Insulin is a special hormone that helps use and absorb glucose. Insulin resistance is the condition when the cells are unable to use insulin effectively. Insulin resistance happens when your liver, muscles, or fat cells fail to respond to insulin as they should. They cannot absorb the insulin which leads to different health conditions. The inability to absorb insulin is also known as impaired insulin sensitivity. It also makes it easy to move glucose from your blood to your body cells where they are used as energy currency. However, sometimes your cells respond to insulin inappropriately. In such conditions, your body cells fail to use the blood glucose for gaining energy or for storage, efficiently. As a result, a huge amount of glucose accumulates in your blood. Then your pancreas speeds up insulin production to overcome your increasing blood glucose levels. The condition is known as hyperinsulinemia. however, main Causes of Insulin Resistance are being discussed in this article, so that you may get complete information about it.
Your pancreas remains busy making enough insulin to balance out your blood sugar levels, so that they may stay in healthy range. But whenever your body cells become too resistant to insulin, it causes higher blood sugar levels, a condition known as hyperglycemia. If left untreated or unchecked hyperglycemia leads to prediabetes and type 2 diabetes. Two serious health conditions that are further associated with several diseases include:
- Metabolic syndrome.
- Cardiovascular disease.
- Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS).
- Obesity.
- Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease.
Who is Affected by Insulin Resistance?
There is no specification for getting affected by insulin resistance. Anyone can be affected by insulin resistance. Having prediabetes or diabetes is not a compulsory condition for being affected by insulin resistance. It may be chronic or happens as a response to using steroid medication. However, studies suggest that the main causes of insulin resistance are excessive accumulation of body fat around your belly and lack of physical activity.
More causes of insulin resistance include a family history of PCOS, prediabetes, type 2 diabetes, and type 1 diabetes as well.
This article will help you understand insulin resistance and its role as a causative factor of diabetes, prediabetes, or other health conditions. You can also find symptoms and causes of insulin resistance with effective ways to prevent or treat it.
Definition of Insulin Resistance
Insulin Resistance can be clinically defined as the inability of your body cells to respond properly to the signals from insulin. Because of insulin resistance, the risk of developing type 2 diabetes and prediabetes increases. In this situation, your pancreas tries to help and start producing more insulin so that the glucose in your blood remains in a healthy range.
Diabetes and Insulin Resistance
Glucose always circulates in your bloodstream. Insulin helps regulate the amount of glucose and forces your body cells to absorb glucose. This glucose actually comes from the food you eat. Insulin is the hormonal messenger that signals your liver to store this glucose. According to instructions your liver stores the glucose in large quantities in the form of glycogen.
Hence, insulin tries hard to maintain a balance of energy and lower the levels of blood glucose. If a person is living with prediabetes, his pancreas has to work harder to produce enough insulin to overcome the body’s resistance and keep blood glucose levels in a balanced form. Whenever the pancreas fails to produce enough insulin according to your body’s demand, this can cause the development of type 2 diabetes. Hence, type 2 diabetes is mainly caused by insulin resistance.
Researchers have found it pretty hard to investigate the exact causes of insulin resistance. However, the limited research showed the following signs of the development of insulin resistance in the body. Let’s have a look!
The pancreas loses its ability to release enough insulin that balance the glucose levels in the blood.
Levels of blood sugar spikes too high lead to the development of prediabetes and type 2 diabetes, if left untreated.
At the initial stage, the pancreas tries to release extra insulin to compensate for the body cells, increasing resistance.
Symptoms of Insulin Resistance
Studies show that insulin resistance symptoms are not similar to diabetes but they can inform you about the development of diabetes in the near future.
The Department of Insulin Research has reported that 80% of people living with insulin resistance are unaware of the condition and its symptoms. Therefore they get affected by diabetes and some other health conditions including:
Vascular Diseases: Having high levels of insulin in the blood increases the risk of vascular diseases like heart disease.
Major Depressive Disorder: High levels of insulin in the blood are also associated with an increased risk of major depressive disorder.
Acanthosis Nigricans: Higher levels of insulin lead to a skin condition when thick, velvety patches appear on your back, neck, armpits, and groin. Increased pigmentation due to insulin accumulation also causes darker skin.
Polycystic Syndrome: There is a strong link between insulin resistance and infertility, period pain, and irregular menstrual cycles that are signs of PCOS.
If you experience any of these symptoms, you need an immediate test for insulin resistance and insulin levels.
Causes of insulin Resistance
Researchers and scientists are still striving to discover how exactly insulin resistance develops. The current findings inform you about awesome genes that make a person more or less likely to develop insulin resistance. Healthcare providers also suggest that obesity or increased weight can lead to the condition. More factors that can cause varying degrees of insulin resistance are:
Genetic Factors
Several genetic disorders that you inherit when you are born are associated with the risk of development of insulin resistance. These inherited genetic disorders include Donohue syndrome and Type insulin resistance syndrome. More Genetic conditions that cause it are:
Alstrom Syndrome: This condition leads to type 2 diabetes and obesity that can affect your vision and hearing abilities. This condition is also linked with short stature and dilated cardiomyopathy.
Inherited Lipodystrophy: In this condition, your body loses the ability to store or use fat properly.
Werner Syndrome: Progeria is a condition when the aging process of your body is accelerated and affects the resistance of insulin in your body.
Myotonic Dystrophy: This condition occurs when your endocrine system organs, muscles and especially your eyes are affected due to higher levels of blood glucose.
Acquired Causes of Insulin Resistance
If you are not born with an inherited cause of insulin resistance generation in your body when you may acquire it. The reasons may be:
Use of Certain Medications: Several medications used for the treatment of HIV, or blood pressure can cause insulin resistance. Steroids cause it.
Food Choices: The use of highly processed foods such as foods high in saturated fats and carbohydrates is linked with the development of insulin resistance.
Excess Body Fat: Studies suggest the primary cause of insulin resistance is obesity. Excess of visceral fat such as around your vital organs and belly raises the risk of developing insulin resistance.
Physical Inactivity: Physical activity in the form of exercise and workout sessions helps absorb blood glucose. Exercise makes your body active and sensitive to insulin leading to a balance in insulin levels in your body but an inactive lifestyle can lead to the condition.
Hormonal Disorders: Certain hormonal imbalances affect the sensitivity of your body to insulin. Hormonal disturbance may be a major cause of insulin resistance. These imbalances include:
Hypothyroidism: Under activity of your thyroid and low-producing thyroid hormone cause a slow speed of your metabolic activities, which may lead to insulin resistance.
Cushing’s Syndrome: The release of excess amounts of cortisol hormone in the body can counteract the effects of insulin thus causing insulin resistance.
Acromegaly: This rare but serious condition is associated with higher levels of growth hormone that can result in insulin sensitivity.
Risk Factors
Major risk factors for insulin resistance are:
- High blood pressure.
- Higher cholesterol levels.
- Smoking or alcohol consumption.
- Sedentary lifestyle.
- Being overweight.
- Sleep disorders.
Besides these, prediabetes and diabetes also have risk factors for developing heart diseases such as stroke or cerebrovascular health issues.
You cannot succeed in eradicating all these risk factors, but some of these may be avoidable or can be prevented. Therefore, healthcare professionals advise adopting healthy lifestyle measures that can help reduce these risk factors.
Researchers suggest that everyone above 40 years of age should have regular medical testing for diabetes or prediabetes. This may help you to diagnose insulin resistance in time. The healthcare provider also recommends being tested if you:
- Have a family history of diabetes.
- Have Had gestational diabetes or ever delivered a baby overweight?
- Have high levels of blood cholesterol.
- Are obese or overweight.
- Belong to races of Hispanic American, Asian American, Pacific Islander Descent, or African American.
Insulin Resistance Diagnosis
Insulin resistance is usually diagnosed through several tests including and depends on the causes of insulin resistance. The most common diagnosis ways are:
Random Glucose Test: This is a medical checking of glucose levels in your blood at any point during the day.
A1C Test: This test helps measure average blood glucose levels over the period of the last three months.
Fasting Blood Sugar Test: This test helps check the levels of blood sugar after an individual refrains from eating and drinking for at least eight hours.
To ensure an accurate diagnosis, more than one of these tests are performed. The consistent falling of blood sugar of a normal range indicates insulin resistance in your body.
Prevention of Insulin Resistance
You may fail to change or stop several risk factors for insulin resistance such as a family history of diabetes or inherited disorder but there is still a good thing for you that you can take some steps to reduce the chances of developing insulin resistance. Some of these strategies are also good for the prevention of heart diseases like physical activity, quitting smoking, and managing your weight.
According to research, more than 50% of people diagnosed with insulin resistance can prevent its onset by taking some precautionary measures, including:
- Losing 7 to 10% of your body weight(in case of obesity).
- Take regular exercise, at least 20 minutes for five days a week.
People often get worried after the diagnosis of insulin resistance, but it is not necessarily too late to prevent it.
Complications Associated with Insulin Resistance
If left unchecked, this condition may lead to several health issues such as:
- Eye diseases.
- Alzheimer’s disease.
- Heart diseases.
- Certain types of cancer.
- Increased level of bad cholesterol.
- Liver disease.
- Increased levels of triglycerides.
How to Live with Insulin Resistance?
Although more research is required to prove it, the few findings of the research have shown that supplements containing any of the following can help control your blood sugar level to prevent insulin resistance from converting to diabetes.
- Magnesium.
- Cassia cinnamon.
- Ginseng.
However, never forget to take advice from your healthcare provider before trying any supplement, even if they are labeled as “natural” or “safe”. The supplements can be harmful if they interact with other medications you are taking.
Your Diet and Insulin Resistance
Research or medical studies do not provide any accurate suggestions for a diet that helps improve insulin resistance. However, some research findings discovered that foods high in carbohydrates and highly processed foods are not good for people living with insulin resistance. High-fat foods are also not suitable for the condition. Instead of such foods, you may try:
- Low-glycemic foods can help to lower your blood sugar levels quickly.
- Erich in fiber foods that help you feel full for a long time so that your blood sugar level may be managed.
- Avoid high glycemic foods as they are rich in sugar and carbohydrates but low in fiber. Such foods include:
- Sweetened sodas and juices.
- Rice cakes.
- Baked foods like doughnuts and cakes.
- White bread.
- White potatoes.
- Bagels.
- You should eat low-glycemic foods such as
- Left greens.
- Brown rice.
- Beans.
- Yogurt.
- Legumes.
- Fresh vegetables.
- Fresh fruits.
- Low-processed grains.
- Low-fat dairy products.
Conclusion
Insulin resistance may be an indication of prediabetes or type 2 diabetes but it doesn’t ensure that you will get diabetes. Insulin is necessary for your body because it helps prevent blood sugar levels and use glucose effectively. The ineffective working of insulin raises blood glucose levels which can lead to diabetes. So, it is important to make changes in your eating habits, lifestyle, and activity levels to protect your health. Many people prevent type 2 diabetes successfully by incorporating such healthy changes in their lives. In addition, regular checkups for your blood sugar levels can help you keep an eye on causes of insulin resistance and you can take in time measures to prevent it.