What are the four mistakes that cause insulin resistance? Let’s talk about it.
Insulin resistance is a condition where insulin is being blocked by the cells unable to engage with the receptor sites. Your cells are making less insulin receptors, which means less glucose is escorted into your cells. So you make less energy. You become metabolically sluggish. Insulin resistance is often called pre-diabetes.
Insulin resistance affects 130 million Americans. It contributes to obesity, fatigue, polycystic ovary syndrome, and reproductive issues. Similarly, insulin resistance often goes hand in hand with adrenal issues as well as thyroid issues.
Here are the four mistakes that can cause insulin resistance:
Mistake #1: Not supporting your hypothalamus.
Your hypothalamus controls your glucose metabolism. It controls how much glycogen your liver stores and how much lipids your liver produces, particularly triglycerides which are packaged sugar to be stored in your fat cells. Your hypothalamus controls your cellular metabolism. It controls your thyroid function which controls your mitochondrial energy production. Your hypothalamus is vital in how your body deals with glucose and insulin. I have found when my patients take Genesis Gold® to support their hypothalamus that they are much less likely to develop insulin resistance, and those who have insulin resistance are more likely to be able to increase their insulin sensitivity. Without hypothalamic support, diet and exercise do not work nearly as well.
Mistake # 2: Being sedentary.
People who are not active who sit around for hours, who do not exercise, do not move enough, do not utilize the calories they’re taking in. Being sedentary means you will have too much glucose floating in your bloodstream. Hyperglycemia or high blood sugar taxes the pancreas as it tries to make enough insulin to get that sugar into your cells. But eventually, your cells become insulin resistant.
Insulin resistance is a kind of survival technique. Your heart, for instance, can only use glucose to continue its function to pump blood through your arteries so it makes just enough insulin receptors to get just enough glucose to be an efficient pump for your body. If there’s too much insulin and sugar floating around in your bloodstream, your heart will actually block its insulin receptors so it doesn’t get too much glucose. Otherwise, it would grow and a bigger heart is not a functional heart. In fact an enlarged heart can lead to congestive heart failure
Insulin resistance is a natural way of protecting your organs that cannot use extra glucose. All that extra glucose should be packaged by your liver to go into fat storage. You can only store 400 calories worth of sugar in your muscles and liver, the rest must be stored in your adipose cells. Therefore, if you’re not active and expending the energy that you’re eating, you’re going to increase your risk of insulin resistance. We know that aerobic activity and weight training can help decrease the risk of insulin resistance and actually help correct insulin resistance.
Mistake #3 eating too many high glycemic index carbohydrates.
Carbohydrates are not created equally. Yes, carbs are energy food. But some carbs are turned into sugar too quickly. We call those high glycemic index carbohydrates. Low glycemic index carbohydrates are turned into sugar very slowly. High glycemic index carbs include sugar, baked goods, flour products, rice, pastas, white potatoes, basically anything white and some fruits. The glycemic index is actually measured in relationship to consuming glucose. So if you eat 100 grams of pure glucose, we will see very high blood sugar floating around in your bloodstream very quickly. Glucose has a glycemic index score of 100.
Starches like white flour products have a very high glycemic index are usually over 90. Anything over 50 is considered a high glycemic index food. Quite a few fruits are lower glycemic index in the 30s and 40s like berries. Watermelon is a higher glycemic index. Beans are a lower glycemic index. When you mix a high glycemic index food with a fat like a little olive oil on that sourdough bread, it actually lowers the glycemic index somewhat because fat slows down the absorption of the glucose from the starchy food. Above all, avoiding high glycemic index carbohydrates is very important in preventing insulin resistance and especially treating insulin resistance.
Mistake #4 is not getting enough sleep.
The sleep hormone melatonin naturally reverses insulin resistance. So, if you’re not getting enough sleep in the dark, you’re much more likely to develop insulin resistance. Studies show that people who are sleep deprived have a very high risk of developing obesity, insulin resistance, and diabetes.
You cannot make enough melatonin with the lights on. Turn off those screens after dusk and turn off all the lights once you’re in bed. Therefore, getting enough sleep, avoiding high glycemic index carbs, being active, and supporting your hypothalamus will help reverse insulin resistance.
If you have any questions about insulin resistance, please join me in our Hormone Support Group where I answer your questions live. You can access it by signing up for my free Hormone Reboot Training.