You don’t have to have Diabetes to have this…

Insulin Resistance – two words most commonly associated with Type II Diabetes and obesity, but you actually don’t have to be either one of those to be insulin resistant.

In fact, I see insulin resistance all the time in the everyday average person, even with those who workout regularly and eat “healthy.”

Some of the signature signs of insulin resistance can include:

• Challenges with energy balance: high’s and low’s
• Constant and/or uncontrollable cravings for carbs and sugar
• Difficulties losing weight or keeping it off
• Various hormone imbalances: cortisol, estrogen, progesterone, thyroid and testosterone

What is insulin resistance?

Insulin’s primary responsibility in the body is to move glucose (sugar) from the blood into the cells so we can use it for energy.  When glucose levels remain high, even with normal levels of insulin this is called insulin resistance.  In this case, the cells aren’t answering the knock at the door to let insulin and glucose in, they are “resisting” insulin and blood glucose levels continue to climb.

How does insulin resistance happen, even in the average person?

When you eat, insulin levels increase signaling the liver to convert food into glycogen to be stored for energy later. When you’re not eating (while you’re sleeping or between meals) the body still needs glucose for energy.  During these times, when insulin levels are low and food is not present, the liver will then convert glycogen back into glucose for energy.

This is a brilliant mechanism for efficient energy utilization that our body has developed over thousands of years.

However, when the body is bombarded by glucose, this brilliant mechanism starts to fail.  The cells become saturated with glucose and therefore refuse to let any more in – they stop answering the knock at the door so insulin levels remain the same, yet glucose levels in the bloodstream remain high.

Logically then, anyone who is consuming carbohydrates in a way that isn’t right for their body, even the “healthy” ones, can overwhelm their body with glucose and fall into the insulin resistance trap.

Stress can also play a major role in how the body manages blood sugar.  Most people know cortisol as our stress hormone, but what you may not know is that cortisol also helps to regulate blood sugar.  Elevated stress, and therefore elevated cortisol, can also have a negative effect on how the body is able to use insulin and balance blood sugar.

Elevated levels of blood sugar over an extended period of time can eventually lead to Diabetes, but insulin resistance occurs long before a diagnosis is ever given.   Poorly managed blood sugar even for those who aren’t at high risk for Diabetes, can lead to chronic inflammation, fatigue, weight gain, sugar or carb cravings and other chronic conditions.

Risk factors contributing to insulin resistance can include…

• Eating small meals or constantly snacking throughout the day
• Hormone imbalances (cortisol, thyroid etc.) that affect metabolism
• Loading up on carbohydrates, even the “healthy” ones
• Chronic, unrelenting mental and emotional stress
• Inadequate amounts of fat and protein in the diet
• How your body metabolizes carbs, fats and protein- genetics
• Lack of exercise or improper exercise for your body
• Low fiber intake

In this week’s video and blog I dive into more detail about how insulin resistance happens, how to tell if you have it and what you can do to reverse or prevent it.

Carbs are cheap, easy and convenient foods.

We live in a world that has become carb centric – out of convenience and our desire to do less, yet accomplish more.  Our ancestors never had as many carbs readily available as we do now, they had to forage the forests and exhaust a lot of energy to collect fruits, vegetables and even grains.

Now walk into any store selling food and the shelves are lined with thousands of carb-loaded foods.

This over abundance of carbs, even the healthy ones, has paved the way for more prevalent insulin resistance.  Maybe you eat less carbs now, or healthier ones, but what we’re fighting against is years (or in some cases even decades) of carb-loading.

How can you tell if you have insulin resistance?

You could be battling insulin resistance if you struggle with:

• Energy dips, especially in the afternoon
• Climbing weight gain or weight that won’t come off even with calorie cutting
• Any type of hormone imbalance
• Insomnia or trouble sleeping in any way
• Brain fog or poor memory
• Water retention, inflammation and high cholesterol

These are just some of the signs correlating with insulin resistance, so the best way to know if you’re insulin resistant is to test, not guess.

You can pick up signs for insulin resistance on a dried urine comprehensive hormone test (DUTCH) that you would obtain from a functional health practitioner (such as myself, check out the test here), or by getting yourself a home blood glucose monitor and tracking your body’s glucose response to food.

If you decided to track your blood glucose at home, functional and healthy ranges are much different than what you would read on the Internet somewhere.  Generally optimal fasting glucose should be somewhere in the 70’s to 80’s range, and increases in blood sugar following meals would average about 10 points in fluctuations.

Regardless of whether you choose to test or not, here are some rules to live by to prevent or reverse insulin resistance…

It’s ok not to eat.
Constantly snacking or the old paradigm of eating 6 small meals a day requires the body to constantly be managing glucose levels, and can lead to over-saturation in the cells.  If you’re not hungry, it’s ok not to eat.  In fact periods of intermittent fasting, usually done overnight, are natural for the body and historically is one of the ways our ancestors maintained normal insulin and glucose function.  This doesn’t mean starving yourself is the solution, especially if you have any pre-existing hormonal imbalances.  Simply focus on eating 3 meals a day with adequate amounts of healthy fat and clean protein.  When you’re eating the right amounts of fat, protein and carbs you should be able to go 3-5 hours or more without feeling hungry.

Gluten free isn’t a license for unlimited gluten free carbs.
Going gluten free can help to reduce insulin resistance, unless you find yourself indulging in too many gluten free carb-based foods.  Even gluten free grains such as rice and quinoa and starchier vegetables such as potatoes pose a risk for insulin resistance.  Remember that overwhelming the body with too many sugar-rich or glucose-dense foods can lead to oversaturation in the cells.  This is where you might be “eating healthy” but not right for your body.  So dial back on the gluten-free carbs by replacing them with more fiber-rich foods such as leafy greens and cruciferous veggies.

High fat doesn’t mean high protein.
As you dial back on the gluten free and starchy carbs, you’ll likely lean towards a higher fat and protein diet, which has proven to be effective in most cases in reversing insulin resistance.  However, in some cases too much protein can spike blood glucose levels or overload the liver’s conversion responsibilities.  Incorporating more safe and healthy fats such as avocados, olive and coconut oil can balance the metabolic scale in the body reducing the need for as much protein while still keeping you satiated.  Eating fattier cuts of meat such as bacon, pork shoulder or butt, and dark meat chicken that are organic, hormone and nitrate free are also great ways to automatically balance this scale.

Alternate high intensity and resting endurance training.
Studies show that high intensity interval training (HIIT) AND low intensity endurance training both have positive impacts on reducing the mechanisms of insulin resistance.  If you think about it, this is the way in which our ancestors used to move.  They had periods of intense movement, when they were hunting or being hunted for example, and other times when movement was slow and long during times of migration.  Including both of these modes of movement and alternating them throughout the week will help your body utilize and replenish energy – aka glucose.  Hit the gym or do some HIIT training at home a few days a week, but also make sure to take some “resting endurance” days – simply walk for an extended period of time and optimize it after a period of intermittent fasting.

Reversing insulin resistance can take time, weeks or months even, but you should begin to notice little changes along the way as you begin to make changes to your diet and exercise routines.  Your energy will become more balanced, your sleep and brain function will improve and you’ll likely experience weight loss.

If you feel like insulin resistance might have you hung up, then I invite you to explore your body’s needs with me by scheduling a complimentary Ideal Health & Weight Discovery Session here