The Sweet Truth of Diabetes and Insulin Resistance
In the last few years there has been an incredible increase in the rates of diabetes and insulin resistance, raising more than 13% since 2017. A lot of this has to do with a diet that is heavily dependent on empty calories, simple carbs, added sugar, and ultra-processed (food like) items. Today we will discuss what insulin resistance is, why and how it become diabetes, why does everyone “have it”, and how to do we fix it.
Diabetes and insulin resistance are among the most common metabolic changes I see and manage daily, but what is that? Both begin the same way; the body becomes over stimulated by sugar intake and then becomes resistant and then doesn’t produce enough of the “antidote”, insulin. This means that both are the same problem, but diabetes is more advanced. The body is meant to take in sugar from real foods (which is a different form that in ultra-processed food) and as it is digested the body releases a hormone called insulin, from the pancreas. Insulin’s job is to bind to glucose (sugar) and help it get into the cell to be used as energy. If we over stimulate the pancreas, at first it will increase its production of insulin and we do not notice. Over time the pancreas and the body become so overstimulated that two things happen, first the cells of the body don’t respond to the high amounts of insulin because they are oversaturated, and second the pancreas stops producing enough insulin altogether. When the body stops recognizing or using insulin, then the glucose floating around in the blood stream cannot get into the cell, and it will deposit as adipose (fat tissue) because the body sees it as “extra”. This is the bodies way of storing for emergency because when glucose is circulating, we think it’s extra and we keep it stored for the event of starvation. When the pancreas gets to a point that it simply stops producing insulin, either because of the over stimulation or lack of vital nutrient building blocks, the body cannot put glucose into the cell at all and it is stored in the body as adipose (fat tissue). However, even as it is stored the body’s fat cells produce more insulin and worsen the cycle. As you can see, this becomes a vicious cycle, but I have good news, it’s not hard to break this cycle, if we know what to do about it.
If you read back through the process of insulin resistance and diabetes, you see two common words, glucose and insulin. These are the key players in both processes. Insulin resistance, which could be called early or pre-diabetes, occurs when the body is over exposed to sugar from the diet or is attacked, but we won’t touch on the rare causes of diabetes today. So, it would make sense that cutting back or cutting out sugar would improve the process…. and this is true. But how do we do that? The first and most simple way is to remove all foods with added sugar. The average American consumes 17 tablespoons (240 grams) of added sugar a day when we “need” less than 6 tablespoons (75 grams)…. that is insane. Start looking and you will be surprised what all has sugar added. The next is to cut back foods, like ultra-processed carbs, that are immediately digested into sugar, like bread, pasta, and “boxed” foods (food like substances). When we intake these the gut turns them immediately into sugar. Remember carbs are not bad… we need them but there is no essential carbs, meaning our body can make what it needs and can get extra from fruit, veggies, meats, nuts, and seeds, so when we add in even more, we are often ingesting too much. This is not to say never eat carbs, life is about balance, but if you are diabetic or have an insulin resistance you need a hard reset, and if you want to reverse the damage before it is too late, then cut it all out for a period for 3-6 months and see your numbers, symptoms, and overall health improve.
If you are starting off with a severe insulin resistance or diabetes, you may need some additional support outside of diet. Now remember… diet is the foundation so it must not be looked over. You also must insure there are not vitamin or nutrient deficiencies. The most common I see are, vitamin D, B12, and iron deficiencies. These play a role in how the body can use insulin and glucose, and they are vital to improving total function of the body, see my vitamin D blog for more info. We also must not overlook the interconnectedness of the body. Once the pancreas is straining to work well, it affects other systems like the thyroid and the ovaries. These organs are hormone secreting, and work very similarly. I compare it to everyone living in the same house, when one roommate is mad…. they are all mad. Ensure your health care team is checking these areas often and optimizing their function, see my hormone and thyroid blogs for ways to help in those areas. Often the dietary changes take time, and you may need a kick start with medication or supplementation.
The first, most important, is ensuring you have good vitamin balance and I recommend adding a methylated multivitamin because it will ensure you are getting the micronutrients and vitamins your body need to be optimal. My preferred multivitamin is Pure Encapsulations PureResponse, because it has higher doses of vitamin D and encompasses all the most common deficiencies (other than iron). You can find this on their website or in my Full scripts catalog (for a discount), in the links.
These next two come in at very close effect but minor differences, these are by far my favorites, both are naturally derived from plants and have several studies showing their benefit.
1) Myo-inositol taken at 1000mg twice daily, has been shown to increase how the body uses glucose by increasing the sensitivity or ability to use insulin, improves excessive hair growth, and helps to balance sex hormones like testosterone.
2) Berberine taken 500mg twice daily, has been shown to help increase insulin sensitivity, help with body composition (burn more adipose), improve cholesterol levels, decrease heart disease risk, and sex hormone stabilization.
While both are available as over the counter supplements, I always encourage you to discuss with your healthcare provider.
There are many pharmaceutical medications, and I won’t talk about there here, but if you need them I highly encourage you do to do your own research to ensure what you are using fits your need and body.
While this is a lot of information, this is only scratching the surface of the interconnectedness and deeper root problem of insulin resistance and diabetes. Be sure to follow with your health care team, but you also need to take your health into your own hands. You hold the power…
Until next time, remember, thriving in health is about optimizing to fit where you are in life, it is ever changing, and is not one size fits all.
