Contents
What exactly is insulin resistance
For starters, it is important to mention that insulin resistance itself is not really a disease, but a metabolic disorder of the body, a condition in which tissues become insensitive to insulin even though blood levels are normal or elevated. Since insulin, including regulates the concentration of glucose in the blood, and in insulin resistance, its level may also take incorrect values, which in turn leads to serious health problems, e.g. diabetes.
There are many causes of this disorder, and probably not all of them are fully understood yet. Belong to them:
• abdominal obesity (this is the most common cause of insulin resistance),
• excessive consumption of calories and eating foods with a high glycemic index too often,
• chronic inflammation in the body (which may be associated with excess body fat and abdominal obesity),
• age (the older we get, the risk of insulin resistance increases),
• genetic factors (in people with a family history of obesity and diabetes, insulin resistance may appear more often, but it should be remembered here that what we sometimes take for a genetic predisposition may simply be incorrect eating habits of the whole family passed down from generation to Therefore, determining whether a given state of an organism has a genetic basis is not always so simple and obvious).
Additional risk factors that collectively induce and / or intensify insulin resistance are: a sedentary lifestyle, overweight and obesity – excess body fat, a diet rich in unhealthy and processed products, stimulants, excess stress and certain medications.
Do you also have insulin resistance?
Below I present some of the symptoms that may prompt us to visit a doctor and start diagnostics. However, note that most of these symptoms are quite non-specific. Remember that, for example, a headache alone will not automatically mean insulin resistance. Our suspicions may be raised by several symptoms appearing together, and the disorder can only be confirmed by an appropriate diagnosis.
As for the diagnostic tests that we can expect when insulin resistance is suspected, these are primarily tests of insulin and blood glucose levels in the fasting state. However, these tests will not always be sufficient as they do not give us the full picture of the situation. More thorough diagnosis includes the glucose overload test (OGTT), which measures both fasting blood glucose and insulin levels, and the first and second hours after ingestion of 75 g of pure glucose.
Is insulin resistance really that dangerous?
The metabolic disorder described today definitely needs to be regulated. Most often, the effects of the lack of improvement in the condition of the organism are distant, albeit quite serious. Untreated insulin resistance may lead to an increased risk of developing:
• metabolic syndrome,
• type II diabetes,
• cardiovascular diseases,
• non-alcoholic fatty liver,
• Polycystic ovary syndrome,
• sleep apnea.
Therefore, it is definitely worth counteracting insulin resistance before one of its quite unpleasant effects gets us.
Is insulin resistance curable?
When it comes to treating insulin resistance, its cause is of course very important. In most cases, it is possible to treat and cure this disorder as much as possible. If the appearance of insulin resistance was caused by an incorrect lifestyle, then its permanent change is usually its change, combined with weight loss, is enough to equalize the test results. We must remember that returning to an unhealthy lifestyle or lifting weight again may be associated with the return of insulin resistance and exacerbate its symptoms.
Nutrition in the disorder described today is a river topic. This is primarily because there is no one-size-fits-all diet. Currently, there are also no official dietary recommendations for this disorder. Of course, however, there are some universal guidelines. You only need to adjust them to yourself, your ailments, well-being, or test results. So when it comes to nutrition with insulin resistance:
• choose wholegrain flours and a cereal product made from them, when it comes to bread, the shorter the composition, the better,
• we use quinoa, brown or wild rice, buckwheat or pearl groats and bulgur,
• we limit the amount of meat consumed, especially the fatty and red meat. Especially if insulin resistance is accompanied by disorders of the lipid metabolism, we should reduce its supply,
• it is worth introducing fatty sea fish, which are a source of omega-3 fatty acids, to the diet,
• dairy products are not excluded, but it is worth reaching for the half-fat and definitely unsweetened – we say NO to pseudo-fruit yoghurts
• we choose vegetable oils containing unsaturated fatty acids, we limit the sources of saturated fatty acids,
• we limit the supply of potatoes, especially if our results are not even matched yet,
• bring as many raw vegetables as possible onto the plate
• fruit is allowed, but you should pay attention to their glycemic index and do not eat too much or eat it on its own
• as an addition to, for example, a snack or lunch, you can use nuts – for example, walnuts or almonds. However, do not overdo it – large amounts of nuts will increase the calorific value and disrupt the balance of the menu,
• we eliminate sweets and other unhealthy snacks, choose non-sweetened products in the store, small amounts of honey can be used as an addition to dishes – e.g. salad dressing, after equalizing glucose and insulin levels
• we choose mineral water and teas, such as herbal teas, for drinking.
In addition, we try to ensure that what we eat is characterized by a low or possibly medium index and glycemic load. As you can see, menus should be based primarily on unprocessed products.
Summation
It is definitely worth getting interested in the topic of insulin resistance, especially if this disorder has been diagnosed with us or we are afraid that it may affect us in the near future. As you can see, when it comes to dietary recommendations, you should simply choose healthy, unprocessed foods and eat in moderation. Of course, it will also be definitely helpful to include physical activity in our day plan. Thanks to this, we will be able to avoid the disorder described today and its effects with a high degree of probability.
Photos:
https://www.pexels.com/photo/woman-measuring-her-waist-1332189/
https://www.pexels.com/photo/blue-contour-digital-reading-device-8-4-207381/
https://www.pexels.com/photo/flat-lay-photography-of-three-tray-of-foods-1640775/