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Posted by Pam T on 5/7/2008, 10:21 am
Message modified by board administrator 5/10/2008, 10:23 am
This is a topic that many of you may have heard about or have been told you have. Basically it means that your body , mainly your fat cells, are no longer sensitive to insulin. Your body stores energy in the cells to draw on when needed. The insulin acts like the key to unlock the cell to draw on the energy stored there. Once cells get to a certain size such as they do with obesity the receptor cells become desensitized to the insulin "key" and will not release the energy. Your body feels like it is not getting what it needs and your appetite may increase leading to more weight gain. You pancreas will start to pump out more insulin to try and override the system and all that insulin floating around can also stimulate weight gain. You may find that you crave carbohydrate and can eat a lot of it and never feel satisfied.
"As many as seventy-five percent of those who are overweight, and many normal-weight individuals as well, are carbohydrate addicted. Though many people may suspect there is a physical imbalance that makes them crave carbohydrates and put weight on easily, the underlying cause of their cravings and weight struggles often goes undiagnosed and untreated.
Carbohydrate addiction is caused by an imbalance - an over release of the hormone, insulin, when carbohydrate-rich foods are eaten. Among its many jobs, insulin signals the body to take in food (it has been called the "hunger hormone" and, once the food is consumed, signals the body to store the food energy in the form of fat.
Too much insulin results in too strong an impulse to eat, too often, and a body that too readily stores food in the form of fat.
The scientific term for this condition is post-prandial reactive hyperinsulinemia which means too much insulin is released after eating. Over time, people who are hyperinsulinemic become insulin resistant, that is, the cells in their muscles, nervous systems, and organs start to close down to the high levels of insulin in their blood. Insulin is no longer able to open the doors to these cells and allow food energy (blood sugar or glucose) to enter. At this point, one may experience symptoms of low-blood sugar levels (hypoglycemia) including irritability, shakiness, tiredness, intense cravings, confusion, and headaches. Since the blood sugar cannot easily enter the muscles, nervous system, or organs, much of the food energy gets channeled into the fat cells and weight gain comes easily. Over time, however, as high insulin levels continue, even the fat cells can shut down and the blood glucose gets trapped in the blood stream bringing on the condition known as adult-onset diabetes."(http://www.carbohydrateaddicts.com/cadfnd.html)
This is what happened to me early in life. I became insulin resistant sometime in my teenage years but went untreated since they did not know about this condition back then. I believe that it contributed greatly to the rapid and substantial weight gain I had then which eventually lead to heart problems and the arthritis I am now going to have surgically corrected next week with two total knee replacements. My feelings based on the research I have done over the past years in the holistic health field as well as the opinion of my holistic MD is that my body was damaged early on by the continuous use of antibiotics I was given for ear, nose, and throat infections. For most of my life I was on them and unfortunately the fact that it caused an overwhelming systemic yeast infection all through my body was not acknowledged. In fact I now know that the many "infections" they were medicating me for were in fact not bacterial but fungal and their treatment just kept feeding the problem. This lead to my immune system being exhausted and understandable confused so it began to attack my body leading to fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue long before they had a name for these conditions. I believe that over time it infected every area of my body including my joints and eventually lead to me becoming insulin resistant, developing metabolic syndrome, and then a complete hysterectomy at the young age of 38 due to PCOS. My insulin resistance caused me to crave carbohydrates MADLY to the point that I would eat until I literally could not cram in another bite. I would still be starving. Then I became diabetic.
Insulin resistance can be treated with prescription medications like Metformin or natural versions of it like Glucoset which can be found online or in most health food stores. Most people that are insulin resistant can expect to lose anywhere from 5 to 20 pounds once they begin taking these products as the body is able to properly use sugar and fat stores in the body for energy. It is a better alternative then waiting to become completely diabetic and having to go on insulin. I recently recieved an article in my email from one of the health related websites I visit and it said that long term insulin use has been connected with early onset Alzheimer's. Don't get me wrong, insulin can be a life saver as well as protect you from the devastating effects of diabetes such as loss of limb or eyesight, but if you can avoid it by changing your lifestyle through exercise, weight loss, eating a healthy balanced diet and limiting sugars and grains and by using oral meds all the better. Just a note, if you do go on Metformin or Glucophage it is important that you are aware of the potential side effects, the most common being B12 and Folic Acid deficiencies which can be serious and possibly permenant. No pharmaceutical comes without side effects so it is always a good idea to research natural methods and consult with your doctor.
Exercise and a healthy diet which limits the use of grains, especially processed grains and wheat products, along with sugars in all forms can stall the progress of insulin resistance as well as eliminate it entirely preventing the natural progression to diabetes. Weight loss is key if you are overweight, but it can be hard if your body is not able to function correctly due to imbalances. If you find that you are struggling with your weight loss even though you are working your diet plan and getting daily activity then it may be time for you to go in and get checked. My daughter has been using Glucoset for a couple of months now and without even changing her diet all that much she is losing about 1/2 pound a day. She has always had healthy blood sugar levels, but her holistic doc found that she was insulin resistant and got her started on the supplement. It's working! My daughter had been trying many things to lose weight including Cambridge and exercising at the gym, but she was still struggling and her progress was much too slow considering her efforts. She would become discouraged and quit. She is losing weight, almost effortlessly now and is better able to stick to a healthy eating plan without all the cravings she used to have. By doing this now, she has hopefully set herself on the path of avoiding a future becoming diabetic and will enjoy a long and healthy life.
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