INSULIN RESISTANCE is the underlying condition in all forms of diabetes, and it can cause severe metabolic complications in the long term. Insulin resistance is a condition in which multiple tissues in the human body become resistant to the effects of insulin, including most importantly your muscle and liver.
Insulin resistance occurs when tissues become “dumb” to insulin. Think of insulin resistance as wall that prevents glucose from leaving the blood. When this wall is present, insulin has a difficult time telling your muscle and liver to vacuum glucose out of the blood. Insulin serves as the key that unlocks the door to allow glucose to enter your body tissues. Diabetes is a condition where either the pancreas does not produce enough insulin (or any insulin as in type 1 diabetes) or there is insulin resistance that causes elevated glucose levels in the blood stream and dysfunction of energy storage in cells. This results in many long-term complications, such as blindness, kidney dysfunction, nerve damage, increase in heart disease risk, and amputations. Insulin is a fat storage hormone. It drives nutrients into cells but a high-level locks fat inside cells. When insulin is secreted or chronically elevated, fat accumulates in the fat tissue. When insulin levels drop, fat escapes from the fat tissue and the fat depots shrink.
WHAT IS THE BEST EXERCISE?
High Intensity Interval Training
When you engage in interval exercise, you work out at a high
intensity for a short period of time, rest, and repeat. During those rest periods, your body gets rid of waste products so you can a car – driving on the highway at a steady speed burns less gas than if you are starting, stopping, and accelerating.
Doing short bursts of exercise from as little as 10-12 seconds to 30-second bursts of higher intensity exercise, you get a lot higher intensity exercise in than if you just sprinted because with sprinting you’d reach your exercise capacity much faster.
It also appears that varying levels of exercise intensity helps you burn fat more effectively. You may be burning the same number of calories, but by doing episodes of high intensity, you burn more fat, handle sugar better, and improve your insulin levels handle sugar better, and improve your insulin levels.
*Institute for Integrative Nutrition
5 BEST FOODS TO FIGHT INSULIN RESISTANCE**
Nutrient-dense green vegetables – leafy greens, cruciferous vegetables, and other green vegetables – are the most important foods to focus on for diabetes prevention and reversal. Higher green vegetable consumption is associated with lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes, and among diabetics, higher green vegetable intake is associated with lower HbA1c levels.
Non-green, non-starchy vegetables like mushrooms, onions, garlic, eggplant, peppers, etc. are essential components of a diabetes prevention (or diabetes reversal) diet.
Beans, lentils, and other legumes are the ideal carbohydrate source. Beans are low in GL due to their moderate protein and abundant fiber and resistant starch, carbohydrates that are not broken down in the small intestine.
Nuts and seeds are low in GL, promote weight loss, and have anti-inflammatory effects that may prevent the development of insulin resistance.
Fresh berries and fruits are rich in fiber, antioxidants, and are a nutrient-dense choice for satisfying sweet cravings. Eating 3 to 4 servings of fresh fruit each day is associated with a decrease in diabetes. If you are already diabetic stick to low sugar fruits like berries, kiwi, oranges, and melon to minimize glycemic effects.
**The End of Diabetes, Dr. Joel Fuhrman
“You can have all the money in the world, but if you don’t have your health, you don’t have anything.” Andrea Beaman
