly constant over time. The production of glucose from the liver goes on continually. The constant production of glucose from the liver is a significant factor leading to insulin resistance.
Once again the news has its good side as well as a discouraging side. It may be discouraging to learn that being overweight is what triggered one’s development of diabetes.
On the other hand, the good news here is that most people can prevent or avoid developing type 2 diabetes by controlling their weight. Avoid obesity and you avoid developing the second signal that triggers the over-production of glucose from the liver that contributes to insulin resistance. A diet lower in fat, which may help control weight, also lowers the activation of the trigger signal.
There is also some good news left for type 2 diabetics. It is clear that people who have developed insulin resistance, though they cannot cure the disease, they can mitigate its most damaging effects by maintaining a healthy body weight.
This will reduce their insulin resistance and increase their glucose control. Maintaining a healthy weight should be emphasized in any treatment for type 2 diabetics who are overweight. Which is of course the battle they are engaged in every day, not only for the sake of their weight but their insulin resistance and blood sugar control.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT INSULIN
Posted by SEO SERVICES in Health on June 20th, 2009
Most people know that diabetes is about blood sugar (too much or too little of it), and that it has something to do with a mysterious substance called “insulin”. They might see someone inject insulin, usually a clear liquid that looks like water. But what is insulin and what does it do? Why do some diabetics
need to inject insulin?
Insulin starts in the organ of your body called the pancreas. The pancreas is almost as mysterious a thing to many people as insulin. We generally know a lot more about the heart, lungs and kidneys than we do about the pancreas.
Your pancreas is located in the area below your
stomach, towards the left side of your body. It produces many digestive enzymes,
including insulin and glucagon. Though both enzymes are
made by the same organ, they have opposite effects
on the body.
Glucagon works mainly to release glucose from the liver, kidneys and muscles into the bloodstream. Insulin, on the other hand, works to remove glucose from the
bloodstream.
It does this in two ways: first, by acting as a “key” to
open receptors in the cells. Every cell needs glucose for energy to grow, heal, and live. Once their receptors are unlocked by insulin, the
glucose enters the cells.
Second, insulin moves blood sugar into the liver, kidneys and muscles for storage. Insulin is also the main enzyme for building fat — another way of storing glucose
for use later.
Type 2 diabetics are able to produce insulin. Their insulin performs its fat-building function quite well. But its removal of glucose from the bloodstream is hampered. The cells resist its
unlocking mechanism. That is why type 2 diabetics are often called what they really are, “insulin resistant”.
They tend to build up fat, especially around the belly and chest, in the typical “apple” shape. This is an indication that their insulin resistance is not being well treated. Other health dangers such as heart disease, hypertension and stroke, are associated with uncontrolled insulin resistance and increased body-fat.
Type 1 diabetics are generally less affected by the fat-building function, as their only insulin is what they inject. Also their cells are not insulin-resistant, so the glucose moves into the cells. As far as body-fat is concerned, the problem for type 1 diabetics is too little insulin, while for type 2 the problem is too much insulin.
Blood sugar control with or without injecting insulin is not an easy thing. It requires regular testing of glucose and record-keeping, a regulated diet and exercise program, and plenty of
motivation to keep at it every day.
There must always be a balance between glucose control and keeping body-fat in a healthy range. A focused diabetes management system is vital to a healthy life with diabetes.
